What is Heliostat? And where it Used?
What is Heliostat? And where it Used?


What is Heliostat? And where it Used?

 

A heliostat may be a device that has a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so on to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions within the sky. The target could also be an object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space. To try to do this, the reflective surface of the mirror is kept perpendicular to the bisector of the angle between the directions of the sun and therefore the target as seen from the mirror. In almost every case, the target is stationary relative to the heliostat, therefore the light is reflected during a fixed direction.

 

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Where to Heliostat is used

 

Nowadays, most heliostats are used for daylighting or for the assembly of concentrated solar energy, usually to get electricity. They're also sometimes utilized in solar cooking. A couple of are used experimentally to reflect motionless beams of sunlight into solar telescopes. Before the supply of lasers and other electric lights, heliostats were widely wont to produce intense, stationary beams of sunshine for scientific and other purposes.

 

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How to Control Heliostat

 

Most modern heliostats are controlled by computers. The PC is given the latitude and longitude of the heliostat's position on the world and therefore the time and date. From these, using Astronomical Theory, it calculates the direction of the sun as seen from the mirror, e.g., its compass bearing and angle of elevation. Then, given the direction of the target, the PC calculates the direction of the specified angle-bisector and sends control signals to motors, often stepper motors, in order that they turn the mirror to the right alignment. This sequence of operations is repeated frequently to stay the mirror properly oriented.