The history of the creation of this unusual device begins in 1946. It was then that the chemist Felix Thrombe from France and his team conducted the first demonstration of how high temperatures can be obtained with the help of mirrors and the sun. Passed experience in Meudon and was able to interest … the military, who agreed to fund further research.
The place for the construction of the "first solar oven" was chosen the place of Mont-Louis in the Eastern Pyrenees, where it was built in 1949. The region was chosen, of course, not by chance: more than 3000 hours of sunshine are recorded there per year. The goal of the project was the possibility of smelting ore in order to obtain very pure metals. And also the ability to make new and more efficient refractory materials.
The design consisted of two mirror systems. All the sunlight that fell on them was concentrated in one small point. The temperature there reached 3000 degrees Celsius. Of course, any object made of combustible material that fell into this point would instantly ignite. And metals (including heat-resistant steel) melted in just a few seconds. With a "good" Sun, the "stove" can focus 50 kW of solar energy on an area of a couple of square cm.
It should not be forgotten that the facility was built on a military base, under the supervision of military engineers, and was secret for some time. The official version does not always say whether they planned to use this "stove" in this way. However, after several years of testing, work on the Mont Luin solar oven was halted in favor of new larger projects (more precisely, the construction of the Odea solar oven).
The solar oven was transferred to the municipality of Mont Louis, moved to the city walls and made available to tourists. Since 1993, under the regional Hélio-Parc program, Four Solar Development has used a solar oven in Mont Louis in partnership with CNRS for scientific research.
Promotional video:
True to the pioneering tradition of Mont Louis, this company was the first to use the solar oven for industrial and craft production. The first industrial applications were the baking of artistic ceramics, and the smelting of bronze or aluminum for the manufacture of souvenirs.
