Sunlight
The Sun’s heat can warm, melt, and even cook materials.
Because different materials absorb the Sun’s energy differently, we can design and build structures that either increase or decrease the warming effects of the Sun.
When we head to the beach on a hot summer day, we take a bag (cooler) with us to keep our drinks cold.
When we get to the beach, we put up an umbrella so we can sit in the shade.
Both the cooler and the umbrella are structures that decrease the warming effects of the Sun, and are considered insulators because they do not allow heat energy to easily flow through them.
To increase the warming effects of the Sun, we can use a solar oven.
Made of materials that allow heat energy to easily flow through them, called conductors, solar ovens can be used to cook food when your only source of heat energy is the Sun.
A common material, foil, can be used to help increase the warming effect of the sun on food for a solar oven.