Pro Tips

[Kiorionis]

I’m sure you all know what pro tips are, if you’re in construction.

This thread is about the small but impactful professional tips you’d give out for free. No pearls. No swine. We’re professionals after all.


Example:

Pro tip, keep your gemstones in a spagyrically refined salt bath overnight, or during the day, or for weeks on end.

Gemstones like moisture too

 

[Jimmy Rig]

I had no idea, but I also do not have any gem stones.
Do they grow?

 

[Kiorionis]

No, they don’t grow. But it seems like they recharge a bit differently than other methods I’ve tried.

I’ve had them sitting in this dish, in the sunlight, and there’s an open window nearby. the Sun dries up the salts during the day and at night the salts take in moisture, and spirit, and the gemstones seem to pick it up as well.

I’m sure you could do it with metal jewelry as well, but the salts might corrode the metal depending on what it is.

 

[Kiorionis]

The second of many rotations.

 

[Phlogiston]

I imagine that Vogel quartz can be treated the same way. It comes to mind that precious stones and quartz could also be recharged with moonlight.

 

[Kiorionis]

Interesting @Phlogiston, this is the first time I’ve heard of Vogel crystals/wands. Interesting that Vogal worked as a research scientist at IBM too.

Sounds like a pretty smart guy too.

He received 32 patents for his inventions up through his tenure at IBM.[2] Among these was the magnetic coating for the 24" hard disk drive systems still in use. His areas of expertise, besides luminescence, were phosphor technology, magnetics and liquid crystal systems.

-wiki source link

Alchemist?

 

[ArgentSeeker]

Howdy, I was doing research on solar concentrators and this may be relevant to your interests:

https://www.cell.com/device/fulltext/S2666-9986(24)00235-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666998624002357%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

🔹 Simple Practical Summary​

• The problem: Many industries (cement, steel, chemicals) need heat above 1,000 °C. Today this mostly comes from burning fossil fuels, which drives a large share of global emissions. Solar energy can, in theory, provide this heat using concentrated sunlight—but efficiency drops at high temperatures because hot surfaces lose a lot of energy by re-radiating infrared light.
• The solution: The researchers use something called the thermal trap effect.
  • Certain semi-transparent materials (like quartz or water) let visible solar light pass through easily but absorb infrared radiation (the heat that hot surfaces give off).
  • This means the heat gets “trapped” inside the material: the absorber can get extremely hot, but the outside surface stays much cooler, reducing losses.
• Their experiment:
  • They exposed a quartz rod (30 cm long, 7.4 cm diameter) to concentrated sunlight (135 suns equivalent, ~520 W input).
  • One end of the quartz touched a silicon carbide absorber disk.
  • The absorber reached 1,050 °C, while the quartz surface exposed to the air stayed at only ~450 °C — proving the “thermal trap” effect at industrially relevant temperatures.
• Why this matters:
  • A solar receiver designed with this method needs lower solar concentration (fewer/lighter mirrors, cheaper system) to reach the same temperatures.
  • Alternatively, at the same solar concentration, it can reach higher efficiency.
  • This makes concentrated solar heat more practical for industries like cement, steel, and solar fuels.

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🔹 Steps to Replicate Independently​

1. Materials & Equipment​

• Quartz rod: Synthetic quartz (Heraeus Suprasil CG or equivalent), ~300 mm length, 74 mm diameter.
• Absorber disk: Opaque, high-temperature material such as silicon carbide (SiC).
• Concentrated solar source:
  • Either a solar simulator (like ETH Zurich’s high-flux xenon arc system), or a field of heliostats/fresnel lenses focusing sunlight.
  • Must provide ~135 “suns” concentration (~135 kW/m² over the rod face).
• Insulation & coatings: Platinum-coated quartz sidewalls, plus thermal insulation around the rod.
• Measurement tools:
  • High-temperature thermocouples (inserted in drilled holes in the quartz and absorber).
  • CCD camera and water calorimeter for measuring incoming radiation.

2. Setup​

• Position quartz rod horizontally.
• Expose one end face of the rod to the concentrated light beam.
• The opposite end should be in firm contact with the absorber disk.
• Cover rod sides with platinum (specular coating) + insulation to reduce boundary effects.

