Did you know that the sun gives of a lot of heat? Although obvious, it’s easy to forget (except on hot summer days when you’ve parked your car with the black interior in the middle of the parking lot miles from any shade and open the door to find that your sunglasses have melted to the dashboard… but that’s another story). Grant Thompson constructed an excellent reminder of the power of the solar furnace.
Grant acquired an old projection TV and liberated the massive Fresnel lens from within it. The lens gathers the sun light cast upon its surface area and focuses on a single spot. Anyone who experimented with a magnifying glass when they were kids can imagine the result.
In the video below, Grant melts metal, torches blocks of wood, and other fun backyard activities.
Behold the awesome power of the sun!