Melting steel in a solar oven.

Melting steel in a solar oven (aka solar concentrator) isn’t new or unique, but it’s always cool to see and a good reminder of just how much energy is hitting the sunny side of the planet at any moment. The video below shows a short exerpt of James May’s “ Big Ideas” series (James is better known for the Top Gear show), and they start by cooking, er, burning a sausage, and then they melt a steel plate. Impressive to see how quickly it turns to a liquid. (video)

Steel’s Melting Point is Approx. 1,370 °C (2,500 °F)

On average, there’s about 1.366 kilowatts per square meter (kW/m²) of solar radiation hitting the surface of the Earth at any moment (on the day side, obviously).

Via Treehugger