Solar Dreams: a history of solar energy (1878 - 2025)
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16: Unintended Consequences
Enna, Sicily
June 1888
Dr. Klaus Hess wasn't accustomed to unbereable sicilian heat, and he once more toyed with the idea of quitting then and there. Inevitably, he then recalled how far he had advanced since the first meeting with Sebastiani. He read about the advancements made by Mr. Cottrell in England, and suspected without proof that Dr. Mouchot was also developing new techniques at a fast pace in Atacama, and he was confident that he could talk with them as equals. In the span of less than a year, he had developed an array of solar-powered Stirling generators which provided enough electrical power to enlighten an entire mine complex. Ten arrays would transfer - almost literally - sunlight into the kilometric shafts of the mines, and leave more than enough to be stored on a compressed air system that could work for fourteen hours if uncharged (or two days when fully charged). It had been expensive for the Sicilians, but the increase in productivity quickly covered the investment.
Which made him all the more curious when the registered electricity output of his devices was around 10% higher than his estimations and heliographic record reconstructions. Something was off, enough to warrant a visit to the mine. The administrators were all too happy to oblige, paying for the best room in the only hotel in Enna, and sending a carriage to collect him at 9 o'clock. The trip was uneventful, as the coach didn't know German and Klaus was in a contemplative mood. He watched as the fertile landscape slowly turned into a polluted wasteland, something out of Doré's The Divine Comedy. He was wondering if the land would ever recover from such damage, but that thought ended when the coach informed him of their arrival.
There, Andrea Sebastiani and Ennio Passarello awaited him. Both men greeted him with a little more affection than Klaus found comfortable, and praised him for his work.
- Thank you for your kind words. I am proud to see my work in action. - He said in French, a language common to the three men. - However, I must confess I'm puzzled by the efficiencies obtained by the array.
- Oh, that. Well, we have tweaked your system somehow. It gives us that oomph that powers a few more hundred meters in the mines.
- Is that so? How did you manage it?
- That's why you came here, didn't you? Well, maybe you should take a look. - Passarello said, pride in his voice.
The short walk to the small field in which the array was installed filled Klaus with impractical possibilities, such as Fresnel lenses in front of the concentrators, enhanced polishing for the mirrors, and so on.
The reality, was decidedly more mundane: A group of children providing continuous adjustments to the arrays. He had designed elongated parabolic mirrors to retain a high efficiency throughout the day, but it reached its peak when the sun hit it directly. He had also provided each dish with a "sun sight" to update the orientation of it at noon, accounting for seasonal changes. Using children to provide frequent updates to the orientation was a decidedly non Germanic upgraded... but it worked. And the children, although thin, looked almost ecstatic in their work.
It wasn't what he had in mind, but if it helped a few orphaned kids to get honest work and food on their bellies, who was he to object?
The rest of the day was equally eventful. There were talks about building other arrays for a multitude of services, including the public lighting service of a small town. In other circumstances, he would have been more excited about the good news. But his mind kept going back to that simple innovation.
Faiyum, Egypt
... and a damp cloth is enough to keep the window clean from dust and lint. Do it often... especially in this environment! - Tahira instructed the local cotton mill workers. It'd been almost a year since Ibrahim sent her and a few of her colleagues to teach other women how to operate the solar collectors, and she had picked up some skill in her new role. Demonstrating its operation, teaching the principles behind it, answering questions and picking up when someone was distracted during crucial lessons didn't come naturally to her, but in a matter of months she had acquired enough experience to speak confidently and explain with certainty to his audience. It was invariably female, as Egyptian industrialists and upper classes slowly discovered a new source of cheap labour to man the machines of progress.
