The insulation I sort of understand. It's how they temporarily breach the insulation to let out the photons to strike the TPV that I don't understand. With normal heat->electricity conversion, you transfer heat to a turbine via a fluid (i.e. water) that is allowed to contact the exterior of a heated vessel, but in this case you need to somehow open a slot to let the photons radiate out.
Install a hinge on the side of the insulation box, swing it open then swing closed a different section that includes the thermocouples?
Or just slide the insulation down in front of the thermocouples when they aren't needed. I have to assume these things mostly work on radiant heat at those temperatures.
