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Norwegian Town Using Sun-Tracking Mirrors To Light Up Dark Winter Days

Posted by samzenpus on from the light-up-my-life dept.

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.'"

8 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. I am glad I don't have to do this... by bogaboga · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...I live along the equator where our days and nights ar "equal" throughout the year.

    Trouble is that most Europeans I have met on my travels think it's hot hot hot at the equator, which isn't the case. In fact, their summers, which are responsible for some deaths among the elderly and young ones, are way hotter than the hottest day at home.

    When I say this, they won't believe it until I remind them that we are at a higher elevation which is cooler...just like the clouds.

    1. Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... by SuricouRaven · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Consistancy is key.

      Here in the southern UK, it snows sometimes. Not a lot. Maybe for a week, no more, and only every two years - often we go a winter with no snow at all, or just a very light dusting.

      When it does snow, everything stops. Roads are impassible, schools close, almost total shutdown of the country. Why? Because we don't keep an army of ploughs and gritters and a big stockpile of salt around for something that happens so rarely and is over so quickly.

      Likewise with very hot summers. The crushing heat can reach thirty celcius. In somewhere like the southern US they'd laugh at that - but in those places, everyone is used to it, with buildings made to stay cool and every home fitted with air-con. 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) or installing expensive aircon systems.

    2. Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... by jittles · · Score: 3, Interesting

      As someone who spent the first 20 years of his life in an area without significant seasonal changes and the next 20 years in areas with major seasonal changes I can definitely say that seasons are vastly overrated.

      Having near perfect weather every day is about the least horrible curse I can think of.

      Except that being next to equator does not guarantee "near perfect weather". Plenty of friends from places close to equator just say "back home we carried an umbrella every day even if it only rained once a week, because when it did it was pouring really hard.

      Huh. I didn't know people in tropical areas bothered with umbrellas. I lived about 10 degrees north of the equator for a year. Yeah it rained like hell, and an umbrella was useless. Either the rain would come in sideways, or come in so hard and so fast you had to worry more about the water coming up than the water going down. I've seen rocks about half the size of a bowling ball being carried down the gutters along with lawn chairs and everything else you can imagine during an especially strong rain. But contrary to popular belief, most tropical areas do have two seasons: the wet season and the dry season. Where I lived, it rained almost every day for hours on end during the wet season. During the dry season, it may rain for 10 minutes each day, or may not rain for several days.

    3. Re:I am glad I don't have to do this... by Luckyo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Here in Finland, official "hot" figure for weather is at 27C. And yes, when it's 27C, it's exhausting hot.

      On the other hand, -27C is nice weather to go out and ski/skate. And most buildings do not have A/C because there's no real reason to - the season during which you would need it lasts days if it ever comes at all.

  2. Fun facts about Rjukan... by Tore+S+B · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Rjukan is also the site of the museum of industrial labour, which is located in Vemork. In addition to being a very early heavy water plant which was sabotaged by the Resistance during the second world war to hinder the Nazi nuclear bomb project, it also currently hosts an exhibit of what is probably the world's only remaining Univac 1108 mainframe.

    --
    toresbe
  3. What's the equivalent in watts? by hawguy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    How does this mirror compare to installing full spectrum lamps to light up the same 2000 sq ft area? Lights could provide extended "days" during the winter months, and could be solar powered from the same mountaintop that houses the mirrors when the sun is out.

  4. Re:It didn't work out well by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The city planners should have thought about this before deciding to put the town there.

    I can vividly see you confronting the city planners and getting dismissed not only with a nice REJECTED rubber stamp in runic script stamped on your petition, but also with a nice complimentary blood eagle.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  5. Re:It didn't work out well by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The city planners should have thought about this before deciding to put the town there.

    Do you know how most cities got sited? Availability of water, good harbors (very important historically), workable land and other needed resources.

    There is almost never a set of city planners that sit down and weigh all the pros and cons of a location ... they just tend to initially happen as people find what they need and start laying down roots.

    If you live in the North, you take what you can get. These guys are just trying to improve a little on that.

    Washington DC used to be a malarial swamp and New Orleans is apparently below sea level. Did the city planners do a piss-poor job? Or were there other features that made it desirable?

    Nobody comes along and says "we're going to build a thriving city here" -- well, China has apparently done it, and they're empty. I suspect most cities started in a much more random and organic manner.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.