... the garbs are very important. Just as the shades protect your eyes, these garbs will protect your skin from the reflections and heat from the collectors. And from the gaze of men. - She added in jest, although the joke didn't land on a public that wasn't accustomed to hear women speaking confidently. In Cairo, the question of women working was starting to creep into theological debate. It was mostly an academic debate at this point, for what she'd heard. Imams and Mullahs debated over segregated workplaces were acceptable under Islam. She suspected some of them debated as their donors wanted to debate, for more than one clergyman had changed his views on it faster than genuine intellectual examination would allow. The only one who broke this mold was Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, who vitriolically opposed both women labourers as "worse than whores" and the solar collectors in which they worked as "instruments of western conspirators".
... the gauges indicate pressure and temperature. If the needle goes red, then you have a few moments to manually evacuate the steam buildup using the red crank. Otherwise, the emergency governor will engage and will evacuate all the steam, reducing pressure to zero and forcing you to restart the system. - Tahira watched her class, looking for the familiar pattern. Older women looked with mild shock and some disgust, whereas younger ones looked in awe and, perhaps, admiration.
Innovation during the XIX Century is stereotypically attributed to figures like Edison, Mouchot or Marconi. Like all stereotypes, these often have a grain of truth and a stone of falsehoods. Innovation has its origins in the differential between potential and reality, and is only natural than this differential will eventually be overcome by the many minds that interact with it. Epistolary records from Doctor Klauss Hess show this process in action, where a rudimentary form of suntracking for his Stellors was developed by workers of the sulfur mines. A comparatively minor upgrade during this early age of Solar Energy development, the fortuitous series of events this set in motion would induce several advances that made large-scale solar electrical generation is a source for several counterfactual among Historians. Although outside of the scope of this work, Schönenstein's work on the Sicilian Crisis of 1895 also briefly touches on this subject and its effects on XX Century European relations.
On a less dramatic note, the addition of a protective window to Cottrell's solar collector can be traced back to egypt, presumably made by the women who operated the device as another layer of protection between the scalding pipes and the operator's flesh.
June 1888
Dr. Klaus Hess wasn't accustomed to unbereable sicilian heat, and he once more toyed with the idea of quitting then and there. Inevitably, he then recalled how far he had advanced since the first meeting with Sebastiani. He read about the advancements made by Mr. Cottrell in England, and suspected without proof that Dr. Mouchot was also developing new techniques at a fast pace in Atacama, and he was confident that he could talk with them as equals. In the span of less than a year, he had developed an array of solar-powered Stirling generators which provided enough electrical power to enlighten an entire mine complex. Ten arrays would transfer - almost literally - sunlight into the kilometric shafts of the mines, and leave more than enough to be stored on a compressed air system that could work for fourteen hours if uncharged (or two days when fully charged). It had been expensive for the Sicilians, but the increase in productivity quickly covered the investment.
Which made him all the more curious when the registered electricity output of his devices was around 10% higher than his estimations and heliographic record reconstructions. Something was off, enough to warrant a visit to the mine. The administrators were all too happy to oblige, paying for the best room in the only hotel in Enna, and sending a carriage to collect him at 9 o'clock. The trip was uneventful, as the coach didn't know German and Klaus was in a contemplative mood. He watched as the fertile landscape slowly turned into a polluted wasteland, something out of Doré's The Divine Comedy. He was wondering if the land would ever recover from such damage, but that thought ended when the coach informed him of their arrival.
There, Andrea Sebastiani and Ennio Passarello awaited him. Both men greeted him with a little more affection than Klaus found comfortable, and praised him for his work.
- Thank you for your kind words. I am proud to see my work in action. - He said in French, a language common to the three men. - However, I must confess I'm puzzled by the efficiencies obtained by the array.
- Oh, that. Well, we have tweaked your system somehow. It gives us that oomph that powers a few more hundred meters in the mines.
- Is that so? How did you manage it?
- That's why you came here, didn't you? Well, maybe you should take a look. - Passarello said, pride in his voice.
The short walk to the small field in which the array was installed filled Klaus with impractical possibilities, such as Fresnel lenses in front of the concentrators, enhanced polishing for the mirrors, and so on.
