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February 14, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR CHRISTINE KUTA
IN MA
The best explanation for how toasters work can be found at
the
HowStuffWorks site at the following URL:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/toaster.htm.
It has pictures and a video and
tells you more about toasters than you probably want to know
right down to
the circuit board that operates the toaster. The HowStuffWorks
site is
actually a really great site that explains how a lot of different
stuff works.
For a very interesting report on a toaster experiment, see
the "Flaming
Pop-Tart Experiment" at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gmbrown/tart/.
It has
a good experiment report which you might want to use as a
guide in case you
are learning how to write experiment reports. The actual experiment
discussed at the site is FYA (For Your Amusement) only --
don't try it
yourself.
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February 12, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR MAMIE MOY IN
TX
The electric toaster is designed to brown the bread or bread-like
article to the desired color or taste. After the article to
be
toasted is placed on a rack and lowered into the toaster a
mechanism
switches on the heating elements (usually in the shape of
coiled
wires) that brown all sides of the article. A timing mechanism
turns
off the elements when the toast is ready. An electromagentic
catch
releases the rack allowing it to spring back up.
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A: FROM MENTOR KRIS MOODY IN
NH
Basically a toaster works by throwing away energy. You probably
have heard
people say to never stick a knife into a toaster. If you look
in an old
toaster, you will see rows of coiled, bare wire. All a basic
toaster does
is pass so much electrical current through the wires that
they become
hot... hot enough to cook toast. In basic electrical wiring
(not
toasters), whether you are wiring a house or a circuit board,
you choose
the material and the heaviness of the wire based on the amount
of current
that will pass through it. Bottom line is that you want to
avoid the wire
getting too hot. A toaster is kind of the opposite. If you
go to the link
below, you will get a more detailed description of a modern
toaster,
including the mechanical mechanism that pops the toast up.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/toaster.htm
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A: FROM MENTOR CAROL TOMAN
IN IL
There are several web sites that explain how things work.
Check out
http://home.howstuffworks.com/toaster.htm
for an explanation of
toasters. You might want to buy one really cheap at a tag
sale/estate
sale/garage sale and take it apart yourself. Be aware of safety:
make sure the toaster is unplugged and cool, wear safety glasses
if
you do any pounding or tearing, and be careful of sharp edges.
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