Melting steel with solar power

[@dexter7954]

After 2200 years, Archimedes' creation finally comes to life

[@MrKadidle51]

Yes! I would really like to see how this would do with creating steam to turn a turbine. No coal or nuclear materials needed so it looks.

[@doormagic]

The invention was patented by Priest Himalaya and was on display in st. louis in 1904. You can see in wikipedia on Padre Himalaya. This unit was the great attraction of the Universal Exposition in St. Louis in 1904, winning two gold medals and one silver.

[@Bulsh1tMan]

Post-oil society of the future, getting stuff made at the local blacksmith with a solar forge.

[@freakman420]

This seems to me the answer we've all been looking for, pretty much perpetual energy. It boils water, water makes steam, steam engine generates electricity. So simple we've been overlooking it the whole time...

[@C4mpblor]

I liked the series James May did, Showing off all the past and present technologies of the world. I want one of those just to play around with and melt stuff

[@amberjacksolar]

This was indeed a very interesting video! Thank you so much for sharing this video.

[@urborg74]

I've always known such a thing was possible, I just haven't really thought about it. I have to say though, seeing it happen is pretty damn cool.

[@tacolord455]

The only problem is, if the enemy ship is just outside of the focal point, it no longer retains its heat making properties, just kinda blinds them with brightness

[@RobThePlumber]

What I do not understand is how it works? If you take mirrors it does not raise the temperature does it? Do you not need to magnify the sunlight? If i focus 100 mirrors to a single point. The incoming light and radiation is say 70 deg C. Will it not still be 70 deg without being magnified?

[@annabodhi38]

Thanks for posting this, very well done.

[@Grahf0]

These are awesome. There is another in France that can do 3500 degree Celsius. Saw a BBC show/clip on it.

[@boberson83]

The problem with most deserts (at least untill recently) is that sand dulling the mirrors has been a problem.

[@natzo89]

I did that experiment(cooking with solar energy) in 6 grade, it's nothing new, but making it to melt steel, damn cool.

[@Lectim]

Is the segment where they're melting the steel fast-forwarded? It looks as though it was sped up a bit. Though, even if it was, they melted a hole through a steel plate in a matter of minutes.

[@Kratax]

The intense white / yellow glow doesn't show, because it melts so fast and the camera adjusts the luminosity. You can see the surrounding area going darker instead. And there is seemingly white near the hole. Here they say that solar furnace can get as hot as 3500 C, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_furnace which melts steel.

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

Actually, you'd want something like a pebble bed rather than metal, which has a higher melting point, and more importantly, it retains heat easier. This enables you to replace the coal-burning aspect of a traditional power plant

[@Bulsh1tMan]

@Luiz Np I would agree with you just from the first few seconds, but later on the video you can see the pooling molten metal glow yellow. I melted aluminum for castings before, its silvery with a bit of light red glow sometimes, but I never seen it glow yellow before. But I also never seen carbon steel melt like mecury before either, it always goes through the "iron rainbow" of straw yellow, then orange, red, bright yellow, and then white. Maybe its a camera issue?

[@MysticalDork]

Nope, that's steel Aluminum doesn't glow that bright when it melts, nor does it form oxide layers like that. the reason it looks like it's melting at a low temperature without glowing is because the camera has to turn the aperture WAAAAY down to not be overpowered by the light, and the incoming light overpowers the glow from the molten metal.

[@vmelkon]

@RockManAU That kind of thing has already been built. I've seen it in a book. The mirrors were rhodium covered. There was probably a few hundred 1 m x 1m and they all focused on a big metal ball full of water. I wish I knew in what country it was in.

[@lesliewong44]

Talk about solar beam... this takes it to a whole new level!

[@ederangelo21]

An engineer or physics teacher can help me? Is there a formula of solar concentration? if direct sunlight of 2,5,10, 50 mirrors to the same point, how many ° C increase in point? How do I find the temperature that increases the focal point?

