Nick Palmer <[email protected]> wrote: The LED will not be convincing. How about just training an IR camera on it > and putting the image on the web? A slow stream of air > passing the cell would warm up and clearly show on the image. >
Why not simply install thermocouples and a thermometer in the cell, and in the nearby ambient air? That is simple, direct and foolproof. With 4 W it will produce a definitive result. If it were a fraction of 1 W this would not work. In an ordinary room this would be somewhat problematic and inaccurate because of fluctuations in air temperature and currents of air, but this room is reportedly temperature-stable. I would also insulate the cell well except for one copper pipe (or nail) coming out of the top. Most of the heat would radiate from that pipe, and it would be warm to the touch. At 4 W it would be quite warm. This occurred to me while I was driving home, when somehow the design of an internal combustion engine circa 1880 came to mind. Spark plugs were not invented, or not reliable, so they used an iron bar protruding into the cylinder. It was heated red hot on the outside by a small flow of burning gasoline. The mixture of air and gasoline was injected when the piston started to descend, and it ignited immediately from the hot plug. - Jed
