Day 4: [BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD]

Even though the top of the thermos wasn't completed and the thermometer was not in place, we decided to start testing anyways to check the durability of the thermos. The thermos was generally able to retain the heat, but the plastic bottle which we had placed inside the 2L bottle was more than 500 mL, which did not meet the requirements because we needed to use 500 mL or less. Trouble-shooting began as more adjustments are being made and further research was being done. Some of the ideas we shared were, to use a Styrofoam cup or coffee cup for the inside of the 2L bottle as they were both small so would probably use less then 500 ml  Luckily enough a plastic bottle was given to us that met the requirements so we started rebuilding using it right away. Another thing we changed besides the bottle was the sock which was switched to a thicker cotton sock because it's a better insulator as it can trap air from being transferred.

(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_cotton_is_a_good_insulator#page2)

Day 3: [IDEAS PUT INTO ACTION]

We have started constructing our thermos and are adding improvements along the way; another layer of duct tape was added around the steel wool, rice was added in the 2L bottle to insulate the empty spaces, and a wool sock was used to contain the steel wool. We also discovered the aluminum covering would not work, due to the fact that it's too hard, and not flexible which makes it difficult to shape. We have contemplated on what to material to use as the lid, but haven't come up with a conclusion yet. Another adjustment we made to our design is instead of covering the entire 2L bottle in tin foil we decided to add some inside the bottle, but also shape some into small balls to secure the near top of the bottle. This way the foil will apply weight on the rice, and compresses it so it doesn't become loose and fall out. The use of a metal bottle was ditched because we were unable to find the right requirements and later on we found out that metal is not a good insulator but a conductor of heat. As the period reaches its end, our thermos is almost complete, the only thing left to add is the covering for the top and the thermometer. 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080210210142AAxsxzk

Day 2: [DEVELOPING RESEARCH & IDEAS]

As our research is progressing, and  ideas are developing. We came up with a new and improved design and discussed for any farther improvements that could be made, based on our research. The previous designs created contained only one container that would have a layer of insulators, from our research we realized that current thermoses are made with a inner and outer chamber (Glass bottle & vacuum). Henceforth for our thermos we choose a metal bottle for the inner chamber  and a plastic bottle for the outer chamber. We also decided who was responsible for obtaining each of the materials that the teacher won't be providing.

Day 1: [BRAINSTORMING]

Today we brainstormed two different thermos designs. We also researched a bit and discovered some good heat insulators that could be used in our thermos; such as wool and foam 

 For the first design we thought of cutting the top of the bottle so that we could build our own that would act as a better insulator than the original. Afterwards additional insulators would be added around the bottle; this would secure the thermos from heating being transferred out of the bottle. However we realized that cutting the bottle could be a risk because it would create a bigger surface area for releasing heat.

Thus idea#2 was designed, which had a narrow top opening, and instead of having a plastic-foam layer surrounding the bottle, tin foil, tape and wool would be used. In the process of design#1 we had trouble thinking how to support the thermometer from falling, but in design#2 we got some ideas from the teacher which led to using an eyedropper. The eyedropper would be cut in the middle where the thermometer would then be inserted, and the rubber part of the eyedropper would be sticking outside of the bottle so it wouldn't fall.