[@asdafg]

I believe it isn't. Ferrous alloys turn red hot way before melting (at around 727ºC/1333 F) and they will start to form a liquid phase when over 1100ºC/2000 F, at this temperature it should have a yellowish, nearly white, intense glow. Source: The Iron-Iron Carbide Phase Diagram, been studying this shit for 4 years, performed several quenches on a few kinds of steel. From what I know of non-ferrous metal alloys, this looks like series 1000 (ISO I guess) Aluminum.

[@outwrangle]

The camera probably had a filter on it.

[@skeptical_thinkers]

Solar thermal collection is and always will be more efficient than photovoltaics. With solar thermal you are absorbing a much larger swath of the solar irradiance specifically in the infrared region than solar cells- which only absorb in the visual.

[@Flemmi]

whats about the dust in the desert. that would make a lot of problems and cleaning work.

[@jcole4645]

Not sure why you're receiving so many thumbs down for asking a question. When thinking about this don't think so much about the temperature but rather the energy that the sun is producing. One mirror reflects the energy from the sun that you would experience from the sun, which is why standing in the sun is warmer than in the shade. When you have multiple mirrors pointed in one spot the mirrors are directing that energy to one spot - so that one spot will have multiple mirror's worth of energy

[@Midnight24435]

wow, absolutely amazing. Funny tho, the sound it makes when the steel is melting, along with the visual appearance of the steel melting reminded me so much of darkness falling in silent hill. lol.

[@Yaivenov]

I've seen some small steam engines built by folks that do just that. Fresnel lens focusing down on black iron piping.

[@konosoke]

That exists since more than 60 years ago. In the last 10 years it has been used too. I recall an article about a spaniard scientist, Federico Molero, in the USSR, in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, in 1945 doing that. Search for "Solar Energy" in wikipedia and then go to water heating. ;)

[@ShotTower1]

For a large scale plant this does seem like a better idea that solar panels. Directed at a metal with a high melting temperature, obviously using a very dark surface container, it would heat up quickly enabling us to produce steam. Just really seems like a great idea. Especially for "useless" land such as the large open deserts.

[@ederangelo21]

what number of mirror ?

[@CooperCarr]

They do do that. They have essentially a massive spire that has big container of water. The spire is surrounded with parabolic mirrors. And boom. Steam.

[@DoctorMelon]

The legend dictates that he used massive mirrors - and apparently nothing else. Provided he had enough of them, and they were stretched far enough along the coast - and that they were huge - it's technically possible to do. There just haven't been any measurements written down, so attempts thus far have failed - it appears to be incredibly expensive. However, early mirrors were often just polished metal, and this would be cheaper than the silver-backed glass that most mirrors use today.

[@Lucasbluecat]

Why would you think that. The show is quoted melting steel. Steel often melts at around 1370 degrees C and their solar beam can get as hot as 2400 C. So what evidence do you have that its aluminium?

[@jtbmetaldesigns]

Darrell Lucas Well the intense solar rays cancel the black body radiation from molten steel. It looks silvery like melted aluminum. Only when they take the beam off do we see the orange glow of cooling steel. Also, notice the heat coloring on the plate. Definitely mild steel. My biggest question would be why is the molten steel not giving off sparks from oxidation?

[@denelson83]

I saw three distinct layers form in the steel as it was heating up -- discolouration, deformation, and finally liquefaction.

[@AllPRO786]

this can be very use ful in the future

[@bluemoondiadochi]

No-tech magazine brought me here! usually i'm not writing this kind of stiff, but they deserve a reference!

[@huangjiachen]

So what is the thing that supports the metal that wouldn't melt in the video? O.o

[@Durchbrechen]

I want this to heat my house in the sunny days of winter. It should suffice a mirror in the garden and water pipes running at the focal point. Where can I purchase such a heater ???

[@Biospark88]

How's this to keep you from forgetting to wear your SPF 50?

