Week Four

 This week, more preparation was made for the final design of the vessel. Calculations were made to find the volume that out container had to be to support the weight of all of the components. The calculated mass of all of our components and the container we would be using is 10.02 lbs or 4544 g. Assuming the density of the water we are placing the container in is 1 g/cm^3, we wanted the volume of the container to be 5500 cm^3, to allow for some error. Using a home depot bucket, the calculated height of the bucket to provide this volume was 13 cm. We cut the bucket at this height to give us the base for our container.
 New components for the system were also designed as 3-D models so that they could be 3-D printed for the design.
 Future plans involve soldering components of the solar panels together on the battery circuit, therefore, further safety measures were also explored to prepare the team for the dangers of soldering. While soldering, members of the team will be sure to wear protective glasses and to be very aware of their environment.