Norwegian Town Using Sun-Tracking Mirrors To Light Up Dark Winter Days 143
oritonic1 writes "During their long, cold winters, the Norwegian town of Rjukan doesn't enjoy much by way of daylight—so the town (population 3,386), installed three giant sun-tracking mirrors to shine a steady light over a 2000 square foot circle of the town square. From Popular Mechanics: 'Call it a mood enhancer. Or a tourist attraction. But the mirrors, which will be carried in via helicopter, will provide an oasis of light in an otherwise bleak location at the center of the 3500-population town.
Three mirrors with a total surface area of about 538 square feet will sit at an angle to redirect winter sun down into the town, lighting up over 2150 square feet of concentrated space in the town square. A similar idea exists in the Italian village of Viganella, which has used brushed steel to reflect light since 2006.'"
It didn't work out well (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... (Score:2, Informative)
Rjukan isn't all that far to the North, but it's located in a deep valley, with mountains on every side. When the sun gets low in the Winter, the town is in constant shade.
Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... (Score:3, Informative)
Having near perfect weather every day is about the least horrible curse I can think of.
It depends on what you understand by nearly perfect weather. The nearly perfect weather to practice ski is not the same one that you need for swimming in the sea... For this I like having seasons on where I live and being able to practice different sports depending on the season.
Re:It didn't work out well (Score:5, Informative)
Switch to decaf and chill out. The town is not in perpetual night. At about 60 degrees north latitude, that's impossible. However, because it is situated in a deep valley that runs east-west [google.com], it is in the shadow of the surrounding mountains for five months out of the year.
(This I was able to find out with about 30 seconds' research - about as long as it took for you to dismiss these people as idiots and write your short-sighted post.)
Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... (Score:5, Informative)
We melt for about a week a year, so we just endure - the awkwardness is over too soon to justify building houses that stay cool (And thus cost a lot more to heat in winter) .....
Buildings that stay cool in summer and are warm in winter are not mutually exclusive. Presenting them as conflicting design goals is silly considering that these design goals are often complementary.
Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... (Score:4, Informative)
Don't forget to factor in the warmth of the Gulf stream. It is what makes Norway liveable, even though we're so far north.
Re:Couldn't the same setup be used (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059263/ [imdb.com]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vemork [wikipedia.org]
Some trivia:
The Vemork factory was placed exactly there because of the optimal conditions for producing hydroelectric power.
It started out fixing nitrogen for fertilizer, but later on was converted to produce heavy water. This is what Hitler needed for the production of a nazi A-bomb.
Both nitrogen fixing and production of heavy water is extremely power consuming.
The factory (and Rjukan city itself) lies so deep within the valley, the Allies considered it near impossible to bomb. They tried, once. The production was considered so important the Allies tried 4 sabotage operations against it.The most famous one, Operation Gunnerside, was made as a film, starring Kirk Douglas: The Heroes of Telemark.
PS: Sorry about the links on top, using a shitty mobile browser.
Re:It didn't work out well (Score:2, Informative)
Absolutely and totally wrong. The town was chosen for access to cheap hydroelectric power in the early 20th century, and a deep valley would be a terrible defensive location.
You're an idiot.