View source for Chris's ENGR305 Solar Food Dehydrator

== Mathematical Inquiry ==
Determining how big the solar collector should have been required extrapolating the collected data.  First, I figured out how many degrees the temperature inside the dehydrator would have been raised  had 100% of the solar collector been receiving light.  This gave a maximum range for the solar collector's area.  Then, using the previously determined answers, the total surface area required to achieve a desired temperature of 140<sup>o</sup> F (comparable to the electric food dehydrator) was calculated.

----

''Step 1.'' Determining Maximum Increase in Temperature From Solar Collector: 

'''<nowiki>[ ( Dehydrator Temperature - Ambient Temperature ) / % Collector Exposed, as decimal ]</nowiki>'''

Trial 1 Maximum: '''17.65<sup>o</sup> F'''

Trial 2 Maximum: '''16.00<sup>o</sup> F''', Maximum Range: '''16-17.65<sup>o</sup> F'''

----

''Step 2.'' Determining Surface Area Required to Achieve Desired Temperature with Fixed Dehydrator Volume of 596.1 in<sup>3</sup>: 

'''<nowiki>Surface Area * [ ( Desired Temperature - Ambient Temperature ) / Maximum Increase in Temperature From 160.1 in^2 Solar Collector ]</nowiki>'''

Surface Area Required to Achieve 140<sup>o</sup> F:  '''589.6-700.4 in<sup>2</sup>'''