Hmmmm a solar forge.I'll have to play with that idea

A couple of of old sat dishes and some broken mirors.

I may be wrong, but solar energy might not be able to be harnessed for a forge. You'd have to either make everything electric and use solar panels to convert it to usable energy, or find a really good way to concentrate the light into a focused beam hot enough to make the metal malleable. Then again, I'm also not a blacksmith or an engineer.

The French smelt ultrapure metals in a solar facility in the Pyrenees.

Like I said, I'm not black smith or an engineer. Though it would be cool if Jay-t could arrange a solar power forge.

Lord Snow did you ever fry a bug with a maginfying glass? the same principal can be used to heat steel on a little bigger scale.But you would be limited to small dia. material say up to a 1/2 inch.

If you can get around the tendency to shed heat as fast as you put it in, you might get up to pocket knife blade size.

No I've never fried a bug with a magnifying glass. It would seem that while it is possible it's not practical. Unless you two wiser minds can convince me otherwise.

If you can do it on the big scale, why not?

You could improve on this he is melting glass the focal point gets up to 3000 deg.,but you would only be able to heat about 3/4 sq. inch at a time.



http://www.sundropjewelry.com/movies.php

Solar forge diagram and info


http://contest.techbriefs.com/machi...ipment-2010/327

Hmmmm....interesting. I'm still not completely convinced. However, I will concede this discussion and return quietly to my corner.

While the storm has moved past Baltimore, the wind remains a bit gusty.

Good to hear the main front's gone by.

Very VERY interesting, that solar forge. :D ......... and a very neat site. :thumb: