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Melting steel with solar power. A clip from James May's "Big Ideas" Episode 3 "Power to the People".
A solar furnace is a mirror structure used to concentrate sun rays into a small area called the focal point.
Solar furnaces can achieve temperatures of 5,430 ºF (3,000 ºC) at the focal point.
The idea is not new - coming from ancient Greece - but their potential is starting to become more relevant now as we try to cut dependency on fossil fuels.
While this furnace is not as big as the largest solar furnace in the world at Odeillo, in the French Pyrenees, it is still capable of achieving 4,352 ºF (2,400 ºC).
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