The reality, was decidedly more mundane: A group of children providing continuous adjustments to the arrays. He had designed elongated parabolic mirrors to retain a high efficiency throughout the day, but it reached its peak when the sun hit it directly. He had also provided each dish with a "sun sight" to update the orientation of it at noon, accounting for seasonal changes. Using children to provide frequent updates to the orientation was a decidedly non Germanic upgraded... but it worked. And the children, although thin, looked almost ecstatic in their work.
It wasn't what he had in mind, but if it helped a few orphaned kids to get honest work and food on their bellies, who was he to object?
The rest of the day was equally eventful. There were talks about building other arrays for a multitude of services, including the public lighting service of a small town. In other circumstances, he would have been more excited about the good news. But his mind kept going back to that simple innovation.
Faiyum, Egypt
... and a damp cloth is enough to keep the window clean from dust and lint. Do it often... especially in this environment! - Tahira instructed the local cotton mill workers. It'd been almost a year since Ibrahim sent her and a few of her colleagues to teach other women how to operate the solar collectors, and she had picked up some skill in her new role. Demonstrating its operation, teaching the principles behind it, answering questions and picking up when someone was distracted during crucial lessons didn't come naturally to her, but in a matter of months she had acquired enough experience to speak confidently and explain with certainty to his audience. It was invariably female, as Egyptian industrialists and upper classes slowly discovered a new source of cheap labour to man the machines of progress.
... the garbs are very important. Just as the shades protect your eyes, these garbs will protect your skin from the reflections and heat from the collectors. And from the gaze of men. - She added in jest, although the joke didn't land on a public that wasn't accustomed to hear women speaking confidently. In Cairo, the question of women working was starting to creep into theological debate. It was mostly an academic debate at this point, for what she'd heard. Imams and Mullahs debated over segregated workplaces were acceptable under Islam. She suspected some of them debated as their donors wanted to debate, for more than one clergyman had changed his views on it faster than genuine intellectual examination would allow. The only one who broke this mold was Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, who vitriolically opposed both women labourers as "worse than whores" and the solar collectors in which they worked as "instruments of western conspirators".
... the gauges indicate pressure and temperature. If the needle goes red, then you have a few moments to manually evacuate the steam buildup using the red crank. Otherwise, the emergency governor will engage and will evacuate all the steam, reducing pressure to zero and forcing you to restart the system. - Tahira watched her class, looking for the familiar pattern. Older women looked with mild shock and some disgust, whereas younger ones looked in awe and, perhaps, admiration.
Innovation during the XIX Century is stereotypically attributed to figures like Edison, Mouchot or Marconi. Like all stereotypes, these often have a grain of truth and a stone of falsehoods. Innovation has its origins in the differential between potential and reality, and is only natural than this differential will eventually be overcome by the many minds that interact with it. Epistolary records from Doctor Klauss Hess show this process in action, where a rudimentary form of suntracking for his Stellors was developed by workers of the sulfur mines. A comparatively minor upgrade during this early age of Solar Energy development, the fortuitous series of events this set in motion would induce several advances that made large-scale solar electrical generation is a source for several counterfactual among Historians. Although outside of the scope of this work, Schönenstein's work on the Sicilian Crisis of 1895 also briefly touches on this subject and its effects on XX Century European relations.
On a less dramatic note, the addition of a protective window to Cottrell's solar collector can be traced back to egypt, presumably made by the women who operated the device as another layer of protection between the scalding pipes and the operator's flesh.
I have some designs for Japan, and coming from the most unlikely of places. It will diverge significantly from OTL.
I am not sure of why al-Afghani of all people would be so adamant in opposing solar energy. He was very much in favour of technical progress in general, and likely smart enough to see the potential of this particular invention for Islamic countries. This is also about the time when, in Egypt, Qasim Amin and others started to argue against female seclusion (which, by the way, had always been an upper class thing; Islamic norms never prohibited women working in principle). Now, Amin was not on the same page as the early 'Salafis' such as al-Afghani and his (arguably more significant) mentor, Muhammad Abduh, though they did share a broader intellectual milieu. But 'Salafi' back then meant something completely different from what it does now.
