Space Heater Essay, Research Paper

Now that it is winter, you are getting cold. What will youdo? I have the perfect solution for you, a space heater. I knowwhat you are thinking, ?OK, I have one of those, but how does itheat me so well? It is so hot, why does it not melt itself? And,why is there no heat behind it?? Well, the answer can besummed up in one word, parabola. Now you may be thinking,?Huh? What is a parabola and how does it direct heat?? That iswhat I will explain. A space heater uses electricity to make heatand a parabolic dish directs that heat. The space heater is not inherently hot; it must make itsheat. But how does it do this? A space heater is plugged into awall outlet where it is given a source of electricity. Inside theheater, a transformer reduces the voltage to only how much itneeds. This is important for the next step. The electricity ispassed through metal rods or coils that have a very highresistance. The resistance of the metal makes it heat to a veryhigh temperature. The heat is then directed by a metal parabolicdish that can withstand these temperatures. If too muchelectricity is passed through, the rods or coils will melt or theparabolic dish will melt. Of course, your question, ?What is a parabola?? still remainsunanswered. A parabola is a type of conic section, a deliciousslice of cone. It has a vertex with two curved lines protrudingfrom that vertex. The two curves are symmetrical to a linethrough the vertex that passes between them. A parabola is twodimensional, though a typical parabolic dish is many parabolaswith the same vertex and line of symmetry. the dish on theheater may have a back that is wider to allow for more heatproduction. The dish is concave and is behind the coils so themetal reflects the heat in one direction, preventing heat fromscattering. The space heater is a machine that produces heat bypassing electricity through a series metal of rods or coils with ahigh resistance. The heat bounces off a metal parabolic dish andinto your face. So now that it?s winter, what will you do? That?sright. Space heater, and a parabolic dish.