The aim of this experiment is to investigate how the colour of the pizza box affects the temperature inside the pizza box oven.
Throughout this term, the group has studied countless concepts of heat energy, which will be implemented on this real-world STEM problem. With the incorporation of conduction, convection and radiation, which translate to collision and vibration of particles, rising of hot particles and falling of cold and the movement of heat without particles, respectively, the correct heat transfer can be determined. Radiation would also include the understanding of Snell’s law, which is a law stating that the ratio of the angles of incidence and reflection of a wave is constant when it passes between two objects (Merriam Webster Corporation, 2018). Conduction leads into the topic of thermal conductors and insulators.
Thermal conductors are materials that allow heat to move through them quickly, such as metals, and thermal conduction is the transfer of heat between two objects in contact, which in this case is the pizza and pizza box. Whereas, thermal insulators are materials that do not allow heat to move through them quickly, such as liquids, and thermal insulation is the process of insulating against the transmission of heat (Merriam Webster Corporation , 2018), which is the pizza box against the sunlight. In order to determine how light performs, it is imperative to understand the three ways it travels. Firstly, transmission – the light can be let through.
Secondly, reflection – the light is reflected by the object and thirdly, absorbance of light – light energy is converted to heat; this will determine how effective the colour of the pizza box performs. Likewise, upon understanding the methods of energy transfer and the way light travels, it would be necessary to know how light is converted to heat energy. When light is shone upon an object, the wavelengths – the distance between one wave top to another (InTeGrate, 2017) – are absorbed. The object is already causing extremely low amplified vibrations, which eventually increase as the light energy absorbed converts into heat energy. As the vibrations increase, the kinetic energy among the particles also increases and this is how light energy is adapted to heat. Thus, the group will examine which colour is the most effective to affect the temperature through the implementation of the three modes of light, the way it travels, Snell’s law and the way light energy is transformed into heat.
