A rotating furnace is a device for making solid objects which have concave surfaces that are segments of axially symmetrical paraboloids. Usually, the objects are made of glass. The furnace makes use of the fact, which was known already to Newton, that the centrifugal-force-induced shape of the top surface of a spinning liquid is a concave paraboloid, identical to the shape of a reflecting telescope's primary focusing mirror.
They can be used in various ways, including (after being silvered) as primary mirrors in reflecting telescopes; they have also been used for solar cookers.
Read more about Rotating Furnace: Design, Mathemetical Model, Uses
Famous quotes containing the word furnace:
“A sumptuous dwelling the rich man hath.
And dainty is his repast;
But remember that luxury’s prodigal hand
Keeps the furnace of toil in blast.”
—Mary Elizabeth Hewitt (b.1818)