Uzbekistan’s Mighty Solar Furnace
Approaching the so-called ‘Institute of the Sun’ often feels like walking into the lair of a James Bond villain, or some top-secret military installation you’re not supposed to know about. In reality, this ‘Heliocomplex’ is Uzbekistan’s intriguingly strange Solar Furnace.
Situated just outside the capital, Tashkent, near the town of Parkent on top of a hill, presumably to fend against shadows, this enormous concrete monolith is a legacy of Soviet days. The Cold War brought innovation across the world, as the Soviet Union raced the United States to make new scientific breakthroughs and discover new sources of energy – both for weapons, and scientific enquiry.
This, is one of the strangest children of that era.
History of the Institute of the Sun Institute of Uzbekistan
The birth of the project occurred amidst the pandemonium of the Second World War. 1943 saw open warfare dominate both the Soviet Union’s eastern, and western borders. However, nestled amidst the mountains of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, Tashkent’s Physicotechnical Institute was born.
The site grew over the decades, becoming a centre for cosmic ray research, with a general focus on nuclear physics. However, the 1980s saw a major policy development at the institute as they began to look into alternate energy sources – focusing on the idea of renewable energy from the sun.
Construction on the Solar Furnace took 5 years, between 1981 and 1986, during which time, an enormous parabolic concrete screen was constructed, covered with 10,700 mirrors, spread over a surface covering 1,849 square metres.
In 1987, the Solar Furnace was finally commissioned. The power generated from the reflected light is estimated at around 1MW, and can be used to create many different environments inside the testing chamber.
Over the years, the USSR’s top secret military aircraft and some of its experimental spacecraft have been tested at the site, creating an incredible legacy known to very few.
Over the years, the facility has been used for many different purposes, however, the project almost collapsed in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union. It was rejuvenated in 1993 as the ‘Institute of Material Sciences and is home to over 160 scientists working on testing ceramics, new experimental materials, and conducting high temperature experiments.
Visiting the Heliopolygon
During a trip to Tashkent, a visit to this crazy communist science experiment is an absolute must for the intrepid traveller.
Many companies claim to visit illegally, however our partners in the country have contacts in the institute and can usually get us to the site in time to view an experiment, and learn from the local scientists about the history of the site and the work they do there to there to this day.
Join our adventures to Uzbekistan to find out more about what to do and see around Uzbekistan!
