Giant mirrors will brighten up a shadowy Norwegian town

From where I'm sitting, the weather has reached the point where wool socks and sweaters are making a regular appearance. So I can only imagine what it's like to live in Rjukan, Norway, a small town that's surrounded by mountains and void of direct sunlight six months of the year.

Fortunately, the town is good at finding creative ways to soak in some sun. In 1928 it was a cable car built to take residents to the top of a nearby mountain. Now it's three giant mirrors on top of the mountain that use sensors to follow the path of the sun and reflect in back into a 6,500 square foot section of the city center. Check out the ingenuity in this video from Reuters:

As the head of the town's tourist office tells The Telegraph: "We think it will mean more activities in town, especially in autumn and wintertime. People will be out more."

And that has to be good news for the local economy.

[h/t NPR]

Photo: Flickr/ldrose

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com