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Solar Cells Get Boost
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory have tapped the efficiencies of nanotechnology to double solar cells' potential energy production. The key to the method is the use of lead selenium nanocrystals which can produce 2 electrons where 1 was produced before. Other optical applications can also benefit."
Solar cells harness engergy by absorbing photons, which cause electrons in an atom (which are already there) to move to a higher energy state. This technique moves two electrons per photon, rather than one. The point I am making is simply that electrons are being moved, and not created. That would have amazingly different implications, as that would be creating matter from the energy in a single photon, which would only work with very high energy photons.
This is it folks, this is what we've been waiting for. As it is, solar panels are a pretty marginal energy source for most applications. We've all seen the specially built vehicles that are basicly a big solar panel on wheels (some of us (like me) have even built one). We've all seen the houses with the roof covered in solar panels and they still have to buy all whacky expensive 12v high efficiency appliances and forget about an electric drier. With solar cells like these, solar power just lept from impractical to practical. Make way for the days of solar powered PDAs and cell phones, cars, houses, buses, airplanes, you name it. This is the breakthrough that will lead the way. Unless it flops, of course.
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
If so, it should multiply efficiency. I would love to see multi-band gap using 2-3 times wider percentage of the light to move multiple electrons. You should be able to pull 80%+ efficiency if that is possible.
Someone contribute some understanding on the physics please.
don't forget air conditioning... solar cells are perfect for powering air conditioners because they're generally used the most in sunny weather...
because night is the time we wont get energy
:)
That's what the batteries / capacitors are for...
And if you live in St. Petersburg, Russia, it's far enough north for them to have white nights.
You can use the energy generated to split common water into hydrogen (which you store) and oxygen.
You can later, when it gets dark, use a hydrogen fuel cell. Indirect solar energy. Dense energy
storage.
You do realize that nearly 100% of the energy used on this planet is supplied by the sun, right?
Renewable energy has made phenomenal leaps, but the storage restriction is the crux. Efficiency is great, and is a move in the right direction. What remanins is the development of efficient and economical storage devices. Imagine your car operating for a week on a one hour solar charge stored in a device the size of 4 D sized batteries.
I am me...I think
There's at least one user in California who got on a time-of-day net-metering rate program and installed a bunch of solar panels on his garage roof. His panels are cranking out watts during all of the high-rate hours (afternoon), and he gets credited at the retail rate. At night he charges his electric truck off the grid, and pays for those KWH at the off-peak rate. It's win/win; his panels pay for themselves, and the utility needs less peaking capacity.
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
If we get really lucky, this technology will work well at high light flux and high temperatures (~100 C). This would allow use of concentrating collectors and use of the waste heat for space heat and domestic hot water, multiplying the benefit of the collector and making the whole affair much more economical. Imagine a house that powers its own appliances, stores enough hot water for several days of hot showers and its own heating load, and on sunny days has plenty of juice left over to feed to electric cars. This house would be almost completely independent of fossil fuels and offset fuel use elsewhere, and I'll bet that we could build it now if cost was no object - if we can get 50% or even 40% efficient solar cells at $2/watt working at 100 C, we'll be there.
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
- Vast reduction in cost of electrical power
- reduction in demand for coal products to approx. 5% of current usage due to solar plants supplying grid (excess produced by nuclear);
- immense pressure to develop better batteries for use by cars;
- demand for tech to turn electrical power plus (whatever) ingredients into natural gas (cars powered by methane emit only CO2, not other nasty stuff, plus infrastructure there - existing cars can run on natural gas for $300 conversion kit);
- vast diminishment of political and economic wealth of many arab and persian) nations plus Russia, Venezuela, and some african countries;
- vast reduction in demand for hydro power in Northwest, hydro dams that are not useful for irrigation & flood control are torn down;
- home power kits still possible, but since 50% of cost of off-grid solar-cell electrical is electronics (not the cells), this isn't a major factor for most people;
Feel free to fill in your implications as replies, or refute these...-- Kevin J. Rice
Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
While that makes sense (I'm assuming the cells would augment mains power given the huge power consumption of AC systems), I can't say I've actually heard of anything like this -- and I've been reading up on high-quality, high-efficiency HVAC systems since we're wrapping up the design of a fairly large new house.
Got any names or links?
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
One which never wears out. Compress air up to 300 or more atmospheres. It's much much cheaper to buy a pressure vessel than it is to buy batteries which hold an equivalent amount of energy and far far more efficient than electrolysis. Most useful for stationary purposes, generators etc due to the size and weight of the pressure vessel. (in fact you're using heat to store the energy)
P.S. Battery powered cars have been able to run for 250, 300 miles for a good 7 years or so with a battery life of around 100,000 miles. That's with NiMH batteries. With lithium ion or even better, lithium sulphur batteries they should be able to travel further than a petrol driven car. (Google for Solectria Sunrise and Solectria Force)
P.P.S. why do Americans call petroleum, gas? It's a liquid at ambient temperatures...
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
But energy generation crosses into energy storage. His point was that you could use a hydrogen fuel cell as a way of collecting and storing solar energy while your car is not in use. Most people only drive a few hours per day. The rest of the day their car sits.
:-/
Now there simply isn't enough energy in sunlight to power a car with solar panels. (If there was, we'd all be crispy critters.) But if you can store that energy up over a period of time, you can make your car much more efficient, perhaps even independent of fueling stations.
It's a nice thought anyway. Until you realize that a large portion of the cars get stored in garages.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Here in colorado, a number of mountain homes(outside of vacation spots) have Solar. As these get higher efficiencies AND there costs drop, we will see more and more places swtiching to them.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Too bad there's not a way to generate
;)
electric power from high humidity.
Sure there is. Collect all the condensation on top of a skyscraper and use it to power a turbine down at the bottom of the building