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30 Comments
- snoopy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1November 18, 2002
very old - Durrok, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Article was written November 18, 2002
Congratulation on your first dig, it was only 3 years late! - michaelburns, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Stupid Slashdot people... go away... Nice Digg by the way
- c0linfang, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1not quite understand, but the feedbacks seem interesting. i digg it 'cos i like the technology evolution/revolution.
- mooseboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is a significant drop in bandgap energy. It's easily a 5-fold increase in efficiency. I hope they can solve the problems with the polycrystalline formation.
- EPeters, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It won't happen anytime soon for one simple reason. Money. If something is more efficient and last nearly forever, then how does anyone make money beyond the initial product? Plus, no one that currently produces electricity wants an alternative energy source that works. I know that you've heard this all before, and ignored it as just another conspiracy theory, but it makes too much sense not to be true.
- Uthman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is very interesting.. shall have to follow
- jwax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0What makes me wonder is how a $35K SUV gets a buyer, but a $10K photovoltaic system, which makes money short and long term, is deemed "too expensive". Talk about wise investments.
- Durrok, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0epeters, it HAS BEEN a long time already heh
- Casedot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0automagically said "Like someone else said, the hype and promises never seem to get here. We've all been dreaming of solar powered homes for a long time. Its still way too expensive, too rare to get ahold of, and will stay that way (maybe purposely for job and economic dependency reasons) for a while. Can you imagine all the jobs lost when people stop paying for electricity, or filling their cars with gas? It might be good for nature and the environment, but would be horrible at taking care of ourselves, at least without a long transition."
while that might be true, i think the benefit outweighs the cost. - Berkana, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The big question is, is it more efficient than using solar concentrators to power a Stirling engine, both in terms of energy conversion and manufacturing?
- jwax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Available now-http://www.emcore.com/assets/photovoltaics/PhotoV_ATJ_Prod_Sheet.pdf
Also, less expensive CIGS cells will soon be available. See what $10K on your roof can buy today! - solorone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I do not think the oil companies or their buddies, will ever allow this to come to fruition, and as stated above, the high efficiency cell has always been coming, I know, I have been waiting on it for 25 years!! I paid my last utility bill (to a public utility) in 1982.
- digitalunltd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0the meat of the article:
"The maximum efficiency a solar cell made from a single material can achieve in converting light to electrical power is about 30 percent; the best efficiency actually achieved is about 25 percent. To do better, researchers and manufacturers stack different band gap materials in multijunction cells.
Dozens of different layers could be stacked to catch photons at all energies, reaching efficiencies better than 70 percent, but too many problems intervene. When crystal lattices differ too much, for example, strain damages the crystals. The most efficient multijunction solar cell yet made -- 30 percent, out of a possible 50 percent efficiency -- has just two layers. "
"Two layers of indium gallium nitride, one tuned to a band gap of 1.7 eV and the other to 1.1 eV, could attain the theoretical 50 percent maximum efficiency for a two-layer multijunction cell. (Currently, no materials with these band gaps can be grown together.) Or a great many layers with only small differences in their band gaps could be stacked to approach the maximum theoretical efficiency of better than 70 percent.
It remains to be seen if a p-type version of indium gallium nitride suitable for solar cells can be made. Here too success with LEDs made of the same alloy gives hope. A number of other parameters also remain to be settled, like how far charge carriers can travel in the material before being reabsorbed." - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Like someone else said, the hype and promises never seem to get here. We've all been dreaming of solar powered homes for a long time. Its still way too expensive, too rare to get ahold of, and will stay that way (maybe purposely for job and economic dependency reasons) for a while. Can you imagine all the jobs lost when people stop paying for electricity, or filling their cars with gas? It might be good for nature and the environment, but would be horrible at taking care of ourselves, at least without a long transition.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0> I didn't RTFA but Solar Cell revoultions are always just around
> the corner but they never seem to get there. Its always just hype.
No, they're definitely on to something...
...as another poster already said, this is out of a research lab; so, you should count on at least 10 years passing before it see a valid commercial application.
The main problem I see with solar is mass production... what the world needs now is raw square footage.
