Today you get to concentrate light, specifically the heat, from the Sun into a very small area. Normally, the sunlight would have filled up the entire area of the lens, but you’re shrinking this down to the size of the dot.
Magnifying lenses, telescopes, and microscopes use this idea to make objects appear different sizes by bending the light. When light passes through a different medium (from air to glass, water, a lens…) it changes speed and usually the angle at which it’s traveling. A prism splits incoming light into a rainbow because the light bends as it moves through the prism. A pair of eyeglasses will bend the light to magnify the image.
Materials
- Sunlight
- Glass jar
- Nail that fits in the jar
- 12” thread
- Hair from your head
- 12” string
- 12” fishing line
- 12” yarn
- Paperclip
- Magnifying glass
- Fire extinguisher
- Adult help