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Medium⏱ time1 hr$ cost3

Pizza-Box Solar Oven

Foil and plastic wrap turn a pizza box into an oven that melts chocolate with only sunlight.

Start building ↓
fig — working model Result first

The build

Step 01

Cut the flap

Make a foil-covered reflector flap in the lid.

Step 02

Line it

Foil the flap, black paper on the floor.

Step 03

Seal the window

Cling-wrap the opening to trap heat.

Step 04

Aim at the sun

Angle the reflector and track temperature.

Working Principle

Foil reflects sunlight in, black paper absorbs it as heat, and the plastic window traps that heat — the greenhouse effect cooking your snack.

The science behind it

A closer look

Energy keeps arriving but can't easily escape, so heat builds well above the outside air temperature.

Take it further

Variables to test

  • 1 Black vs white floor — which cooks faster?
  • 2 Log temperature every 5 min and graph it.

More Environmental