A Material That Could Make Solar Power “Dirt Cheap” A new type of solar cell, made from a material that is dramatically cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s commodity solar cells. Although the potential of the material is just starting to be understood, it has caught the attention of the world’s leading solar researchers, and several companies are already working to commercialize it. Researchers developing the technology say that it could lead to solar panels that cost just 10 to 20 cents per watt. Solar panels now typically cost about 75 cents a watt, and the U.S. Department of Energy says 50 cents per watt will allow solar power to compete with fossil fuel. In the past, solar researchers have been divided into two camps in their pursuit of cheaper solar power. The new material may make it possible to get the best of both worlds—solar cells that are highly efficient but also cheap to make. “Between 2009 and 2012 there was only one paper.
"Gravity Waves Existence Confirmed Validating Big Bang Theory"--Center for Astrophysics (VIDEO) “SPECTACULAR REALIZATION,” young physicist named Alan Guth wrote late one night in 1979 across the top of the page drawing a double box around it marking his discovery of what might have made the universe bang to begin with. A possible hitch in the presumed course of cosmic evolution could have infused space itself with a special energy that exerted a repulsive force, causing the universe to balloon faster than the speed of light for a prodigiously violent instant, smoothing out iron out all the wrinkles and irregularities and solving the paradox like why the heavens look uniform from pole to pole. Today, Guth’s realization was contirmed by radio astronomers who reported that they had seen the beginning of the Big Bang, confrming his hypothesis, known as inflation. Guth is currently the Victor Weisskopf Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If corroborated, the New York Times says Dr. Dr. The Daily Galaxy via New York Times and CfA
How it Works | Sheerwind Watch this: Watch 3 actual turbines in action! SheerWind’s INVELOX Wind Delivery is simply a better way to harvest wind energy. Wind is captured at the top of the funnel shaped INVELOX system. The omnidirectional intake area allows wind collection from any directionWind is funneled through the systemWind is concentrated and further accelerated in the Venturi Effect* section of the INVELOX system. This system of capturing, concentrating, accelerating, and harvesting wind power in a funnel is a patented system we call INVELOX™ (for INcreased VELocity). SheerWind’s mission is to provide sustainable, affordable, electrical energy to anyone, anywhere. INVELOX is scalable, equally suitable for use in major wind farms or micro-generation settings. inShare213
Light-beam 'twins' take data farther 27 May 2013Last updated at 02:28 ET Optical fibres carry huge amounts of data for their size, but data appetites grow ever more voracious An idea similar to that of noise-cancelling headphones has proved useful in increasing the data-carrying properties of light. Researchers reporting in Nature Photonics suggest putting not one beam of light down a fibre, but a pair, each a kind of mirror image of the other. When recombined on the receiving end, the noise that the signals gather in the fibre cancels out. These paired beams can travel four times farther than a single one. The team used the technique to send a signal of 400Gb/s - four times faster than the best commercially available speeds - down 12,800km of optical fibre, farther than even the longest trans-oceanic fibre link. What limits the distance a given light signal can go is how much power is in the beam. That adds "noise" to the beam that limits the fidelity with which data can be transmitted. Conjugate visit “Start Quote
How I built an electricity producing wind turbine 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. I found a great piece of property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. No electricity equals no light pollution. One thing I noticed right away about my property is that most of the time, the wind is blowing. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own wind turbine. Since no one seems to be reading the FAQ, I will answer the No. 1 question I get many, many times a day right here up front. Update: Here is a video of the wind turbine in operation. Update: Here is a video of me assembling and setting up the wind turbine on my remote off-grid property. I started the process of designing my wind turbine by Googling for information on home-built wind turbines. .
