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Hi my name is Tai-wen Ko I'm from Hutchinson, Kansas, Hi my name is Justin Curry I'm from Olathe, Kansas.
The reason why we built this solar lantern is so that we can replace the kerosene lamp which is so widely used in rural areas such as Africa and India.
Solar lanterns are a lot cleaner, safer and much more efficient.
There are three major components in the solar lantern system one you have the solar panel which draws in power from the sun and converts it into electricity.
And the electricity charges the rechargeable battery which puts out constant current to the LEDs.
A typical solar lantern uses a fluorescent tube like this but for our research we are using light-emitting diode which is short for LEDs.
And compared to a fluorescent tube it only draws in about 1 to 2 watts of power and can last more than 6 years.
So here's the fluorescent light and here's the LED light and as you can see the LED is smaller, better and much more efficient.
Alright these are the reflectors in the lantern and basically what we are going to do with these is put foil over the top of them, reflecting foil kind of like a mirror.
So that when there in, the light can basically reflect off. The reason why I have it cone shaped is so the light can cover a larger radius.
I decided to do research because I knew it would benefit me in numerous ways. Such as it would open the door for more internships in the future.
Also allow me to make a smooth transition from highschool to college I would know a little more material then the other engineers that are coming in.
I feel very fortunate to be in this program its really given me a lot of knowledge on renewable energy and sustainability and really gave me a head start.