Solar Eclipse Pinhole Projector

So you've checked every store for eclipse glasses and all you have to show for it is an almost empty gas tank. And the look the last cashier gave you when you asked her if they had any has you worried if she cursed your family. But don't worry! I have a solution for you. Well not about the curse thing but the eclipse on Monday.

You will need:

1 chip can

1 sheet of white paper

Matte black spray paint

Dremel with drill bit

Scissors

Measuring tape

and a surface you can paint on

You need to measure a 2in by 1.5in rectangle cut out on the open ends of the can. The end that the lid is on. This is where you going to look into the projector. I used the flat circle grinder bit on my Dremel to cut the piece out.

Now paint the inside of the can where you just cut out. You can also paint the out side of the can if you want like I did. I just didn't paint the metal bottom of the can or the lid.

Once the paint is dry you want to find the middle of the bottom of the can. Then use the smallest bit you have for your Dremel and drill your hole. I used 7/64in bit because it was the smallest that would fit in my Dremel. Just be very careful that you don't cut yourself. This is where the light from the sun is going to enter your projector.

Now you could do this while the paint is drying but you want to cut out a circle of the white paper that fits into the lid of your can. I painted my can on the paper so I had a circle on it but you can just set your can on it and use a pencil or pen to trace it.

Next your gonna put the paper into the lid and put the lid back on your can and TADA you're done!

You can test your projector by using a light bulb.

You can also make this out of a shipping tube if you want to try a longer tube. I read somewhere that if you use a longer box/tube you will get a bigger projection, but I haven't tested it yet. I used the same drill bit but adjusted the viewing hole.