Town In Norway Uses Three Mirrors To Get Sunlight indiatimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from indiatimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
destillat/iStock via Getty Images
During the winter months, residents of Rjukan, Norway, can walk through the town’s market square and feel sunlight on their faces. This wouldn’t be noteworthy in most places, but in this part of the world, it’s miraculous. Rjukan is nestled in a mountain range that blocks the low, Arctic sun from late September through mid-March, and the only way for bright, natural light to reach the valley is through a system of giant mirrors.
For the first century of its history, Rjukan spent half the year in dreary dimness. Norway sits just below the Arctic Circle, and at such high latitudes, the sun appears to hug the horizon for the duration of the short, winter days. But that wasn’t the only problem keeping Rjukan in the shade. Norwegian engineer Sam Eyde founded the town in the Vestfjord valley in the early 20th century to accommodate workers at his new hydroelectric power plant. The location was conveniently close to the Rjukanfossen waterfall th