Princeton’s nanomesh nearly triples solar cell efficiency. There is huge potential in solar power. The sun is a giant ball of burning hydrogen in the sky, and it’s going to be sticking around for at least a few more billion years. For all intents and purposes, it’s a free source of energy. Sadly, humanity hasn’t been very good at harnessing its power directly. Our current methods of capturing the sun’s energy are very inefficient. For example, modern silicon and indium-tin-oxide-based solar cells are approaching the theoretical limit of 33.7% efficiency. Led by Stephen Chou, the team has made two dramatic improvements: reducing reflectivity, and more effectively capturing the light that isn’t reflected. PlaCSH is also capable of capturing a large amount of sunlight even when the sunlight is dispersed on cloudy days, which results in an amazing 81% increase in efficiency under indirect lighting conditions when compared to conventional organic solar cell technology.
The gold mesh that sits on top is incredibly small. Top 10 Solar-Powered Gadgets for Green Tech Lovers. Here are 10 of the coolest, weirdest, and most practical eco-friendly solar powered gizmos.
“Every Day Is Earth Day” So we don’t need any special reason to use these gadgets. 1. Logitech Solar Keyboard A solar-powered keyboard might sound counterintuitive, since you’re most likely to use it indoors, but this peripheral is sensitive enough to pick up charge from a lamp. The PVC-free case of the $80 Logitech Solar Wireless Keyboard 750 measures 0.33 inch thick. 2.
If you’re riding around outdoors anyway, why not charge your bike light from the sun and forget the disposable batteries? 3. The $250 Voltaic solar backpack includes a pair of 2-watt, detachable solar panels that can output up to 12 volts. 4. Brunton makes rugged solar chargers for smartphones, digital cameras, and other handheld devices. 5. Packing up to 15 watts in its included battery pack, the $499 Voltaic Generator can juice a laptop for roughly 5 hours. 6. 8. 3D solar panels can produce 20 times more energy than flat panels. We see the trend in 3D technology everywhere: Movie theaters, home theaters, game consoles, 3D printers.
But researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently discovered that creating a 3D-inspired solar panel not only help to keep up with the trends, it could draw in 20 times more energy than flat panel designs. Traditional solar panels lay flat on a surface or rooftop, facing the sun to collect energy. MIT researchers decided to change the shape of solar panels, conducting experiments with a cube, tall cube, and tower-shaped panels to see which design brought in more energy.
Compared to flat panels, all three 3D panels created impressive results and outproduced traditional panels, with the accordion-style tower drawing in 20 times more power per square foot. Harnessing nature’s solar cells. Within a few years, people in remote villages in the developing world may be able to make their own solar panels, at low cost, using otherwise worthless agricultural waste as their raw material.
That’s the vision of MIT researcher Andreas Mershin, whose work appears this week in the open-access journal Scientific Reports. The work is an extension of a project begun eight years ago by Shuguang Zhang, a principal research scientist and associate director at MIT’s Center for Biomedical Engineering. Zhang was senior author of the new paper along with Michael Graetzel of Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. In his original work, Zhang was able to enlist a complex of molecules known as photosystem-I (PS-I), the tiny structures within plant cells that carry out photosynthesis. But that early system had some drawbacks. How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel.
Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona.
I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. In my attempt to escape city slicker yuppies (you know the kind, the ones that like to blab loudly on their cell phone while they work on some business administration degree in a cyber cafe somewhere in Trendyland.) and their light pollution, I found a great piece of remote property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available.
How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel. Your Complete Guide to Solar Energy. DIY Solar Still. How To Make Your Own Distilled Water Make your own distilled water from stream or lake water, salt water, or even brackish, dirty water, using these DIY Solar Still Plans.
With just a few basic building materials, a sheet of glass and some sunshine, you can purify your own water at no cost and with minimal effort. Distilled water is not just for drinking, and it’s always worth keeping a few gallons of it on hand. Clean water free of chemicals and minerals has a number of valuable uses: • Always refill the lead-acid batteries used for solar energy systems or automobiles with distilled water • Water delicate plants like orchids with distilled water; minerals and additives like fluoride or chlorine that are present in most tap water can harm plants • Distilled water mixed with antifreeze is recommended for car radiators, as it’s less corrosive • Steam irons become clogged with mineral deposits unless you use distilled water How to Make a Solar Still The operation of the distiller is simple. 1.
SunCube Solar Appliance.