And Now: How to Melt a Rock Using Sunlight
Don’t try this at home, kids.
In this amazing clip, Jem Stansfield, the host of BBC’s Bang Goes the Theory (sort of a UK version of Mythbusters), visits the Solar Furnace Research Facility in Southern France. There a researcher demonstrates the power of intensely concentrated sunlight, using a special furnace that can reach temperatures of 3,500 degrees C (that’s about 6,332° F), and even melt solid rock!
A little background: solar furnaces are devices that concentrate the sun’s rays into a single, powerful focal point. They are usually constructed of curved (parabolic) mirrors, which reflect and focus the light. Potential applications range from solar-powered cookers and barbecues to providers of energy for outer space manufacturing.
For more information and examples, see this page.