3. Operation​

• Start with concentrated solar input at ~520 W across the quartz face (equivalent to 135 suns).
• Run experiment under stagnation conditions (no heat removal, just heating until steady state).
• Measure temperatures at multiple rod depths and the absorber.

4. Expected Results​

• Absorber temperature stabilizes around 1,050 °C.
• Quartz surface exposed to light remains much cooler (~450 °C).
• Confirms thermal trap effect: bulk hotter than the outside surface.

5. Modeling & Analysis​

• Use a 3D numerical heat-transfer model to simulate conduction + radiation inside quartz.
• Validate model with measured data.
• Explore optimization (e.g., quartz thickness, concentration ratio, coatings).

6. Scaling for Industry​

• Apply the principle to a solar receiver design:
  • Shield absorber with semi-transparent quartz (or another suitable material).
  • Transfer heat to a working fluid (e.g., air, molten salt, CO₂).
• This setup could reduce the need for very high solar concentration, lowering costs.

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✅ Bottom line: To replicate, you’d need a concentrated solar source (heliostats or simulator), a quartz rod, a SiC absorber, good insulation, and high-temp sensors. By recreating the setup, you can prove that thermal trapping cuts energy losses and enables solar-driven processes above 1,000 °C.

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🔹 DIY Thermal Trap Demonstration​

1. Simplified Materials​

• Semi-transparent material:
  • Best: Fused quartz rod (small piece, 2–5 cm diameter × 10–15 cm long). Available online (scientific suppliers, eBay, fused silica shops).
  • Low-cost substitute: Clear glass or acrylic rod — won’t survive 1,000 °C, but can show the principle at lower temps (~200–300 °C).
• Absorber plate/disk:
  • Black ceramic tile, cast-iron plate, or high-temp BBQ briquette.
  • Paint with high-temp black paint (stove paint) to maximize absorption.
• Concentrator:
  • Fresnel lens from an old rear-projection TV, or
  • Cheap parabolic solar cooker dish.
• Insulation(optional but helpful):
  • Ceramic fiber blanket, or DIY with bricks to block airflow around the setup.
• Sensors:
  • K-type thermocouples (cheap, ~USD $10 for a pack).
  • Arduino or handheld thermocouple reader.
  • IR thermometer (optional backup).

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2. Setup​

1. Place absorber disk/plate at one end of quartz/glass rod.
2. Expose the other end of the rod to concentrated sunlight from the Fresnel lens or solar cooker.
3. Fix thermocouples:
   • One near the absorber (end of rod in contact).
   • One on the exposed surface.
   • Optional: drill a shallow hole in the rod or tape sensors along the side.
4. Surround sides with insulation (not strictly necessary for DIY demo but improves effect).

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3. Operation​

• On a clear sunny day, align Fresnel lens or solar cooker to focus onto the rod face.
• Adjust until rod begins to glow (for quartz) or until the absorber heats rapidly.
• Monitor temps:
  • Absorber end should be much hotter than the exposed surface.
  • With glass/acrylic: you may only reach a few hundred °C before the material degrades.
  • With quartz: you could see red-glow >700 °C under good sunlight.

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4. Expected Demonstration Result​

• The absorber end heats far hotter than the rod’s exposed face.
• You visibly see: absorber glowing → while front surface is cooler (you can even touch near it briefly in glass versions).
• This proves the thermal trap effect: heat is “caught” inside, not lost quickly from the surface.

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5. Safety​

• Wear UV/IR protective glasses when using Fresnel lenses or solar cookers.
• Do not touch quartz or absorber when glowing — temps >500 °C burn instantly.
• Keep flammables away from concentrated light focus.

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🔹 DIY Build Steps (Condensed)​

1. Get Fresnel lens (from old projection TV) or solar cooker dish.
2. Buy small quartz or glass rod (10–15 cm long).
3. Place absorber (black ceramic/metal) at one end of rod.
4. Focus sunlight on opposite rod face.
5. Measure absorber temp vs. surface temp with thermocouples.
6. Document difference → proves thermal trap effect.

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✅ This won’t reach the ETH Zurich level of 1,050 °C, but even hitting 300–600 °C with cheap parts demonstrates the same principle: the bulk (absorber end) is hotter than the surface, showing reduced radiative losses.

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[Phlogiston]

@ArgentSeeker Thank you so much!!