Glossary

Solar Trough

By April 11, 2022No Comments

A type of solar thermal collector which is straight in one dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished metal mirror. The sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is focused along the focal line, where objects are positioned which are intended to be heated. In a solar cooker, for example, food is placed at the focal line of a trough, which is cooked when the trough is aimed so the Sun is in its plane of symmetry. For other purposes, a tube containing a fluid runs the length of the trough at its focal line. The sunlight is concentrated on the tube and the fluid heated to a high temperature by the energy of the sunlight. The hot fluid can be piped to a heat engine, which uses the heat energy to drive machinery, or to generate electricity.