Flat mirrors like you buy at home depot and a bunch of steel with a couple stepper motors. That is their technology. Goofy. Hard to aim in the wind, especially when you are 1/4 mile from the tower. Also when they are covered in desert dust. Do the math and see how much water and time it takes to wash 375,000 mirrors monthly and how much fuel that takes in vehicles. Greeny weeny bamboozle. No robots to be seen. Big air coolers on turbine condensers because no water. Goofy.
On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 3:38 PM, Jed Rothwell <jedrothw...@gmail.com> wrote: > ChemE Stewart <cheme...@gmail.com> wrote: > > They are home depot mirrors . . . >> > > Oh come now. You know better than that. Who are you trying to kid? This is > the 21st century. Information is at our fingertips. Here, let me Google > that for you: > > > http://lmgtfy.com/?q=brightsource+heliostat+reflector+design+project+overview > > Was that so hard? > > Direct link: > > http://www.google.org/pdfs/google_heliostat_reflector_design.pdf > > QUOTES: > > "We experimented with hundreds of different reflector designs and sizes to > address weight and thermal issues. Our experiments included mylar mirrors, > concrete mirrors, foam-backed mirrors, steel supports, plastic frames, and > different thicknesses of glass. . . . > > Our simplest design proved to be the best: A lightweight reflector made > entirely out of glass. This design simplifies the assembly process, > resolves the thermal expansion mismatch, and provides a high > stiffness-to-weight ratio. We also decided that a larger curved mirror (2 m > x 3 m) would be more effective than a smaller flat mirror in focusing light > on a target. . . . > > The reflector we designed is constructed out of a glass honeycomb-style > matrix sandwiched between an optical quality mirror and a sheet of > structural support glass. This reflector has a slight parabolic curve to > focus and concentrate reflected sunlight 2-3 times over a 50m distance. The > glass used for the construction is only two to three millimeters thick, > reducing weight and > cost while maintaining reliability. . . ." > > Does that sound like something you can buy at Home Depot? Look at the > photos, for goodness sake. > > - Jed > >