[@fishingfool211]

get yourself an anvil and you have yourself a real skyforge

[@wolfanos74]

I'll never get tired of seeing that, just a small (and possibly stupid) question... What intensity of light is required to melt steel?

[@Beatnikzombie]

Dude, you totally overcooked that hot dog.

[@marcusvv1210]

It looks like an supervillains weapon from a James Bond movie.

[@vikingjarl1]

Would you get more 'bang for your buck' in terms of land to install mirrors to make steam or solar panels for electricity directly, though?

[@Flying1Panda]

Basically, light is made out of photons, or particles of energy right? catching all those photons and directing them at one point instead over a large area raises the temperature enormously. You took all the energy going into that huge area the mirrors occupy, and put it in one place

[@anthonycolantone5219]

The US has been doing this in the south west for decades. I won a 1997 middle school science fair for proposing the then quite old idea of solar thermal power generation. Spain and Australia now lead the pack with this particular tech, but have since developed a lot of variations including a "mile high tower" that channels air, not steam, warmed by the sun in expansive greenhouses up through the tube like a chimney, spinning turbines. Just google it.

[@trailkeeper]

You probably dont even need a parabolic shaped mirror base, just use a flat piece of wood with adjustable mirrors on it. Also, I guess that energy can even melt things of higher temp since that liquid metal is probably 50% reflective of the light anyway.

[@C2theG]

its from James May's Big Ideas

[@RennieAsh]

It seems some people are mistaking 2400 degrees C for degrees F. 2400C is 4352 Fahrenheit. And those of you thinking it's fake because Mythbusters did it...sometimes, Mythbusters suck at making/testing things. If a 5cm magnifying glass can burn wood, I'm pretty sure many square metres of mirror can melt steel.

[@Kurimus]

James May's Big Ideas, its sadly just a three-part miniseries and this is from the last episode.

[@cplai]

Though it is impressive to demostrate the solar power that way, I think it was poor judgement to burn a hot dog or melt steel in front of those high precision, highly polished mirrors. Wouldn't the grease and smoke or carbon soot or even the metallic vapor eventually find their way to the mirrors and contaminate the mirror surfaces?

[@shadowoftime01]

haha, agreed. I especially like the "how will this power a gundam?" one...

[@lMobiuscidl]

Could Solar Thermal Energy give us independence from fossil fuels? Heat is as important as electricity (if not more), it is neccessary for big part of industrial processes.

[@skeptical_thinkers]

Actually it's measured in W/m^2. A sun "ray" is also not a recognized unit of measure.

[@DarkBlackName]

I LOVE YOU SUN

[@boynamedsuez0r]

that is crazy! since when did james may do shows like this?

[@xplosivsushi]

Glass house? Surely they could develop some form of protective shell.

[@disndat11]

But there IS, I live between Dubai and Iran and here we get about 10 cloudy days a year, specially in Dubai. I'm gathering up ideas for a solar powered Tesla engine. Greetings from Iran

[@tpisma]

wow this is awesome...we have try this

[@particle409]

What government forbids the development of alternative energy? Maybe Saudi Arabia, but probably not even them. Lots of governments don't actively fund research, but they certainly don't forbid it. It's just extremely costly, and resources often go to other things, like highway budgets, etc.

[@THETRUEVOICEOFROCK]

i really want to forge my next sword using this, or something similar. it will be call the solar blade and i could use it in a room of high class blacksmiths. it would be awesome

[@WskOsc]

Afraid not mate. What's actually happening is the same principal as the magnifying glass and sunlight - you're focusing the sunlight from a wide area into a small concentrated point using a lens. Imagine a deck of cards; you spread it out and the floor has has one card per space over a wide area (normal sunlight), but if you pick them up and stack them (like the mirrors here do) then the floor has 52 cards in a single space (focused sunlight), hence the effect is more intense.

