Solar is booming, as it should. Third generation solar cells are seeingUnghii Acril, organic solar is breaking records, and the solar power bikini is the latest rage. But don’t count plain old silicon out of the game just yet. Munir Nayfeh (pictured), a physicist at the University of Illinois, has developed a process that harnesses more out of a sunny day in the sand.

“Integrating a high-quality film of silicon nanoparticles 1 nanometer in size directly onto silicon solar cells improves power performance by 60 percent in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum.” Says Nayfeh.

Furthermore, it was found that particles of 2.8 nanometers show an enhancement of around 67 percent in the ultraviolet range, and 10 percent in the visible spectrum. The improved performance highlights the importance of charge transport assisted by the nanostructured design created by the film of silicon nanoparticles.

The researchers have patented the process for creating the silicon nanoparticles. To add the nanoparticles to the solar cell it is a simple process of dispersal in isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and pouring the solution on the raw solar cell. As the alcohol evaporates the nanoparticles self-assemble into a functional thin film. The process is so simple, it should be easy to incorporate into current manufacturing. Knowing the substance and size should give researchers a head start in determining the potential hazards of this type of coating in the environment. At any rate-this innovation should add a bit more juice to the solar powered bikini. Photo Credit to L. Brian Stauffer

source:here

In the Enertia® Building System, solid Energy-Engineered(tm) wood walls replace siding, framing, insulation, and paneling. An air flow and access channel, or Envelope, runs around the building, just inside the walls - creating a miniature biosphere. Here solar heated air circulates, pumping and boosting geothermal energy from beneath the house, storing it in the massive wood walls. Thermal inertia causes the house to “float” between the cycles of night and day, and even between the seasons.

Many aspects of the Enertia® House are unusual and innovative - but backed up by science, common-sense, and prototype homes across America. In fact, each aspect listed below increases the energy efficiency of the building. The effect is Synergistic - equal to more than the sum of the parts. The Enertia® House can make more energy than it uses!

SOLID WOOD

In 1981 the National Institute of Standards and Technology constructed six test buildings in Gaithersburg, Maryland and tested them for energy efficiency. Much to their surprise, Building 5, with walls made of solid wood, was the most energy efficient. This was attributed to “thermal inertia,” a phenomenon where the solid wood walls stored energy during the day, and released it during the night. Actually the energy efficiency of solid wood is well known in the Scandinavian countries where it is the prevalent method of building. (Its long life is well known too. When interviewed during the 1994 Winter Olympics, a Lillehammer couple casually remarked that their solid wood home had been built in 1406!) Read the rest of this entry »

Silicon. You can make solar panels out of it and help reduce our demand on fossil fuels. Or you can make computer chips out of it. And computers are a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the environment. On the one hand, they can help pave the way toward a paperless society. On the other hand, it takes a hefty amount of energy to run the average computer.

So is it more responsible to use silicon for computer chips or solar panels? It turns out you might be able to have the best of both worlds. IBM has announced a new method for using scrap material from microchip creation to make solar panels. Read the rest of this entry »

In the latest scorching sci-fi movie ‘Sunshine’ set in the backdrop of the year 2057, the ‘real space age’ humans deliver a thermonuclear payload into the dying Sun in hope to bring it back to life. While writing this post, I feel a little contented that the time is still ripe for me to share these incredible ideas with flights of fancy powered by none other than the Sun.

The technology behind solar powered aircraft is still in its infancy, we’ll have to wait for quite a lot of time to see them available commercially. Till then check out these birds:

12. SUNSEEKER

Designer: Eric Raymond

Eric gave shape to Sunseeker after years of hard work, changes and innovations on wings of Larry Mauro’s SOLAR RISER, Paul MacCready’s SOLAR CHALLENGER, and Gunther Rochelt’s MUSCULAIR II. The project kicked off in 1986 and was given the final shape in 1989-90 with help of Sanyo and other corporations. Read the rest of this entry »

There have been some great breakthroughs in solar panel technology in recent years. But it still takes an awful lot of panels on the roof of a building to provide electricity for that building.

Researchers in Japan think they’ve found another way to harness the power of the sun. They’re working on a device that can be launched into space that will convert sunlight into laser light, which can then be beamed to the earth and used for electricity.

No really. That’s what they’re working on. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Osaka University are working on the technology in a laboratory and hope to be able to launch a prototype into space mounted on a satellite soon.

Theoretically, the device will be able to generate far more energy from solar power than terrestrial solar panels. Of course, it’s all fun and games until someone tracks into the satellite system and programs the laser beam to blast a hole in their ex’s house.

Image: space laser 9-06.jpg

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