October 30, 2013
By: the BBC columnist
"Mirrors Finally Bring Winter Sun to Rjukan, Norway"
Imagine living in the dark six months out of
the year. The people of Rjukan, Norway have always lived that way. This small
town in Norway lies in a deep valley and during the six months of winter, the
surrounding mountains cast a huge shadow over Rjukan. Finally, the people of
Rjukan can enjoy sunshine in the middle of their town for the first time ever.
This has been made possible by placing giant mirrors on top of the mountains,
which are controlled by computers, to follow the Sun’s coarse throughout the
day and reflect the Sun’s light over the town center. This idea of using
mirrors in Rjukan is not new. Over a hundred years ago, a Norwegian engineer
and industrialist, Sam Eyde, proposed this idea of using mirrors. However, the
technology did not exist to fulfill Eyde’s vision. In 2005, Martin Andersen, an
artist, brought this idea back to the spotlight and eventually accomplished
building these computer controlled mirrors. The people of Rjukan celebrated the
grand opening of these mirrors recently by gathering in the town square to
bathe in the Sun, play beach volleyball, and sing “Let the Sunshine In.” The
shadows have finally been lifted from over this small, picturesque town.
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