Researchers Probe Mysteries of Jupiter and Saturn Atmospheres “This is despite our very good theoretical models.” The researchers therefore decided to use cold liquid hydrogen as a sample of the planetary atmosphere. “Liquid hydrogen has a density that corresponds to that of the lower atmosphere of such giant gas planets,” explains Zastrau. The scientists used DESY’s X-ray laser FLASH to heat liquid hydrogen, almost instantaneously, from minus 253 to around 12,000 degrees Celsius and simultaneously observed the properties of the element during the heating process. Hydrogen is the simplest atom of the periodic table, consisting of a single proton in the atomic nucleus, which is orbited by a single electron. “We are carrying out experimental laboratory astrophysics,” explains Zastrau. “The study has revealed the dielectric properties of the liquid hydrogen,” reports co-author Dr. The study requires a great deal of effort, in part because hydrogen does not normally exist in liquid form on earth. The Daily Galaxy via DESY
Funny Looking Tower Generates 600% More Electrical Energy Than Traditional Wind Turbines The Sheerwind wind turbine promises to produce 6 times the electrical power than traditional wind turbines. This funny looking wind tower acts like a funnel, directing the wind from any angle, down through a tube to a ground based turbine generator. The funneling of the wind through a narrow passage effectively creates a “jet effect” increasing the velocity of the wind, while lowering the pressure. This is called the Venturi Effect. As such it can capture and generate electricity at a much lower wind speed than current wind power technologies. The idea is so simple, so elegant, and promises to produce so much more energy at lower cost and more efficiently, that it might just be the answer to many problems with current wind turbine technology. This technology is not really new in the science of fluid dynamics, however this is a new way to generate electricity, and if successful, promises to grow the wind energy in a more eco-friendly way than ever thought possible. via: Sheerwind Comments
Epic Gravitational-Wave Discovery Points to Existence of Multiple Universes (VIDEO) Scientists have theorized that gravitational waves point to the possibility of multipe universes. Gravitational waves have infused space with a special energy that exerts a repulsive force, causing the universe to expand faster than the speed of light for a prodigiously violent instant. The ballooning process smoothed out out he wrinkles and irregularities, solving the paradox of why the heavens look uniform from pole to pole. Professor Linde, one of the authors of inflationary theory and of the theory of an eternal inflationary multiverse told space.com: "It's possible to invent models of inflation that do not allow [a] multiverse, but it's difficult. Every experiment that brings better credence to inflationary theory brings us much closer to hints that the multiverse is real." Alan Guth (see his Newton Lecture video below) is quoted in a press conference saying that "there's still certainly research that needs to be done. The Daily Galaxy via CfA and Stanford University
How Much Can You Save With Solar Panels? Just Ask Google If you’re considering solar power but aren’t quite sure it’s worth the expense, Google wants to point you in the right direction. Tapping its trove of satellite imagery and the latest in artificial intelligence, the company is offering a new online service that will instantly estimate how much you’ll save with a roof full of solar panels. On Monday, the company unveiled Project Sunroof, a tool that calculates your home’s solar power potential using the same high-resolution aerial photos Google Earth uses to map the planet. After creating a 3-D model of your roof, the service estimates how much sun will hit those solar panels during the year and how much money the panels could save you over the next two decades. “People search Google all the time to learn about solar,” says Google’s Joel Conkling. Click to Open Overlay Gallery The service is now available for homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, central California, and the greater Boston area. How Google Parses Your Roof Go Back to Top.
Incredible Technology: How Fleets of 'Flat Landers' Could Explore Other Planets Editor's Note: In this weekly series, SPACE.com explores how technology drives space exploration and discovery. Future space missions may send dozens of rug-like robots fluttering down to the surface of alien worlds, taking much of the risk out of planetary exploration. Researchers are developing flat, blanket-size landers that could be delivered en masse to worlds such as Mars or the Jupiter moon Europa. The approach represents a radical departure from the surface-exploration status quo, which generally launches single-shot, big-ticket landers or rovers that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to design and build. A new type of exploration Hemmati and his team got a $100,000 grant from NIAC last year to develop the "flat lander" concept. The current vision calls for dozens of sensor-loaded sheets — each about 3 feet long by 3 feet wide (1 meter by 1 meter), but less than 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) thick — to be toted to another planet or moon by a mother ship. 0 of 10 questions complete
Solar Panels Cost Guide | Prices and Calculator 8 Differences Between the 1950s and Now History It’s Friday, so a little humor is in order. I recently stumbled across this amusing little article comparing scenarios taking place in the 1950s and now. The list is American-centric, but everyone will enjoy it I am sure. Scenario 1 Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack. 1957: Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack. 2007: School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Scenario 2 Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school. 1957: Crowd gathers. 2007: Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Scenario 3 Scenario: Jeffrey won’t be still in class, disrupts other students. 1957: Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. 2007: Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Scenario 4 2007: Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Scenario 5 Scenario 6 Scenario 7
HOW TO CHART THE SUN’S MOTION IN RELATION TO YOUR HOMESTEAD Learn to track the sun before you design your home to determine the best orientation for it, as well as how to take advantage of the sun rays, because the position is also important for the passive cooling and heating of the house. Understanding the sun’s motion relative to a site is an important aspect of a good permaculture design, as various elements like plants, animals and solar devices depend on sun for their functionality. A good appreciation of the earth’s rotation about its axis, its revolution around the sun and the consequences of these motions on the sun’s position and availability at a given location on the earth’s surface, is essential for maximizing plant productivity, harnessing maximum energy, minimizing energy usage and maintaining a comfortable indoor environment for humans and animals alike. For a given site, if we can create a chart that shows the areas of year round shade and year round sunshine, one can plan and design the various elements for optimal functioning.
NASA Admits They Are Working To Travel Faster Than The Speed Of Light NASA is currently working on the first practical field test toward the possibility of faster than light travel. Traveling faster than light has always been attributed to science fiction, but that all changed when Harold White and his team at NASA started to work on and tweak the Alcubierre Drive. Special relativity may hold true, but to travel faster or at the speed of light we might not need a craft that can travel at that speed. It’s easier to think about if you think in terms of a flat escalator in an airport. What is the Alcubierre Drive? This type of concept was also recently illustrated by Mathematician James Hill and Barry Cox at the University of Adelaide. It was once believed that Einsteins  theory of special relativity means that faster than light travel is just not possible. Special relativity also showed us that the atoms and molecules that make up matter are connected by electromagnetic fields, the same stuff light is made up of. Sources: