If researcher Martin Aagesen’s future solar cells meet the expectations, both your economy and the environment will benefit from the research. Less than 1 per cent of the world’s electricity comes from the sun because it is difficult to transform solar energy to electricity. But Martin Aagesen’s discovery may be a huge step towards boosting the exploitation of solar energy.“We believe that the nano flakes have the potential to convert up to 30 per cent of the solar energy into electricity and that is twice the amount that we convert today,” says Martin Aagesen who is a PhD from the Nano-Science Center and the Niels Bohr Institute at University of Copenhagen. During his work on his PhD thesis, Martin found a new and untried material.
“I discovered a perfect crystalline structure. That is a very rare sight. While being a perfect crystalline structure we could see that it also absorbed all light. It could become the perfect solar cell,” says Martin. The discovery of the new material has sparked a lot of attention internationally and has led to an article in Nature Nanotechnology.
“The potential is unmistakeable. We can reduce the solar cell production costs because we use less of the expensive semiconducting silicium in the process due to the use of nanotechnology. At the same time, the future solar cells will exploit the solar energy better as the distance of energy transportation in the solar cell will be shorter and thus lessen the loss of energy,” says Martin Aagesen who is also director of the company SunFlake Inc. that pursues development of the new solar cell.
Posts Tagged ‘energy’
Solar Saturday (it is the solstice afterall)
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007Powerless Light
Sunday, December 16th, 2007A company called MPK is designing a light source that will glow continuously for more than 12 years without any additional energy.The material, dubbed “Litrosphere,” can cover a standard sheet of paper for a cost of about 35 cents, and comes in a variety of colors. It´s also flexible, and can take the form of either paint or injection-molded plastic. The material is not affected by the heat or cold, can withstand 5,000 pounds, and stays on constantly.
According to the company’s patent, the material is based on betavoltaics and uses the radioactive gas tritium as the power source. The beta particles from the tritium radiation can be safely contained by phosphor-coated microspheres. Tritium has a half-life of about 12 years.
MPK specializes in glow-in-the-dark paint and other glow products, although the new material does not need to be exposed to light in order to work. The company predicts that the technology could be used for light safety tape, lighted life rafts/flotation equipment, toys, sports/camping equipment, and bikes.
“This has potential to save billions in energy costs world-wide,” said Steve Stark, MPK engineer. “Litroenergy surpasses all known available lighting options for cost/durability/reliability and safety.”
Powered by good vibes
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007Vibration energy harvesting is receiving a considerable amount of interest as a means for powering wireless sensor nodes,’ said Dr Beeby. ‘The big advantage of wireless sensor systems is that by removing wires and batteries, there is the potential for embedding sensors in previously inaccessible locations.’According to Dr Beeby, over the years, there has been a growing interest in the field of low power miniature sensors and wireless sensor networks, but an area that has received comparatively little attention is how to supply the required electrical power to such sensors, particularly if the sensor is completely embedded in the structure with no physical connection to the outside world. He believes that the VIBES generator could hold the solution.
New Water Power
Friday, May 4th, 2007Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a unique photocatalytic cell that splits water to produce hydrogen and oxygen in water using sunlight and the power of a nanostructured catalyst.The group is developing novel methodologies for synthesis of nanostructured films with superior opto-electronic properties. One of the methods, which sandwiches three semiconductor films into a compact structure on the nanoscale range, is smaller, more efficient and more stable than present photocatalytic methods, which require multiple steps and can take from several hours to a day to complete.
The discovery provides a new, low-cost and efficient option for hydrogen production and can be used for a variety of distributed energy applications.
Fuse On!
Monday, January 15th, 2007Designed to replicate the sun’s energy generating process, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak fusion reactor recently garnered positive results in tests being conducting at China’s Institute of Plasma Physics, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.‘The new tests show the reactor is very reliable, and we can repeat the experiments,’ institute official Wu Songtao said.
With tests set to continue until Feb. 10, the experiments will reveal exactly how far the project is from its final goal of creating plasma that can last for 1,000 seconds while giving off its own energy.
While many have disputed the project’s ability to create such an energy source, Xinhua said many scientists maintain such a fusion reactor could lesson China’s energy crisis by providing cleaner endless energy at a significantly lower cost.
