Archive for the ‘solar power’ category: Page 53
Apr 29, 2022
From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: mobile phones, particle physics, solar power, sustainability
MIT researchers have developed a portable desalination unit, weighing less than 10 kilograms, that can remove particles and salts to generate drinking water.
The suitcase-sized device, which requires less power to operate than a cell phone charger, can also be driven by a small, portable solar panel, which can be purchased online for around $50. It automatically generates drinking water that exceeds World Health Organization quality standards. The technology is packaged into a user-friendly device that runs with the push of one button.
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Apr 27, 2022
Scientists say solar energy tops nuclear for powering crewed missions to Mars
Posted by Gemechu Taye in categories: nuclear energy, solar power, space, sustainability
Apr 27, 2022
Transparent solar panels could replace windows in the future. Here’s how
Posted by Gemechu Taye in categories: solar power, sustainability
Apr 27, 2022
Honeycomb-like nanopatterning boosts efficiency of ultrathin solar panels
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: nanotechnology, solar power, sustainability
Apr 25, 2022
When Will Humanity Become a Type I Civilization?
Posted by Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes in categories: solar power, space, sustainability
Can humanity become a Type I civilization without causing our own Great Filter?
There are several ways we can measure the progress of human civilization. Population growth, the rise and fall of empires, our technological ability to reach for the stars. But one simple measure is to calculate the amount of energy humans use at any given time. As humanity has spread and advanced, our ability to harness energy is one of our most useful skills. If one assumes civilizations on other planets might possess similar skills, the energy consumption of a species is a good rough measure of its technological prowess. This is the idea behind the Kardashev Scale.
Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev proposed the scale in 1964. He categorized civilizations into three types: planetary, stellar, and galactic. A Type I species is able to harness energy on a scale equal to the amount stellar energy that reaches its home planet. Type II species can harness energy on the scale of its home star, and Type III can harness the energy of its home galaxy. The idea was further popularized by Carl Sagan, who suggested a continuous scale of measurement rather than simply three types.
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Apr 25, 2022
German company BayWa r.e. will next month switch to a floating solar power plant it has built on a quarry lake
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: solar power, sustainability
a rapidly-installed, renewable technology it says could help wean the country off fossil fuels https://reut.rs/3JtuG6A
Apr 25, 2022
It contains a specially designed molecule that absorbs solar power
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: solar power, sustainability
Apr 24, 2022
This German firm is building a floating solar plant on a quarry lake
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: solar power, sustainability
Learn More.
World Economic Forum.
It could help the country cut its reliance on Russian oil. The plant will open 24 May.
Continue reading “This German firm is building a floating solar plant on a quarry lake” »
Apr 21, 2022
Reversible fuel cells can support grid economically, study finds
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: chemistry, climatology, solar power, sustainability
A major challenge for producers of electricity from solar panels and wind turbines is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle. Both solar and wind increasingly generate electricity amid little demand, when market prices are too low to cover costs. At noon on sunny days, for example, wholesale power prices in areas with high quantities of solar and wind occasionally fall below zero.
Some renewable energy producers store their excess electricity as green hydrogen, using the electricity to produce hydrogen from water—labeled “green” because the process emits no carbon dioxide. Used to create fuels, fertilizer, and other chemicals, the global hydrogen market is about $125 billion, and it’s growing briskly in part due to increased interest in hydrogen as a fuel for buses, trucks, and even ships. The problem is that producing hydrogen with electricity remains fairly expensive, so it’s only profitable to sell at the higher prices paid by lower-volume customers.
But now, researchers at Stanford University and at the University of Mannheim in Germany have found a possible solution: integrated reversible power-to-gas systems that can easily convert hydrogen back to electricity when power prices spike higher.
