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2009-05-31, 10:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 2009-05-31, 10:26 PM by Hazzy.)
If I shine 10 units of sunlight through a Magnifying Glass, I get some amount of heat on my target.
How does that heat change if I double the units of sunlight to 20?
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I think it depends. The lense can double the output, x1.5 it, triple it, and that affects the light/heat output. What is the ratio of light to heat for your magnifying glasses lense?
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Conservation of energy => the energy (heat in this case) doubles.
I fairly sure the glass takes in almost no energy, so that effect can be neglected.
Flaxative you're thinking of energy density. The lens packs the energy into a smaller spot, but it doesn't add energy. It doesn't matter if the target is heated by a ray 1cm² or 10cm², if you wait long enough for the heat to spread the sample will have the same temperature rise.
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Light causes the surface to heat up, and doesn't the lense at least add a little? If you have awide area when you are magnifying, it doesn't heat up as quickly so the short term heat gain is higher.