German Scientists Developed a Powerful Artificial Sun

STATES CHRONICLE – A team of German scientists at the German Aerospace Center has worked on developing a very powerful artificial sun, the system being called Synlight. They argued that this massive device can shine brighter than 10,000 suns when it comes to the light which sheds on a limited location on the surface of Earth. To develop this huge sun, researchers have assembled about 148 spotlights which are similar to the xenon lamps which are usually found in projectors at the cinema.

Scientists at the German Aerospace Center developed an artificial sun

These powerful lanterns beam their rays onto a portion of 8 inches by 8-inch square, and the temperature can go as high as 5,432 F. This represents more than a half of the temperature registered at the sun’s surface. Based on the information provided by Bernhard Hoffschmidt, the Director of DLR’s Institute for Solar Research, to reveal new methods of producing hydrogen, scientists need to use this heat.

When it comes to renewable energy, some researchers believe that the solution may be in the simplest element of the periodic table. Despite the fact that hydrogen is known to be the most abundant element in the universe, being one of the primary power sources for the sun, the element is rarely found alone on our planet. Advocates of the renewable energy are keen on the idea of splitting the hydrogen from the oxygen in water through a sizeable electric power.

The massive Synlight can be as hot as 5,432 degrees F.

Nevertheless, this tedious process would consume a lot of energy, and that is not what an advocate of a clean environment would do. Researchers at DLR are trying to find another method. Instead of using electric current, Synlight will use the power of the sun. The plan is to overheat a metal, reaching 1,475 degrees F. Thus, this process will require for the metal surface to be sprayed with water vapors. Due to high temperatures, the metal will combine with the oxygen, leaving behind hydrogen fuel.

Then, researchers could reheat the metal to separate it from the oxygen, and this system can be resumed again and again. However, this system is far from prime time. In just four hours, this power-consuming experiment will engulf as much energy as a four-person family would consume during an entire year. Scientists are hopeful, believing that they will soon engineer this system to run off its own solar panels.

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