Procedure for High-Precision Passive Tracking System Construction
- Place diagonal cuts at both vertical ends of four of the 5 x 5 x 12 cm wooden pieces.
- Glue the four cut pieces to the main 5 x 5 x 25 cm wooden piece.
- Wait until all connections are dry, before adding a screw to each connection for reinforcement.
- Glue the newly connected structure in the centre of one 12 x 16 x 1 cm wooden board.
- Wait until all connections are dry, before adding a screw to each connection for reinforcement.
- Glue the wooden craft ball into the main support pole, placing a screw within the connection before securing.
- When dry, drill a small hole at the top to accommodate a screw tightly.
- Connect three 5 x 5 x 12 cm wooden pieces to each corner of the other 12 x 16 x 1 cm wooden board.
- Drill a loose hole in the centre of the present wooden board.
- Insert a screw, and attach lightly to the top of the wooden ball.
- Paint the entire design system black, and let it dry.
- Place two cable straps on the two outer sides of each of the lower support pieces and fit a fitted plastic container for each side.
- Screw in place the cable straps.
- Place a cable strap on the two outer sides of each of the upper support pieces and fit a fitted plastic container for each side.
- Screw in place the cable strap.
- Cut eight long pieces of tubing.
- Fit each end of the tubing to an upper and lower plastic container for each system.
- Tape down any loose parts of the tubing to the base.
Procedure for High-Precision Passive Tracking System Testing
- Arrange the designed passive tracking system in a secure environment.
- Place the 300-watt light bulb and electrical lamp base 50 cm away from the surface of the passive tracking system.
- Connect the multimeter to the passive tracking system.
- Measure the voltage of the system three times, and the amperage once.
- Take a digital photograph of the arrangement with the light source in its east-west orientation, as well as its north-south orientation.
- Simulating solar movement, slightly shift the light source further on its east-west direction path and its north-south path, using the reference sunchart previously. Altitude should also be noted in this testing methodology, unlike the previous.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 every 30 minutes for 7 hours.
- After obtaining all the photographs, graphically determine the direct path of the light source as a straight line on one of the photographs.
- Graphically determine the angle perpendicular to the light source.
- Compare the determined angle to the actual placement of the passive tracking system’s photovoltaic panel surface by calculating the angle of deviation.
- Determine the photovoltaic panel’s angle to the light source.
- From the other orientation’s photograph, determine the perpendicular angle to the light source.
- Determine the angle of deviation for this orientation.
- Calculate the panel’s angle to the light source for this orientation.
- Repeat steps 8 to 14 for the other photographs at different time frames.
(The information displayed is for the system Design 1.0, utilized in March 2008. A completely upgraded and significantly different system, known as Design 2.0, will be first presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May 2008.
This website details preliminary work for Passionate Passivity, corresponding with the Calgary Youth Science Fair in March 2008. Significant project changes and design modifications have been made to Passionate Passivity since the creation of this website. To ensure intellectual property protection, final work spanning from approximately June 2007 to April 2008 will be first presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in May 2008. This website should not be utilized as a reference for Eden Full's ISEF 2008 research.)
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