Super Soaker Inventor Hopes to Double Solar Efficiency

mattnyc99 writes "With top geeks saying photovoltaic cells are still four years away from costing as much as the grid, and the first U.S. thermal power plant just getting into production, there's plenty of solar hype without any practical solution that's efficient enough. Until Lonnie Johnson came along. The man who invented the Super Soaker water gun turns out to be a nuclear engineer who's developed a solid-state heat engine that converts the sun's heat to electricity at 60-percent efficiency—double the rate of the next most successful solar process. And his innovation, called the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Conversion (JTEC) system, is getting funding from the National Science Foundation, so this is no toy. From the article: 'If it proves feasible, drastically reducing the cost of solar power would only be a start. JTEC could potentially harvest waste heat from internal combustion engines and combustion turbines, perhaps even the human body. And no moving parts means no friction and fewer mechanical failures.'"

Comments

Re:Not sure about this...

[ScrewMaster]

Well, if he's oxidizing his hydrogen, I'd have to say he's all wet.

Nuclear Super Soakers..

[onion2k]

The man who invented the Super Soaker water gun turns out to be a nuclear engineer

Energy efficient photovoltaic cells is fun and all, but clearly he's better qualified to invent nuclear powered Super Soakers.

And I think I speak for all of the geek fraternity when I say we'd prefer them over some poxy solar panels.

Re:Nuclear Super Soakers..

[game kid]

... clearly he's better qualified to invent nuclear powered Super Soakers.

...and to put them in the hands of sexy women wearing only t-shirts and panties! Ah, Super Soaker, you rival x-ray vision in your powers of revealing and fun.

The same guy who invented the Super Soaker?

[Dogtanian]

The upside is that- like the Super Soaker- these panels will be far more efficient than their weedy predecessors.

The downside is that- like the Super Soaker- they'll only be available in eye-searingly garish combinations of purple, red and fluorescent green and yellow.

Re:The same guy who invented the Super Soaker?

[Jmanamj]

And, also like Super Soakers, this will spend all its time outside in the sun, and the colors will thankfully fade -but only on one side.

Anyone spot the danger?

[msgmonkey]

This is probably going to dent my karma, but what the heck:

JTEC could potentially harvest waste heat from internal combustion engines and combustion turbines, perhaps even the human body. With this we can find all the power we need, the plan is to harvest humans, makes the Matrix look almost almost prophetic :)

Re:Hmmm....

[ScrewMaster]

Well, evidently you're not American or you'd understand where I'm coming from, and in any event you've succeeded in demonstrating the validity of my comment.

Wherever you're from, I hope it's raining.

Re:And...

[Neo Quietus]

And as for location, there's no place on earth where the rainfall would possibly exceed the needs of a densely packed urban population, without conservation.

I present to you Seattle, WA.

Re:Second Law of Thermodynamics

[Tmack]

After all, are you going to tell me you can't use waste heat from the ICE to heat up some water?

Generally the waste heat from ice I use cools the water. Im interested in this use of ice to heat it up though ;)

srry, just had to do it

Tm

oozinator anyone?

[jollyreaper]

May his efforts be more wholesome than the supersoaker oozinator. Cuz that's just wrong.

Re:Not sure about this...

[NosTROLLdamus]

Incidentally, I did my Ph.D in solid state thermodynamics some 25 years ago.

Call me when you invent a squirt gun.

Re:not exactly :)

[angus_rg]

He probably deserves some credit. He did more then double the effectiveness of the water pistol.