The sun is really hot, and it rains that hotness down on earth all the live-long day; why not use that power? It’s a no-brainer.
Nowadays, solar energy is finally coming into vogue as technology gets up to speed and it becomes more affordable. However, the USSR were way ahead of the curve when it came to utilizing our nearest star’s massive power.
The Soviets set up a mighty impressive invention in Uzbekistan. They powered a huge furnace, capable of melting metal, using nothing but sunbeams.
Although it is now out of action, the place still holds a great deal of stark charm. In all, the furnace consists of more than 10,000 huge mirrors.
The following pictures come courtesy of Nikolay Rykov who said:
“This project cost some crazy money and was possible to be produced only in the USSR. However, its day-to-day use was almost free – during the day, the temperature inside the furnace is steady 3,000 degrees centigrade!”
See more of Rykov’s excellent photograpy here or here.
Apparently, the powers that be weren’t particularly keen on Nikolay taking pictures of the defunct behemoth. He was asked to delete the photos as he left the area, but somehow they survived. I asked him about it in a brief FB chat:
“Yes, we had to remove pictures. But later we have restored them.”
Take a look:
MORE SOVIET DESIGN:
“THE HOLE” – HUGE ABANDONED DIAMOND MINE
BEAUTIFUL SOVIET ERA BUS STOPS
