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9 Comments:
About the Solar Furnace, the first one in the Modern Age was set operating in Lisbon, Portugal, in that distant year of 1904. The inventor was a jesuit priest, Father Manuel Gomes Himalaya and the demonstration was in the presence of the King of Portugal. The invention, called «Pyrheliophero» (literally «solar fire furnace») was later presented in the United States, at the Universal Exibition of St. Louis in 1904. There, it received the Grand Prix.
The enourmous machine was capable of fusing steel and stone at a staggering 3500ºC.
After the Exibition, it was destroyed in a misterious warehouse fire, still in St. Louis.
Returning to Portugal, Father Himalaya received support from the King, but short afterwards - in 1908 - the King and his Heir were assassinated and everithing went down the drain with the following (1910) republican revolution.
The artistic Periodic Table...
While it’s a fun idea and some of the artwork is very good, it really does show the difference between (the bulk of) artists and scientists.
Take, for example, the text that goes with caesium.
[caesium]…can be produced solely by nuclear reactions.
Not true, it’s a naturally occuring element, though there’s noticeable amounts of radioactive caesium in the environment that /has/ come from man made nuclear sources.
[caesium]…is strong enough to etch glass, flesh and bone.
No, its hydroxide is.
…it is one of the most biologically hazardous components of radioactive waste and nuclear fallout,
No, it’s not as readily absorbed as many other radiopollutants.
Really, I despair of the standard of scientific education that leads to someone being unable to glean even basic information about something without reading some sentences out of context and getting the wrong end of the stick.
Lavoisier used a solar furnace in the 1770s to burn a diamond so he could prove it was made of carbon.
Quite right, Skipweasle. But I mentioned the priest's furnace because it was the first to produce temperatures in excess of 3000ºC, which are similar, although far superior to those produced by the modern contraption depicted in the movie.
Lavoisier's furnace was unable to produce temperatures higher than 1800ºC - which is remarkable in 1770 - and was a relatively small furnace, compared to the gigantic Pyrheliophoro, capable of melting a huge block of basalt.
Regarding the picture of the bent propeller ...
It is an actual photo. Most cameras with a slit shutter or a two curtain shutter as in SLR cameras will show this effect.
The exposure of the photo begins at the top and the shutter moves down in the shape of a small horizontal slit whose width is dependent on the exposure time. The propeller turns during this time. Therefore the propeller will look bent, because the blades will move and change position during the exposure of each fractional part of the whole image.
Great info on solar furnace, and this "bent propeller" bit was unexpected... Thank you.
Solar furnaces have been around long before the 1930s - in the 1770s
Lavoisier used one to burn a diamond to prove it was made of carbon.
Link
@skipweasel:
I despair of (sic) the English writing skills of people who post comments on blogs…
Vá lá!...Dêem um desconto a quem não tem o inglês como sendo a sua língua nativa. Ou acham preferível todos nós começarmos a escrever posts em 'estrangeiro'?
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