Germany tests 'world's largest artificial sun'

German scientists hope high intensity light from giant artificial sun can help them create the fuel does not contain CO ₂ for use in airplanes and automobiles.

German scientists have launched "the world's largest artificial sun" in the hope that this intense light source could be used to create environmentally-friendly fuel.

The Synlight experiment was conducted in Julich, about 30 km west of Cologne, Germany. The experiment included 149 high-power lights that produce light that is 10,000 times more powerful than the natural sunlight on Earth.

Synlight creates a light that is 10,000 times stronger than the natural sunlight on Earth. Photo: AP.

When all lights are rotated to focus light on a single point, it can generate a temperature of 3,500 degrees Celsius, 2 to 3 times the furnace temperature.

"If you enter the room when the lights are on, you will be burned immediately , " said Bernard Hoffschmidt, research director at the German Aerospace Center.

The goal of the experiment was to find the optimal method of concentrating natural sunlight to produce hydrogen from steam.

Synlight currently uses a huge amount of energy. Its four operating hours consume the same amount of electricity used in one year by a four-person household.

The scientists hope the experiment could help them find a way to produce hydrogen in a carbonless form .

"We need billions of tons of hydrogen if they want to fly and cars with fuel CO _2. Climate change is getting faster so we need to promote innovation", Hoffschmidt said.