00:00:10things with sunlight how much power
00:00:12could you get from a lens as big as you
00:00:14in this project we’re hacking open a
00:00:16rear projection TV because that’s where
00:00:18you can find one of these amazing solar
00:00:20Scorchers for free
00:00:24[Music]
00:00:37to get started the first thing I’m going
00:00:39to do is log online to my local
00:00:41classifieds and search for a free
00:00:43big-screen TV these TVs are way outdated
00:00:46and usually cost more to repair than
00:00:48they’re worth
00:00:48so loads of people are trying to get rid
00:00:50of them I can already see one here it’s
00:00:53a 50 inch Toshiba and it looks like it’s
00:00:55about 13 years old everything works
00:00:57except the color and that’s okay because
00:00:59I don’t really intend to watch TV with
00:01:01it these TVs are humongous and very
00:01:03heavy so I’m gonna need a truck and a
00:01:05little help now here’s my brother with
00:01:07his truck he’s gonna help me out today
00:01:09it’s about lunchtime and he’s on his
00:01:11break we’ve just arrived at this lady’s
00:01:13house and stepped inside to thank her
00:01:15for donating her free TV the price was
00:01:17certainly right and I’m a happy customer
00:01:19now you got to watch out these TVs could
00:01:21be a couple hundred pounds so I don’t
00:01:23recommend lifting them on your own
00:01:24luckily this TV has rollers so we’ll
00:01:27roll it over to the truck and load it
00:01:28with the screen facing up we don’t
00:01:30really care too much about the condition
00:01:32this travels in as long as the screen is
00:01:34protected now it’s time to head back
00:01:36home and start hacking this TV apart
00:01:38load the TV from the back of the truck
00:01:40it’s very heavy
00:01:41and unfortunately my brother’s back at
00:01:43work so I’m unloading it by myself
00:01:45but it’s down now there’s some success
00:01:47the TV is now in my backyard and I can
00:01:50get to work first thing I’m gonna do is
00:01:52remove this speaker guard to expose the
00:01:54speakers and I can take these and remove
00:01:56them for a future project these are 8
00:01:58ohm speakers and I’m sure I can find a
00:02:00good use for them now just above the
00:02:02speakers I found a couple of tabs
00:02:03holding the screen in place after
00:02:05removing the two screws on each side the
00:02:07screen lifts straight up and pops off
00:02:09exposing the inside of the TV you can
00:02:12see at the bottom the red green and blue
00:02:14cathode ray tubes with their respective
00:02:16lens casings as well as a nice big
00:02:18mirror now since this mirror is used for
00:02:20projection it’s super reflective so I’m
00:02:22going to remove the screws holding that
00:02:24in place and save it for a different
00:02:25project
00:02:26this TV screen has three separate layers
00:02:28it’s hard to see but the front layer is
00:02:30a large piece of plexiglass that can be
00:02:32useful the middle layer is a vertical
00:02:34line plastic and this back piece is a
00:02:37giant virgin Fornell lens this is the
00:02:39piece that I’m after I got lucky because
00:02:41this one happens to be a crystal clear
00:02:43lens that focuses to a point and that’s
00:02:46the best that I know of it may not look
00:02:48like much but this is a giant 4-foot
00:02:50magnifying lens the amount of energy
00:02:52these lenses can generate is outstanding
00:02:54producing temperatures over 2,000
00:02:56degrees Fahrenheit they can be used for
00:02:58heating cooking purifying water and
00:03:02burning almost anything that you can
00:03:04imagine amazingly they do all that just
00:03:06off sunlight now that I got the lens I
00:03:09was after I’m gonna play around with
00:03:10some of these other pieces on the TV
00:03:12these projection lenses the caster
00:03:15wheels and the power cord can all be
00:03:16saved and just for fun I’m gonna take
00:03:18one of these lens cases and hack it open
00:03:20to see what’s inside I’m gonna save
00:03:22these nuts and bolts then cut down the
00:03:24side of the casing here when it’s
00:03:26cracked open you can see about five
00:03:27different optical lenses now these are
00:03:30really neat because they’re in perfect
00:03:31condition and I may be able to use them
00:03:33in future light experiments
00:03:35most of them are plastic but this
00:03:37focusing lens right here is pure glass
00:03:39it’s quite heavy and the optics on it
00:03:41are amazing if I focus it on my table as
00:03:44if I’m trying to burn the table you can
00:03:46see it brings into focus the compact
00:03:48fluorescent lights that I’m using two
00:03:49lights room I thought that was kind of
00:03:51interesting okay I’ve got the giant fern
00:03:54Ellen’s separated from the frame now you
00:03:56can see it’s quite flimsy and awkward to
00:03:57hold so I think I’m gonna need to build
00:03:59some kind of a frame so I can use it
00:04:01hands-free look for that in a different
00:04:03project well there you have it now you
00:04:05know the secret to finding a giant fern
00:04:07L lens absolutely free now a word of
00:04:09caution these lenses generate a lot of
00:04:12power they can concentrate the Sun to a
00:04:14point that gets dangerously high it’ll
00:04:16start fires instantly melt concrete and
00:04:19can certainly cook you so please be
00:04:21careful that’s it for now if you liked
00:04:23this project perhaps you’ll like some of
00:04:25my others check them out at the king of
00:04:27random calm
00:04:28[Music]
00:04:33you
00:04:36[Music]
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