For what I've gathered on my research of Al-Afghani, he'd certainly be considered an apostate by the people influenced by his thought nowadays.
However, he does come off as both a conservative, anti-imperialist and pan-Islamist who had some contempt for non-believers. He'd have reservations with the Copt businessman who's profiting from (muslim) women labour and frequent business with British companies. Reservations that would be mentioned in his teachings, if only in passing.
Now, Al-Afghani is mostly known by the POV character by her interactions with the most extremist of his followers. Followers that watched Al-Afghani talking in passing about the bad example Ibrahim is setting by importing solar boilers instead of building them locally and then manning them with women, and heard "go harrass them. That'll fix things". To her, he is "that guy who speaks badly of us".
So far, I've based most of this story on Jürgen Osterhammel's The Transformation of The World. It's a comprehensive book, but it's not very indepth. Could you recommend sources for studying the Middle East during this period?
The classic work on the topic is Albert Hourani, "Arabic thought in the liberal Age", now somewhat dated but still good. On al-Afghani, I studied on a book by Nikki Keddie whose title escapes me, but that one must have been superseded by more recent scholarship (it contains, however, a translation of al-Afghani's critique of the "neicharis" i.e. the school of Aligarh in India). Other general bibliography I have is mainly in Italian or French.
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Interesting update- child powered moving solar collectors and extra protection for workers in Egypt.
Nice that Solar collection is spreading and rasing funds, and slowly beginning to change things, such as the woman workers in Egypt there.
Has Solar reached Australia or the American SW yet?
Nice that Solar collection is spreading and rasing funds, and slowly beginning to change things, such as the woman workers in Egypt there.
Has Solar reached Australia or the American SW yet?
At this point, only the British Empire (and its subjects) and Chile are making practical use of solar energy. Germany is funding the development of primitive Stirling-solar arrays, but isn't exploiting the technology just yet.
Some solar boilers have been purchased for use in Australia, as it is a part of the British Empire and a place well suited for solar generation.
Other than that, no solar projects of notice just yet. In the US, is being funded by the Cottrell brothers to develop his solar cell further (although this will be a challenge as the theoretical framework for what he discovered isn't there), and John Ericsson has recently died without generating much interest in his work.
Things, of course, will change in the 1890s.
Great to see an example of some of the incremental improvements the common workers can make. Slowly, solar power grows!
Eugh, a dark reminder. I worry what health effects this will have on the workers down the road. Still, one advantage of a solar timeline: Much more incentive to avoid making smog!
Sorry for the lack of progress. I've been caught in some IRL stuff, plus the depressing news coming out from Ukraine have stunned some of my willingness to write.
I am working in the next chapter, which should go up this week.
Take your time. I know how crazy life can be and all that we have to deal with. We’re here for ya.
17: When Helios met Inti
Almonte, Tarapacá
December, 1888
It has been a month or so since Alejandro Puig had returned from his trip to Europe. The workshop of the Franco-Chilena had changed upon his return, and now a brick and mortar research center, three stories tall, dominated the skyline of the town. In time, Almonte would be swallowed by the industry Alejandro and his associates had established. Solar collectors had bloomed around the town, pumping water, heating ovens, driving motive belts for the independent craftmen that provided services to the Franco-Chilena.
One thing remained constant: the summer heat. Alejandro had grown used to the mild temperatures of Europe, and returning to the hot Atacama desert took a while. A couple of experts contracted in France weren't able to cope with it and left after a week.
