I have been asking around recently for software to help people design reflectors for solar cooking. and several other people are very interested too.
In my case, I have made new "compound" parabolic solar cookers in September 2008 and I find it very difficult to show people the advantages of the compound parabolic design. Basically it has almost the performance and power of a parabolic dish without the danger. The parabolic dish can cause serious eye injury or fire because it concentrates light to a point. The compound parabolic dish on the other hand concentrates light to a ball shaped area (where you put your cooking pot and the light stays on the area for a specific length of time. This means you do not need to move the dish so often and you can leave it alone. With parabolic dishes you have to move them much more often.
Ideally the software needs to show how the light bounces off a surface and where it bounces too. Can sketchup do that? Also it needs some way of modeling the sun moving across the sky.
Once again. Is sketchup up to the task?
Other software that has been recommended to me is blender and trueface. Any thoughts on which of them might be better for this use?
Thank you
Brian White
BC Canada