Focal point

02/07/17

“Why is the point that light will hit for a concentrated solar power system so special?”

Concentrated solar power is famous for its use of parabolic cylinders to concentrate solar energy. However, what special physical property gives it its strength? Well, let’s use a little bit of scientific thinking to find out. Since all light rays contain energy, and these solar systems work by absorbing energy from concentrated sunlight, would it not be logical that we would just place the water at the point of maximum sunlight? If we do enough experimentation, then we will find out that this point is where all of the rays will converge! This point has been termed the focal point and is used for a variety of other applications ranging from photography to telescopes.