OCR Text |
Show Thursday, September 20, 1936 San Juan Record toweMiliiiy I N top of the Kennecott Research Center in Salt Lake City is a device called a solar furnace. It reaches 93 million miles to the sun for its power. Constructed by Research Center personnel, the furnace is comparatively simple in design. It operates on a principle similar to starting a fire with a magnifying glass. The furnace consists of three huge mirrors that reflect the suns rays and focus them to a desired point. The result is temperatures higher than 5000 degrees Fahrenheit. Such intense heat will melt fire brick like butter-- it will melt aluminum oxide, the basic material of rubies and sapphires. Kennecott scientists use the solar furnace as an experimental research tool to determine the ' properties of metals. It can be particularly valuable in helping produce ultra pure metals, because it will operate even in a vacuum. Like many research projects, the work being done with the solar furnace may not produce immediate results. But it can be important to the future. It can provide the answer to the quest for metals capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures. And that is vital to Americas strength in this jet age. Coppers power line to the sun is part of broad program of research aimed at good conservation the greatest possible utilization of the ore at the Bingham Mine. Research can mean a longer life for Kennecotts operations in our state and a correspondingly longer life for the benefits of those operations that help produce prosperity for Utah. Mennecott Cbppar Corporation A Good Neighbor Helping to Build a Better Utah 7 Ken-necot- ts PAGE 5 |