Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Let there be light: Scientists put spotlight on ‘artificial sun’
BERLIN — Scientists in Germany flipped the switch Thursday on what’s being described as “the world’s largest artificial sun,” a device they hope will help shed light on new ways of making climatefriendly fuels.
The honeycomb-like setup of 149 spotlights — officially known as “Synlight” — in Juelich, 19 miles west of Cologne, uses xenon short-arc lamps to simulate natural sunlight.
By focusing the array on a single 8-by-8-inch spot, scientists from the German Aerospace Center, or DLR , will be able to produce the equivalent of 10,000 times the amount of solar radiation that would normally shine on the same surface.
Creating such furnacelike conditions — with temperatures of up to 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit — is key to testing novel ways of making hydrogen, said Bernhard Hoffschmidt, the director of DLR’s Institute for Solar Research.
Many consider hydrogen to be the fuel of the future because it produces no carbon emissions when burned. But while hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, it is rare on Earth. One way to manufacture it is to split water into its two components, the other being oxygen, using electricity in a process called electrolysis.
Researchers hope to bypass the electricity stage by tapping into the enormous amount of energy that reaches Earth in the form of light from the sun.
He conceded that hydrogen isn’t without its problems — it’s volatile — but by combining it with carbon monoxide produced from renewable sources, scientists would, for example, be able to make eco-friendly kerosene for the aviation industry.