The sun mirror can melt steel

Curious children all know that it is possible to melt chalk by using magnifying glass to illuminate it. MIT Institute students can now evaporate wood, and theoretically can melt steel, with mirrors that converge light.

Their goal: cheap and super-efficient solar energy.

Parabolic mirror size 3.6 x 3.6 meters is made from prefabricated metal frame with additional concave mirrors to focus light into a single point.

Both mirrors and frames are cheap and available, considered a great advantage of this design.

Calculations show that this solar collector can generate heat up to 1,300 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt metal. However, the team's more difficult thing would be to convert this heat into other forms of energy.

Super strong mirror at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Institute).(Photo: Discovery)

There are three basic ways to turn high temperatures into energy: One is to heat gas to operate a piston and generate electricity; The second is to use steam to turn the turbine; The third is to focus light on a small, special photovoltaic cell that can absorb intense light.

Scott Elrod, a solar researcher at the Palo Alto Research Center, says the final way is the most attractive option.