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- jodimcmullen, on 08/12/2008, -0/+45"In 1912 Thomas Edison unveiled an energy-self-sufficient home in West Orange, N.J. Billed as an experimental “Twentieth Century Suburban Residence” and designed to showcase his batteries, it bulged with luxuries like air heating and cooling units, a clothes-washing machine, an electric cooking range and, of course, plenty of light bulbs. Completely off the grid, the house received its juice from a generator that charged a bank of 27 cells in the basement. For this first attempt, Edison used a gas-run motor, but evidence suggests that he hoped to hook up to a wind turbine. The system would allow the prospective homeowner to be, according to The New York Times, “utterly and for all time independent of the nearness or farness of the big electric companies.”
In 1931 he told Henry Ford: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” - inactive, on 08/12/2008, -6/+30Let's hope this can go mainstream before the oilygarchy pays to suppress the technology.
- ForbesBingley, on 08/12/2008, -1/+23There's so much innovation in the solar energy space right now, it's amazing.
There's also photovoltaic paints, which open up a whole new world of possibilities... - BoneheadFarker, on 08/12/2008, -0/+16Solar Power: Source of Endless Energy*
*Solar energy production not actually endless. Only guarenteed for 5 billion years. Your results may vary. - recalcitrantid, on 08/12/2008, -1/+12Sorry to disappoint you Edison.
- Spetz, on 08/12/2008, -1/+10Won't work unless they work out how to make super high frequency rectifiers which is going to be a hard thing to do. The energy can be received perfectly fine but actually getting anything with a DC level greater than zero is the hard part.
They should have posted the original Idaho National Laboratories link instead. https://inlportal.inl.gov/portal/server.pt?open=51 ... - beauley, on 08/12/2008, -0/+7With Global Warming on many people's minds, do we have any ideas of the best way to lessen the impact on our future, or maybe a possible relief of its possible ravages or even a possible key to its eventual reversal. Many scientific experts have proposed
http://www.quazen.com/Science/Technology/Solar-Pow ...
Solar Power: Source of Endless Energy - inactive, on 08/12/2008, -0/+7Bonus points to jodimcmullen for knowing some relevant history.
- spincrisis, on 08/12/2008, -1/+8"...scientists still don’t know how to convert energy from the devices into electricity."
So how did they conclude that the cells can be 92% efficient? - thall, on 08/12/2008, -0/+4Not sure why you're getting dug down, Edison was a prick of a business man and reminds me more of Bill Gates than anyone else:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison#War_of_current ...
Luckily Tesla won and we have cheap power transmission to show for it. Had Edison's FUD tactics worked, we'd all have DC coming into our homes. - drmangrum, on 08/12/2008, -0/+4I remember seeing this posted a while back. The same detractor applies today as it did then "in fact, scientists still don’t know how to convert energy from the devices into electricity."
When that little hurdle gets jumped, color me enthusiastic. Until them, it's like having the greatest engine ever, but not knowing what kind of fuel it needs. - majordanger, on 08/12/2008, -0/+4Pretty thin article.
You know, my brown dirt driveway collects 92% of the solar energy on a sunny day also.
Now If I could just figure out how to convert it to electricity. - noirocelot, on 08/12/2008, -0/+3As ForbesBingley said: "There's so much innovation in the solar energy space right now, it's amazing." And we all know the reason why: "Necessity is the mother of all invention." Although I have no idea who was the first to say this, they were dead on. With the rising in oil prices around, who's to wonder why...
- fyngyrz, on 08/12/2008, -0/+3Yes, so much innovation. And not one single technology that is affordable. Really quite astonishing if you think about it.
- VitriolAndAngst, on 08/12/2008, -0/+3No, we can get solar, as soon as it can be given to us from some centralized location, that of course will be controlled by a monopoly.
We will also have to buy our wind power in tiny plastic bottles. And there will be a lot of people on TV and blogs telling us that this is the only reasonable way to do things. - Ramble, on 08/12/2008, -4/+7Edison was also a total prick.
- crackpotcs2, on 08/12/2008, -1/+3Researchers of US Department of Energy’s have taken the right decision.
- malex, on 08/12/2008, -0/+2Rebrand it as "Stellar Power". Problem solved.
- buckrogers1965, on 08/12/2008, -0/+2Edison was really trying to control the film industry too, which is why it all moved clear across the continent to Hollywood from it's origins in NY, NY.
- HonestAbe, on 08/12/2008, -0/+2Actually, there's enough uranium in the Earth's crust to support human civilization for longer than the Sun's expected lifetime.
http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/cohen. ... - TheImaginator, on 08/12/2008, -0/+2"Of course, there is still plenty of research that needs to be done before nanoantennas can go into production—in fact, scientists still don’t know how to convert energy from the devices into electricity."
We'll have to wait for a while then. - intangible, on 08/12/2008, -0/+2Duh... Move the earth further away.
- HonestAbe, on 08/12/2008, -1/+2You're being sarcastic, right? Making fun of the idiot conspiracy theorists who think all the good technologies are suppressed by oil companies, right?
Right? - jeffburton, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1Am I the only one who noticed that the secret ingredient here is GOLD?