Those that stayed focused their work first and foremost to produce enough Stirling Coolers to make the facilities liveable. The main workshop and the administrative offices already had an older iteration of the design, but the newer laboratory and the living spaces for the researchers lacked them, as Constantino wasn't technically inclined and desisted in integrating them after damaging one Stirling engine. With his technical forays shattered, Constantino had focused on preparing the company for the arrival of the experts. He had secured a large contract with the Chilean Government for the installation of water heaters on public buildings, ensuring stable income for years to come. It was a shame that his former Captain was on a business trip in Coronel, reporting to Isidora Goyenechea about her investment, Alejandro would've enjoyed a conversation around a glass of the Scottish whisky he had bought as a gift.
Augustin Mouchot wasn't the best drinking partner nowadays, nor was he the best conversationalist. He was too absorbed in his work, too focused on forging a research and development environment that would fullfill his vision. Most of the time he spent with the European expats discussing new ideas, conducting experiments and in general directing his energies towards the materialization of his theories.
Which was why Alejandro was surprised when Mouchot called him to discuss technical issues. Notes and mathematical formulas were splattered across a chalkboard on the room where the frenchman and his researchers were debating a subject.
- Monsieur Alejandro, we'd like to hear your input on a matter. We think we've figured out a few alloys that could reach the temperatures needed to liquify air. But that's only part of the problem.
- Me? How could I be of use among your learned minds? - Puig asked, without sarcasm in his voice. The trip back to Chile had convinced him that he was out of his depth and his contributions to the development of solar technologies were over.
- Oh, cut it, Puig. You've more common sense in your nails than everyone else in this company put together. - Mouchot answered, trying to squash what he saw as insecurity in the Chilean. - We're all here because of your ingenuity during the war, after all. We're having a debate and are exactly tied on the merits of two approaches for cryogenic conservation.
- And those are?
- The first one is the usage of thick ceramic flasks. They could store a large cold mass, enough to retain the cold for temporary storage...
- Huh, Augustin, you don't need to dumb it down for me. I know that cold is the absence of heat, at least. So you're trying to use this flask as a heat buffer? Something that will absorb ambient heat before it reaches the liquid air?
- That's correct. The bigger the mass, the longer it takes to regain thermal equilibrium... - Mouchot answered. - The other approach is to... well, to put a coat over it. Insulate it with cold weather garments to minimize heat loss.
- I take it that the two approaches are incompatible?
- Indeed. There's little point to put a coat over a large mass.
- If I had to make a recommendation, which is all can do among experts on the subjects, is to focus on the garment approach. It makes much more sense to me, as it doesn't need to waste energy cooling a large mass. Isolating it seems a much better approach, as heat should leak more slowly.
The room exploded in arguments, with two sides discussing for and against the approach. Alejandro Puig wasn't sure if that was good or bad. But it felt good to cause a bit of chaos among the newcomers.
The arrival of European experts to Almonte transformed the Compañia Franco-Chilena de Energía Solar. It greatly expanded the amount of projects the company could tackle at one time, and freed Augustin Mouchot from the micromanagement that had retarded the development of some of his ideas. For all his talents, Mouchot wasn't a good administrator and knew it. Once an idea was tested and deemed feasible, he would instruct a small team to further refine it and adapt it for practical uses. Some of those ideas resulted in immediate upgrades to existing systems.
More interestingly, the new talent was able to identify non conventional uses for concentrated solar heat. Experimental focusing optics on solar collectors, able to reduce the focused area ten thousand fold, were discovered to be capable of vaporizing small amounts of steel before heat started melting the surrounding material. Further refinement of this idea would lead to a primitive, but viable, sheet photocutter.
December, 1888
It has been a month or so since Alejandro Puig had returned from his trip to Europe. The workshop of the Franco-Chilena had changed upon his return, and now a brick and mortar research center, three stories tall, dominated the skyline of the town. In time, Almonte would be swallowed by the industry Alejandro and his associates had established. Solar collectors had bloomed around the town, pumping water, heating ovens, driving motive belts for the independent craftmen that provided services to the Franco-Chilena.
