Pyreliophorus on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Pyreliophorus was a device similar to a
GB190116181
or in the American with the patent applicatio
US797891
File:Pyreliophorus 01.jpg
File:Pyreliophorus 02.jpg
File:Pyreliophorus 03.jpg
The Pyreliophorus was a device similar to a burning glass
A burning glass or burning lens is a large convex lens that can concentrate the Sun's rays onto a small area, heating up the area and thus resulting in ignition of the exposed surface. Burning mirrors achieve a similar effect by using reflecting ...
, created by the Portuguese priest Manuel António Gomes
Manuel António Gomes (9 December 1868 – 21 December 1933) was a Portuguese Catholic priest, inventor and physicist. He was a very tall man, and was nicknamed ''Father Himalaya'' (in Portuguese: ''Padre Himalaya''), a name he proudly used freque ...
, also known as ''padre Himalaya'', whose objective was to melt many different types of materials using solar energy. The device used several reflecting mirror
A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...
s to concentrate the sunlight into a common point. With this device, it was possible to reach a temperature of around 3500 °C, enough to melt many types of metals and rocks. Unlike a common burning glass, the Pyreliophorus uses a concentric parabolic array of mirrors to concentrate the sun light into a common point, instead of a lens. The device uses a clock system that makes the mirror array concentric axis to rotate along the sun alignment.
This device was one of the main attractions on the Saint Louis World's Fair in 1904, and it was awarded with two gold medals and with one silver medal. Himalaya protected his Pyreliophorus using the patent system in many jurisdictions, including the British one on the patent application numbeGB190116181
or in the American with the patent applicatio
US797891
Gallery
Some figures of the Himalaya's British patent applicationSee also
*Burning glass
A burning glass or burning lens is a large convex lens that can concentrate the Sun's rays onto a small area, heating up the area and thus resulting in ignition of the exposed surface. Burning mirrors achieve a similar effect by using reflecting ...
References
Portuguese inventions {{Renewable-energy-stub