- Culyt, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1Well if the US dept of energy owns the patent then they don't have to, big oils friends/investors (or puppets) in the white house will just suppress it free.
- thall, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1The fuel is a stream of photons. The problem is extending the drive shaft outside the engine block.
- 102blue, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1Am I the only one who read that as Nantennas?
Yes?
Oh. - snoobies, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1Only dugg because it said it may be able to charge my iPod which is always a plus. Those iPhones don't last to long...
- gn0stik, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1What I'd like to know, is a bit more of the actual technology. Are these truly antennas? If so, can they be lengthened and shortened to match different wavelengths? For example, the background radio noise of the universe? I mean, if they are having a hard time converting heat to electricity (which blows my mind, we've been doing this for a long, long time now), then why not tap directly into... uhhhh... electricity(radio waves). I know there's more actual power in infrared band, but still, if it's that hard to make usable, for some mysterious reason they don't explain, then do something that doesn't require as much engineering in the output stage.
- shroomiy, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1"Traditional solar cells only use up to 20% of the visible light they collect"
This one does not collect any..
"Of course, there is still plenty of research that needs to be done before nanoantennas can go into production—in fact, scientists still don’t know how to convert energy from the devices into electricity."
Oh this one does not even make electricity... - beauley, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1Not if us humans are not here.
- buckrogers1965, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1Location location location!
- thall, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1@gn0stick,
Yes they are truly antennas, and their length is designed to resonate with IR frequencies. The problem is we don't have diodes or transistors that can react to the incoming energy at such high frequencies, or at least none that can be manufactured as easily as the antennas themselves and not lose most of the energy to heat in the process.
One of the [not so] fun parts of RF design is that every bit of material you add to the circuit changes the circuit behavior, even things you take for granted at lower frequencies such as the wires that connect to the antennas or the small dab of solder to make those connections.
Unlike a conventional radio that only needs to carry a weak signal from the antenna, this point of this stuff is to carry as much power as possible away from the antenna. The additional current through the thin wires creates magnetic fields large enough to induce current on neighboring antennas, so the shape and layout of these antennas need to cooperate with those effects to avoid self-cancelling.
And if that wasn't enough to worry about, then you have to take temperature changes into consideration...after all, this stuff is designed to sit in the sunlight...so the RF design gets even more complicated because the resonant circuit is so sensitive at this scale. - inactive, on 08/13/2008, -0/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzITanQIPUw
- HonestAbe, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1Obviously we will just make the Earth into a giant spaceship by that point.
- buckrogers1965, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1Could they combine the two, mix solar and heat recovery and get close to 100% of the energy? kind of double dip on the heat part as the parts the solar cells collect are converted from energy to heat.
- mstrebe, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1There are other stars. We'll get at least 200 billion years of Solar if we're willing to follow it around.
- mstrebe, on 08/12/2008, -0/+1I hate to burst bubbles, but solar isn't going to come to all of our rescue. Only 160 watts per meter square is incident upon the earth's surface on average during a 24 hour period. Doing the math, for a 1000 sq.ft. rooftop between the tropics that means that you're generating the energy equivalent of 12 gallons of gas per household per day. That barely meets our current consumption, and certainly won't power my flying car in the future.
- B08ama, on 08/12/2008, -1/+1Yeah, I made one of these just yesterday... it's more fun to stomp on the sheets like bubble wrap, though
- gn0stik, on 08/12/2008, -3/+3Math.
- unusualbob, on 08/12/2008, -2/+2might be converting to heat, but seeing as it was already infrared waves that would be confusing.
- tekproxy, on 08/12/2008, -1/+1"solar energy on the cheap: plastic sheets filled with billions of nanoantennas"
Sounds cheap... How much are they at Wal-Mart? - graahBrains, on 08/12/2008, -0/+0Nanotech is the answer to all problems. It's like Voyager.
- mitso6989, on 08/12/2008, -0/+0Sun power, HA! You'll all be sorry you built your technological lives on the Sun when then next Ice age hits. Think ahead people.
- Slavidskis, on 08/12/2008, -1/+1too bad it will cook us at the end of its life... if we are still here
- vbullinger, on 08/12/2008, -1/+1Oilygarchy... I like it.
One thing though: they're always a couple of steps ahead of us, so... tough cookies.
The only way to really stop them is to spread the word, so that no one is fooled by the propaganda they spew. - Culyt, on 08/13/2008, -1/+1Well it did happened with those electric cars from way back, the one that got crushed then big oil got the battery patents. And now they only allow them in hybrid cars (not all electric). The patent runs out in 2015 which happens to be the same year several car companies have announced for some all electric cars.
Obviously all technologies is impossible and they can only do it for 20 years until the patents run out but they can slow down adoption. I'm not one of those people who believe in the cars that run on water.
Fortunately technology is now progressing to fast to stop, solar will be cheaper than most other forms of energy by 2015, and with fuel cells it will work at night. - frequentFlyer, on 08/12/2008, -0/+0I've worked at a "nanotech" company before. We all knew that "nanotech" was just a marketing buzz word. The company failed.
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