Chen Hao's hand was still gripping the water outlet; the water flowed continuously, its temperature unchanged. He stared intently at the trickle of water, his eyes unblinking. The sunlight shone on the metal sheet, so bright it was blinding, but he didn't look away.
Just a moment ago, a spot of light swept across a piece of discarded metal, and the reflected light shone directly onto the back of the pipe that was previously hidden by a support. That spot was originally in shadow, but for that instant, it became bright.
He let go, slowly squatted down, tilted his head, and looked at the reflective piece of scrap metal. It lay diagonally next to a pile of junk, its edges curled and its surface pitted, but it had indeed "thrown" the sunlight into a place it shouldn't have.
“Nana,” he suddenly said.
"I am here."
Did you see that just now?
"What do you see?"
"That reflection hit the pipe behind it."
"The observation record exists."
Did it make that tube light up for a moment?
"Yes. The local light intensity increased by 237 percent temporarily."
Chen Hao didn't move, his head lower and lower, as if he were counting the gray specks on the ground. After a few seconds, he suddenly looked up, his eyes brightening.
"We've always been thinking about how to make the plate absorb more heat, right?"
"Correct. Optimizing the angle, slowing down the flow rate, and lengthening the path all contribute to improving heat absorption efficiency."
"But didn't we ever think of bringing light from other places?"
Nana slightly turned her optical mirror and looked at him.
"You mean, using reflective surfaces to enhance localized light reception?"
"Right! We can use the mirror to 'send' some light over areas that wouldn't normally be visible. Doesn't that mean we have half a heating plate?"
“It’s theoretically feasible.” Nana pulled up the data. “Small reflective arrays can increase the irradiance density of the target area without increasing the heat collection area. In historical cases, desert rescue teams have used emergency blankets to reflect sunlight, which has accelerated the heating of solar cookers by 40%.”
"That means it can work!" Chen Hao slapped his thigh and stood up. "We don't have a professional mirror, but we have scrap metal! As long as we polish it to a brighter shine, it'll reflect light, right?"
“The problem lies in the material’s reflectivity.” Nana scanned the surrounding pile of waste. “Currently available metals are mostly carbon steel or aluminum alloy scraps, which are severely oxidized and mainly reflect diffusely, with poor directional reflection.”
"Then polish it! Polish it until it's shiny!"
He finished speaking and left, heading straight for the scrap bin in the back corner of the tool shed. The bin was askew, the lid was long gone, and it was stuffed full of scraps from dismantled spaceships. He rummaged through it a few times, then his fingers suddenly stopped.
Pull out a thin, palm-sized silver plate.
"This thing looks different."
"Identification: The interior decorative panel of the spacecraft is made of polished aluminum-magnesium alloy, with an original reflectivity of over 85%."
"Although it's a bit dirty now, it's in good condition." Chen Hao wiped it with his sleeve, then held it up to the sun, and a blinding spot of light immediately shot out, hitting the water tank on the other side of the roof.
"Haha! That's it!"
He picked up the box and walked back, stumbling and nearly tripping over himself. Back at the device, he spread several similar fragments on the ground and picked out the three flattest ones.
"Try this one first."
He squatted down, grabbed a piece of gravel, dipped it in water, and began rubbing it back and forth on the metal surface. His movements were clumsy, but he used a lot of force. Before long, his palms began to burn, and his knuckles turned red.
"Take it easy," Nana said. "Frictional heat can cause the material to deform."
"It's okay, I'm thick-skinned."
He continued grinding, stroke after stroke. Water mixed with metal powder, turning into mortar that dripped down the edges. Ten minutes passed, and the metal surface gradually became shiny, like an old mirror that had been cleaned.
"It's taking shape." Nana moved closer to observe. "Its reflectivity has recovered to about 60%, making it worth testing."
"Let's install it and see."
Nana used a robotic arm to grip the edge and secure it to the side of the bracket, angled slightly upwards. The midday sun shone obliquely, and the light spot fell precisely on the section of the cold pipe that had been previously blocked.
The pipe wall has darkened in color.
"Surface temperature is rising," Nana reported. "From 31 degrees to 39 degrees, and it continues to climb."
"It works!" Chen Hao grinned. "Two more pieces! Gather them all up!"
He started grinding the second piece, faster than before. His hands were hurting more and more, but he didn't stop. By the third piece, blood seeped from under his fingernails and mixed into the mortar, but he just shook his hand and kept working.
Two hours later, all three polished reflectors were installed. They fanned out around the main heating element, like a group of little sun guards, concentrating the scattered light onto the coldest area.
"Adjustment complete." Nana fine-tuned the angle of the last piece. "Simulation shows that the light received per unit time in the target segment has increased by 52%."
"Try turning on the water."
They restarted the system. Water flowed slowly into the first section of the pipe, through an S-shaped bend, and arrived at the core area surrounded by mirrors.
The sun is shining brightly.
Ten minutes later, Nana's voice rang out: "Outlet water temperature, 38.5 degrees Celsius."
Chen Hao stared at the thermometer, slowing his breathing.
Fifteen minutes later, the temperature reached 40.2 degrees Celsius.
Twenty minutes, 42.1 degrees Celsius, stable output.
He reached out and caught the water.
The hot water was poured onto his palm, making him flinch, but he immediately pulled it back.
“It’s…it’s really true,” he murmured.
The next second, he jumped up, spun around in place, and almost fell off the roof.
"I did it! I really did it!" he shouted. "We're geniuses! Do you understand? Geniuses!"
Nana stood still, the optical mirror flickering slightly.
"Currently, the thermal efficiency has increased by 58%, reaching the standard for comfortable bathing."
"Hahaha! Did you hear that? That feels good!" Chen Hao waved at her. "You used to say I was lazy, and I didn't argue. You said I was fat, and I accepted that too. But today, I proved it—I can not only live, but I can live with dignity!"
"It is recommended to record the parameters of this improvement for easy replication in the future."
"Of course I'll write it down!" He pulled out his small notebook, his pen pausing briefly. "What title should I write?"
"Reflection-enhanced solar-assisted heating system".
"Too long." He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then drew a wavy line on the paper and wrote three words:
"Project Chasing the Light"
After finishing writing, he closed the notebook, plopped down on the wooden ladder, and laughed while panting.
"If we had thought of this earlier, wouldn't we have saved three days?"
"Unable to backtrack and verify".
“I knew you’d say that.” He waved his hand. “But it’s okay, it’s not too late. We have hot water, we can take a bath, life is finally back.”
He looked up at the sky; the sun was still overhead, its light bathing the rooftops.
"Next, I'd like to paint the bathroom walls white. Then I'll put up a curtain to block the outside. What do you think?"
"The existing lime coating can meet the basic coverage requirements."
"Let's do it!" He slapped his knee and stood up. "Once I've mass-produced these mirrors, there will be more hot water, longer shower times, and by the way—"
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly stared at a piece of scrap metal he had just picked up on the ground.
The sunlight shone on it, and the reflected light spot flickered, landing precisely on the sensor on Nana's chest.
She tilted her head slightly.
Chen Hao's eyes lit up again as he looked at the moving point of light.
"etc……"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com