One day, an answer will be forthcoming for base load power potential from the sun, as the following video shows the enormous power in the form of sunlight.
"While many teenagers are content to sit at home playing computer games, this one has set his sights on something a little more ambitious.
Eric Jacqmain, from Indiana in the US, covered an ordinary fiberglass satellite dish with 5,800 tiny mirror tiles - and made his very own 'death ray'. When aligned correctly it can generate a heat spot a couple of centimetres across, with an intensity of 5,000 shining suns, the 19-year-old claims.
The inventor then posted video of his invention on YouTube, with people commenting in awe of the power of the dish. The ray generates enough power to melt steel, vaporize aluminum, boil concrete, turn dirt into lava, and obliterate any organic material in an instant. It stands at 5ft 9ins and measures just 42 inches across. "I have vaporized carbon before, which occurs above 6,500 Fahrenheit."
Putting it into context, just the tiny fraction of the Sun's energy that hits the Earth (around a hundredth of a millionth of a percent) is enough to meet all our power needs many times over. In fact, every minute, enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for a whole year - if only we could harness it properly."
