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We keep looking for the perfect solar powered appliances, and keep
finding them in Modern Mechanix. The
Crosley Icyball was close; In 1935 California engineer Otto Mohr
proposed combining an ammonia absorption cycle refrigeration unit (like
the Icyball) with a spherical lens. "Larger solar power units
requiring up to four hours exposure can be used for heating or cooling
entire homes, according to the inventor. A spherical lens catches the
sun’s rays at all hours of the day. This lens gathers the rays, and
changes the light into heat which is transferred to the refrigerating
liquid, usually ammonia. The cooling operation is similar to that of
ordinary gas refrigerators."
This page originally published at:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/solar_powered_r_2.php |