Visit a scientific curiosity near Font-Romeu
Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via or simply Odeillo , is a commune located in the Pyrenees-Orientales (Languedoc-Roussillon) , near the Spanish border, in the south of France and is one of the most sunny places on the planet. Indeed, with more than 3500 hours of sun per year , it is not surprising that Odeillo houses the world's largest solar oven .
Built between 1962 and 1970 by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the solar oven consists of a field of 63 heliostats placed on the terrace on the slope of a hill that reflects the rays of the sun on a large curved mirror. The latter concentrates a huge amount of sunlight on a circular target of 40 cm in diameter, raising its temperature to 3500°C (see diagram below). This is to concentrate the energy of “ 10,000 suns”. The parabolic mirror itself is built from 10,000 mirrors and covers an area of nearly 2000 square meters.
Operation of the solar odeillo oven – Wikimedia – toony
Flickr – Florian
The solar furnace is used by the National Centre for Scientific Research to study thermal transfer, caloporting systems and high temperature material behaviour. This information is of particular interest to the aerospace industry.
This technology is completely "free" and does not pollute. Thus, on site, you will also learn about cooking in the solar oven (barbecue).
Flickr – David Blaikie
Flickr – JrGMontero
The Odeillo solar oven is similar to that of Parkent, Uzbekistan.
Flickr – Joseph Giral
Where is the Odeillo Solar Four?
It is located near Font-Romeu, in the Pyrenees. To get there, just look on the map:
Did you know the existence of Odeillo’s sunburn in France?
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