The Washington herald., 1921-09-04

,,bc~- the Smithsonian Institute maintains obser
vatory, biscuits cooked jam is made, and pota
toes are boiled, in the new sun oven,' which was
successfully operated last summer. For nearly three
months three people lived food cooked in the
To hear DR.. Charles G. Abbott the sun oven
builder tell about it, i'll careful phrases each word
scientifically correct is much more entertaining than
going TO a movie. DR.. Abbott went to Mount Wilson
to take observations on the He is the director
Of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and
has more sunny information packed inside his BRAIN
thar any other living man.
He decided to utilize the direct rays OF the sun
to cook his meals. The machinery was relatively
simple.
A "paraboc" mirror, ten feet long and seven
feet wide is the base OF the apparatus This sort OF
a curve for the mirror results in the rays all being
reflected to the axis OF the parabola consequently
concentrating all the heat along that axis At the
axis DR.. Abbott put oil pipe. The rays concen-
trated on the pipe, heat the oil
The oil passes up a pipe. when hot, to an oil
reservoir which in this was tank containing
about a barrel Of oil, i'll which immersed the
two cooking ovens. Surrounded by the hot oil, OF
the ordinary variety, such is used for automobile
engines these to temperature OF over
$50 degrees, hot enough to boil, bake or stew 1t
possible to fry
To prevent heat losses in the tube inside the
Mirror glass tube, four inches in diameter was
cased with glass. which kept out the wind and dust
The piping outside the mirror and the oil reservoir
covered with asbestos insulation which prevented
any heat escaping. This insulation kept the oil hot
for many hours after the sun had gone down, making
it possible to cook through the night, or partially
through the next day. if it happened to be cloudy
The artistic Of the scientist would not allow
him to cut down tree which shaded the mirror, so
that after l o'clock in the afternoon the sun did not
shine on the cooking arrangement. But for this it
is quite probable that higher temperatures would
have been obtained, and a greater amount Of heat
enabled to be stored
ITO keep the mirror turning so that it constantly
L faced the the works Of 81 alarm clock
were utilized. Connected with the movement of an
old Setn Thomas clock. series of weights were so
arranged that every FIVE minutes the mirror was
slightly rotated thus holding the rays directly its
surface although the mirror went out Of action at
O'Clock in the afternoon, account Of the tree
iclage, the mechanism could be used to keep
turning clear around from the time of sunup until
the orb sank below the horizon.
Mrs. Abbott who accompanied her husband on
the observatory trip did the cooking and the
envy OF every visitor to the mountain top. She was
always OF doors, with the easily controlled cook
ing heat just where she wanted it. Cool breczes
swept through her open "kltchen NlSltorS claimeo
she had solved the servant problem, and had taken
away the dsagreeable side in the preparation OF a
meal
The sun oven it was said, would become
a popular proposition for the average home. 1t is
worked best in desert country, where the rays are
hot and the rain is seldom. So the dream of the
city dwcer, of having a stove on the apartment
roof with hot coils of piping coming down into the
corner which serves kitchcnette, will not come
true at least in this climate. However, it might in
other sections of the country.
The cost of the mirror and the mechanism
amounted to about $780,, which could be cut in hall
if manufactured any scale by ordinary CONNER
cial methods. But even SO, the will remain
the toy Of the millionaire, who wants something to