French scientists have built high in the Pyrenees the world’s largest solar furnace. This amazing furnace, with its complex of nearly 20,000 mirrors, can concentrate enough sunlight to create temperature in excess of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to Time, “Anchored against a reinforced concrete office and laboratory building, the huge concave mirror consists of 8,570 individual reflectors. For the furnace to operate efficiently, these small (18 inches square) mirrors must be precisely adjusted so that light will converge exactly at the parabola’s focal point 59 feet in front of the giant reflector.

“It takes only a minute for the powerful light from the reflector to cut a fiery hole through 3/8-inch-thick steel plate.”