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This will be a Maker tourist attraction, it looks stunning... BBC's David Shukman on a solar station in Spain -
There is a scene in one of the Austin Powers films where Dr Evil unleashes a giant "tractor beam" of energy at Earth in order to extract a massive payment.Well, the memory of it kept me chuckling as I toured the extraordinary scene of the new solar thermal power plant outside Seville in southern Spain.
From a distance, as we rounded a bend and first caught sight of it, I couldn't believe the strange structure ahead of me was actually real.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Power station harnesses Sun's rays - Link.
Wow..... just. Wow.
I've seen death-rays before and thought that such a construction could collect massive energy on the focal point. Now they have done it in Seville... Be it bigger than I would make it.
But would it be possible to make a death-ray and put a solar-panel somewhere near the focal point? Or would it melt? I think it will collect more energy than multiple panels in an array.
- Unomi -
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yes, a solar cell would work like that, but not here, both because of cooling and because the electrical conduits inside the cell couldn't handle that much current. but to answer your question, using mirrors to focus sunlight on solar cells is a valid idea is done in real places for real uses. Cooling is important since internal resistances increase as the cell heats up.
what i want to know is why do they use water as the heated medium? Why don't they use (molten) salt or something? it maintains its heat far longer than water, and once heated could possibly generate electricity throughout an entire night. They have a good reason, I'm sure, I just want to know what it is.
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I driven by this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_One on a warm day, 120 degrees, and the tower has a super bright halo around it. Blinding.
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Great video, looks like the power station from "Sahara". Looks like the Spaniards have beaten the Ozzies to it. Thought it was about time somebody developed a power station based on the solar furnace located in Odeillo in the Pyrénées Orientales (France) http://www.imp.cnrs.fr/foursol/1000_en.shtml
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