Solar collector concerns

[OAQfirst]

http://a11news.com/231/raw-solar/

First, isn't this dangerous for birds? Secondly, if someone doesn't aim it just right, could it burn down a nearby house/barn?

[edward]

QUOTE=OAQfirst

First, isn't this dangerous for birds? Secondly, if someone doesn't aim it just right, could it burn down a nearby house/barn?

A bird would be toast if it landed at the focal point. I think that any bird would be spooked away by the glare of the reflector.

The thing does look like some type of ray gun.:smile: But as far as setting anything on fire the really intense heat is only at the focal point.

[Chi Meson]

COrrect me if I am wrong, but this "breakthrough" is just a mirror (spherical or parabolic) that has a relatively inexpensive support structure. As of yet it does not seem to be part of a practical solar energy delivery system.
The dish generates so much heat that it will melt steel at it’s focal point. That type of immensely concentrated solar energy can cheaply produce green power by using steam turbines to produce either heat or electricity.
There's a big "yada yada yada" in that one. As well as an "I have no idea what I'm saying." It will use intense heat to produce heat? Brilliant!

OK, it is actually a very nice little mirror. I imagine you could pipe heat transfer fluid through the focal point and get hot water that way, but it would require a tracking device to keep it turned to the sun. After all that, would it collect solar heat any better than a static flat panel collector of the same area?

[Astronuc]

That type of immensely concentrated solar energy can cheaply produce green power by using steam turbines to produce either heat or electricity. Solar thermal (dynamic) systems have been around for awhile, so there's nothing new here. Perhaps the simplicity (low cost) is the innovation.

http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/NSTTF/furnaces.htm

One is still constrained by the solar radiation (light) flux, which limits the rate at which energy can be collected/transformed.

http://www.abengoasolar.com/sites/solar/en/nproyectos_ps10.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_tower

http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/dpt.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_One

[OAQfirst]

OK, it is actually a very nice little mirror. I imagine you could pipe heat transfer fluid through the focal point and get hot water that way, but it would require a tracking device to keep it turned to the sun. After all that, would it collect solar heat any better than a static flat panel collector of the same area?

How about curving the design like an inverted half donut or crescent so that instead of a single focal point, we'd have an arc for the sun to trace?

[Chi Meson]

How about curving the design like an inverted half donut or crescent so that instead of a single focal point, we'd have an arc for the sun to trace?
I was already thinking ahead: The mirror should not be in an arc, but the fluid pipe itself could follow along the arc that the focus moves. Still, the mirror or the pipe should be adjusted at least weekly to compensate for the change in azimuth. Seems too impractical to me (compared to the basic solar collectors I have on my roof) . But I'll wait and see what the MIT kids do with it.

[K.J.Healey]

Basically like a condensed solar tower?
http://hea.cwru.edu/stacee/images/sandia_back_view_small.jpg

(at sandia in new mexico, got to see it in person when i worked there.)