A solar furnace is a structure that uses concentrated solar power to produce high temperatures, usually for industrial purposes, with parabolic mirrors or heliostats concentrating light onto a focal point where temperatures can reach 3,500 degrees Celsius. That intense heat enables applications including electricity generation, steel melting, hydrogen fuel production and nanomaterial synthesis. The largest solar furnace operates at Odeillo, in the Pyrenees-Orientales region of France, which opened in 1970 and uses an array of plane mirrors to gather sunlight and reflect it onto a larger curved mirror.
Facts
Partially Attested
Invented YearThe source says the first modern solar furnace is believed to date to 1949; earlier non-modern solar furnaces existed. Classification
MaturityTRL 7: System Prototype Demonstration in Operational Environment 1 Technology TypeConcentrated solar power structure 1 Sources
1. Solar furnace, Wikipedia
Lead paragraph, first sentence
A solar furnace is a structure that uses concentrated solar power to produce high temperatures, usually for industry.
History section
The first modern solar furnace is believed to have been built in France in 1949 by Professor Félix Trombe.
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