I was reading about the production of calcium carbide, and that it involves mixing lime and coal in an arc furnace. Is there something unique about arc furnace heating that, say, an induction furnace could not provide?

  • cecilkorik@lemmy.ca
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    9 months ago

    Yes, you could probably use a laser furnace if it was cost-effective at those power levels. But it’s not even close. Arcs are and very practical in almost every sense and ridiculously cheap besides the power they consume. And a laser would consume more.