PASCO ET-8593 Energy Transfer Solar - Manual (Page 10)

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Model No. ET-8593 Energy Transfer - Solar
9
Experiment 2: Solar Constant
*Note: This is a more advanced lab. Two Temperature Sensors or one
temperature sensor and a thermometer are required. You will use one
Temperature Sensor to measure the temperature of the aluminum plate
and a second Temperature Sensor (or thermometer) to measure the
ambient temperature.
1. Disconnect the thermistor from the plate and measure the mass of the
plate. Measure the plate’s size and calculate the area of plate.
2. Cool the plate to 10
o
C to 20
o
C below the outside temperature.
(You can stick the plate in a refrigerator or use an ice cube). Be
sure the plate is dry.
3. Place the aluminum plate in the Solar Box with the black side
facing up to the sun. Do not use the plastic cover.
4. Connect the Temperature Sensor to the side jacks of the box with
the supplied cable. (If possible, have a second temperature sensor
measuring outside temperature. Note: The second Temperature
Sensor (or a thermometer) must be in the shade for an accurate
determination of the outside ambient air temperature.)
5. Recheck the sun’s angle. You might have to adjust the box relative
to the sun’s angle during the run. (Note: The angle of the sun
relative to the box must be 90 degrees.)
6. In DataStudio, create a graph of temperature vs. time. For the time
variable, use seconds (not minutes) on the graph.
7. In DataStudio, click the Start button to begin recording (at the
default sample rate of 2 Hz.). Heat the box until it is 10
o
C to 20
o
C
above outside temperature.
Equipment Required
Energy Transfer - Solar (ET-8593) Temperature Sensor (PS-2125) or
Thermistor Sensor (CI-6527A)
Rod Stand (ME-9355) PASPORT Xplorer (PS-2000) or
laptop computer
Piece of cardboard Measuring tape and scale
DataStudio Software
WARNING: To avoid
burns or bodily injury,
when heating the box, do
not overheat the box
(above 100 o C) and do not
touch either side of the
aluminum plate or the
thermistor contact.
CAUTION: Overheating
the box may permanently
damage the thermistor
and the plastic lid. The
thermistor’s maximum
temperature capacity is
135 o C.