One thing remained constant: the summer heat. Alejandro had grown used to the mild temperatures of Europe, and returning to the hot Atacama desert took a while. A couple of experts contracted in France weren't able to cope with it and left after a week.
Those that stayed focused their work first and foremost to produce enough Stirling Coolers to make the facilities liveable. The main workshop and the administrative offices already had an older iteration of the design, but the newer laboratory and the living spaces for the researchers lacked them, as Constantino wasn't technically inclined and desisted in integrating them after damaging one Stirling engine. With his technical forays shattered, Constantino had focused on preparing the company for the arrival of the experts. He had secured a large contract with the Chilean Government for the installation of water heaters on public buildings, ensuring stable income for years to come. It was a shame that his former Captain was on a business trip in Coronel, reporting to Isidora Goyenechea about her investment, Alejandro would've enjoyed a conversation around a glass of the Scottish whisky he had bought as a gift.
Augustin Mouchot wasn't the best drinking partner nowadays, nor was he the best conversationalist. He was too absorbed in his work, too focused on forging a research and development environment that would fullfill his vision. Most of the time he spent with the European expats discussing new ideas, conducting experiments and in general directing his energies towards the materialization of his theories.
Which was why Alejandro was surprised when Mouchot called him to discuss technical issues. Notes and mathematical formulas were splattered across a chalkboard on the room where the frenchman and his researchers were debating a subject.
- Monsieur Alejandro, we'd like to hear your input on a matter. We think we've figured out a few alloys that could reach the temperatures needed to liquify air. But that's only part of the problem.
- Me? How could I be of use among your learned minds? - Puig asked, without sarcasm in his voice. The trip back to Chile had convinced him that he was out of his depth and his contributions to the development of solar technologies were over.
- Oh, cut it, Puig. You've more common sense in your nails than everyone else in this company put together. - Mouchot answered, trying to squash what he saw as insecurity in the Chilean. - We're all here because of your ingenuity during the war, after all. We're having a debate and are exactly tied on the merits of two approaches for cryogenic conservation.
- And those are?
- The first one is the usage of thick ceramic flasks. They could store a large cold mass, enough to retain the cold for temporary storage...
- Huh, Augustin, you don't need to dumb it down for me. I know that cold is the absence of heat, at least. So you're trying to use this flask as a heat buffer? Something that will absorb ambient heat before it reaches the liquid air?
- That's correct. The bigger the mass, the longer it takes to regain thermal equilibrium... - Mouchot answered. - The other approach is to... well, to put a coat over it. Insulate it with cold weather garments to minimize heat loss.
- I take it that the two approaches are incompatible?
- Indeed. There's little point to put a coat over a large mass.
- If I had to make a recommendation, which is all can do among experts on the subjects, is to focus on the garment approach. It makes much more sense to me, as it doesn't need to waste energy cooling a large mass. Isolating it seems a much better approach, as heat should leak more slowly.
The room exploded in arguments, with two sides discussing for and against the approach. Alejandro Puig wasn't sure if that was good or bad. But it felt good to cause a bit of chaos among the newcomers.
The arrival of European experts to Almonte transformed the Compañia Franco-Chilena de Energía Solar. It greatly expanded the amount of projects the company could tackle at one time, and freed Augustin Mouchot from the micromanagement that had retarded the development of some of his ideas. For all his talents, Mouchot wasn't a good administrator and knew it. Once an idea was tested and deemed feasible, he would instruct a small team to further refine it and adapt it for practical uses. Some of those ideas resulted in immediate upgrades to existing systems.
More interestingly, the new talent was able to identify non conventional uses for concentrated solar heat. Experimental focusing optics on solar collectors, able to reduce the focused area ten thousand fold, were discovered to be capable of vaporizing small amounts of steel before heat started melting the surrounding material. Further refinement of this idea would lead to a primitive, but viable, sheet photocutter.
Glad to see this continue!
Sounds like it isn't lasers, but just extremely concentrated sunlight.