physics

Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor)

Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) rather than just read about it. In short: Wolfgang Scheffler (born 1956) is an Austrian inventor. He invented and promoted Scheffler reflectors, large, flexible parabolic reflecting dishes that concentrate sunlight for solar cooking in community kitchens, bakeries, and in the world's first solar-powered crematorium.

Key takeaways

Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wolfgang Scheffler (born 1956) is an Austrian inventor. He invented and promoted Scheffler reflectors, large, flexible parabolic reflecting dishes that concentrate sunlight for solar cooking in community kitchens, bakeries, and in the world's first solar-powered crematorium. By early 2008, over 2000 large cookers of his design had been built distributed worldwide including the world's largest solar cooker. Scheffler was born in Innsbruck, Austria. In 1983 he finished his master's degree in physics at the University of Cologne. With a friend he wanted to construct a mirror to use solar energy to make glass in developing countries. The friend changed but Scheffler has developed the principle of this deformable mirror. In the press there was talk of the scarce firewood in developing countries. So in 1983 he had the idea of using the mirror for cooking. To get to know an African country for the first time, he worked for six weeks in an aid camp in Kenya. At the end he talked to the director about the solar stove. He was invited to come back and start the project on site. In 1985, they started, initially with simple solar cooking boxes made of cardboard, foil and glass. They used them to make tea, to convince people that this works. This was done with an emphasis on local construction of the devices. Contacts to India were established through development aid. In India, his idea really took off, including collaboration with the Brahma Kumaris on large solar steam cooking kitchens using Scheffler reflectors at their Mount Abu and Abu Road campuses from the 1990s onwards. Later India One 1 MW solar thermal station at Abu Road, commissioned in 2017, grew out of Scheffler's introduction of the reflector technology in India in 1990. The NGO Solare Bruecke was founded in 1992. In 2001 he learned from a radio interview with the German Prof. Peter Dienel about the actual existence of a superbly effective participatory decision-making process, which Dienel had developed in 1973 (Planungszelle, Citizens' assembly). Scheffler started promoting his method. Together with Heike Hoedt he received the Special Recognition Award at the 2006 Nuclear-Free Future Award.

See also India One Solar Thermal Power Plant Solar cooker

References

External links Solar cooker at BKWSU Scheffler's Community Solar Cookers Audio interview with Golo Pilz discussing his extensive work with large Scheffler cooker installations official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor)

In research: Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1956 births, Austrian engineer stubs, Austrian inventors, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) in simple terms?

Why does Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor) matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wolfgang Scheffler (inventor).