[@livewire242]

If only there were parts of the world that get near 100% sunny days.

[@rustyoliver9267]

NO THAT LOOKS LIKE STEEL TO ME, I can only say I am relying on having melted tons of steel and visually, this resembles steel rather than aluminum. I am guessing that the end application is some kind of steam/ electricity co-generation thing. Is that right?

[@441meatloaf]

@Ypipable yes but not very practical. Sure the sun may have high energy gamma beams, but if these were to replace current existing energy production with these "clean" energy, they are often subjected to economic analysis of efficiency and benefit/ cost analysis. A machine like this most likely cost more than a normal power plant and not efficient enough. What if there is no sun during a sudden weather change or seasonal changes for periods of time?

[@Uqload]

His description of a hotdog at 0:24 , is really on going. He could've just said "hotdog" we're not idiots.

[@irishchrisc]

Now. that's a contraption!

[@nenioc187]

That's not new. There exsits already several Solar power plants using that technology. Exept that they don't heat metal but water directly. Sometimes a liquid like oil or liquid sodium is used as well.

[@WiggysanWiggysan]

Mythbusters were wrong indeed, however they did not use the little round glass dish to direct the power. They just pointed there mirrors at the boat.

[@MMOLegend]

I wanna see if it can melt rock

[@LooneyLopez]

@RockManAU sadly gas companies are never gonna let u power ur own house

[@ShotTower1]

How do you know it's aluminium?

[@fehoobar]

So was this Archimedes' Burning Mirror?

[@camlpg]

If the focal point is only ~10 feet. from the dish shown. How was Archimedes able to project the sun's heat 150 feet. Ancient Greeks were far more techy than one might think. My postulate/hypothesis is that Archimedes death ray might have been magnifying glass w. smaller mag. glasses and/or mirrors???

[@BoudieBatsnikov]

What program is this from?

[@mangostavia]

@neutrillium heat is heat so in that aspect there is no difference there would be a difference in steel making since most steel processes use coke fired furnaces the coke not only heats the furnace but adds most of the carbon which is what makes iron, steel.... well carbon and a few other things

[@reddeadlys]

fo sheezy harness the power of the sun in some sort of sword looking thing? It will be like a sabre or something that shoots light?

[@localkauf]

why are we not using solar power for fuel???

[@JohnMarkIsaacMadison]

Mythbusters, you let me down on this one.

[@redfoot2]

Vegeta, what did the scouter say about the solar power level!?!

[@cheapsolarpanels1]

That's really powerful!

[@mobilearmour]

whoa, so this will become the Solar Furnace that will power a GUNDAM? How the hell will it do that?

[@Mokey117]

I think this was done in Die Another Day :) .

[@SWINGREGORY]

very cool great for the Stirling motors !

[@fourstar7]

when did James May do this? i thought he was doing Top Gear.

[@MoonSpyStudios]

is it not there job though? to either prove or disprove something? no matter the cost.

[@borisdarkangel]

I am the only one that think that that's not the full power of the magnifying mirror?

[@shifter3837]

Source?

[@rogerpenna]

@NANOFORGE not really. It has a focal point.

[@youdoxie]

It's over 2000 C. That's well over 4000 F.

[@Buhnanah]

What happens if you get in the way of that? :O

[@carlsm95]

It's called concentrating energy

[@NicolasPratt]

Wow... so many possibilities.

[@zx6rtt]

damn, that was quick

[@supermastater]

JAMES FROM TOP GEAR

[@omegaham]

Unfortunately, you'd need a couple million of these parabolic mirrors, and it would only work on sunny days. :(

[@Trilken]

Sun beams CAN melt steel beams!

[@benhaylett4453]

Think of a magnifying glass and some ants, but on a much larger scale. The sun light coming off of the mirrors is focused to a single point which then heats the object in its path to cause it to melt or burn.

[@soaper4]

"traditional American lunchtime hotdog snack"