Leonardo da Vinci designed a solar furnace to concentrate sunlight for heating. His drawings show arrays of mirrors arranged to focus solar rays onto a central point or work area.
The concept belonged to Leonardo’s wider investigations of optics, mirrors, heat, and industrial machinery. Concentrating sunlight could theoretically produce temperatures high enough for tasks such as melting materials, although the practical performance would depend on mirror quality, alignment, and weather.
Leonardo’s design was not a modern solar furnace in the engineering sense, and there is no reliable evidence that he built a working version. Earlier thinkers, including Archimedes in ancient accounts, were also associated with the idea of using focused sunlight, though those stories remain debated.
A solar furnace differs from a solar panel: it concentrates radiant energy as heat rather than converting sunlight directly into electricity.