These highly tuned semi-conductor based materials with close tolerances and high purity requirements are going to take even longer to mass produce. 25% to 50% efficiency increase is a 2x improvement, but we're talking sunlight here, not flips and flops (maxes out a 5x from current state of the art is the best improvement that can be made). After you've hit 2x to 3x the only significant improvements that will "revolutionize solar" will come in the mass production department.
Nano-tech folks, if you want to be the next big thing, this is the area that you should be plying. I'm thinking along the lines of how exactly could you dope a carbon nanotube (furry solar panels). - solorone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm an old dog, and do not knot know anything about furry nano tubes, but let me tell what little that I know, or believe about the solar industry.
I started selling photovoltaic in 1986, selling maybe 4 small systems a year, just a hobby to fund my own system.
I had 6 wholesale suppliers at that time. In the mid 90's the Europeans started buying up the companies in the US, I lost all but 2 suppliers and my friends there say they are continually being offer large sums to sell.
The US has never offered any tax credit (big oil) but some states have good programs, Illinois being one, 50% I think, on everything but batteries.
It is odd that the first really good panels were made by an oil company, ARCO, Atlantic Richfield. They were bought up by Siemens, again the forward looking Europeans. I was paying 226.00 for an ARCO 50 watt panel in 1986 and $255 in 2003, the prices have really fallen a great deal
Europe must have very high electrical cost or very good credits for a huge % of world solar production is going there. If I order panels today I can expect delivery for 2 to 3 months instead of 2 to 3 days and then must sign an affidavit that I will not resell or send the panels to Europe.
The panels are the main part, but then we need advances in battery design, they have come a long way but improvements are needed.
Inverting the DC power to AC was made affordable and fine tuned by Clyde Yamamoto and his Trace engineering company, since bought out by Xantrex, which also bought Statpower (October 1999) and Heart (April 2000). So the industry continues being consolidated. This is still a very costly part of the system and the main part that you worry about when it comes to a failure. The units, in the past, were designed to/ hoped to last 18 years. I had one last 17 years.
Well I am not holding my breath, but I sure would like to see a practical fuel cell developed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Perklunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hmm... didn't see the date in my excitement, it is kind of old...sorry!
- DaleCoz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Solar cells have been over-hyped a lot of times, and I can understand the growing skepticism as the "Solar cells on every roof" scenario keeps not happening. At the same time, solar cell prices have been dropping pretty much every year when you take inflation into account. Solar cell production and sales are both growing rather quickly--averaging 25% annual growth for the last five or six years. Production is still small compared to other energy sources, but with that kind of growth rate that will change. The big Japanese electronics companies have been spending million every year to ramp up production. As the real price of solar cells goes down, they gradually become competitive in more and more niches. At one point they were so expensive they could only compete in the satellite market. Then prices dropped so they compete in really remote areas. Now you can't go down a highway without seeing a solar powered road construction sign. Even with all of the price drops, solar cells are still far to expensive to compete economically for the suburban roof market--about 3 to 4 times as expensive as utility power in my neck of the woods. Solar cells are not totally out of reach for ecologically minded upper-middle class people anymore though, and even without the kind of breakthroughs detailed in this article solar cells will continue to get cheaper and more common. To put it in football terms, for the last 25 years solar cells have been making steady progress of the '4 yards and a cloud of dust' variety. Given a tech breakthrough like this they could score a quick breakthrough into mainstream markets. If a breakthrough doesn't happen, then they can still get into mainstream markets eventually by finding ways to cut cost ten cents here and ten cents there, and increasing efficiency 1 or 2% by minor tech tweaks.
- Bobski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sounds like the perfect substance for the exterior coating of a "UFO"
- tigerpaper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0hahahaha, 2002...Great
...but no digg ;( - mikeyG9x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0November 18, 2002
A little outdated, don't you think? Certainly outdated when the primary focus here is technology!
Besides, every year more and more people and company's are beginning to consider solar power as a viable alternative, including plans for solar power generation plants. Just a matter of time before the cost of the technology drops to the point were the common man can afford it.
New technology may cause job loss in outmoded technology arenas, but it also creates a slew of new jobs to replace those lost.
No digg. - sotloo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cool, second bit of good news about solar this year. Remember this...
Spray-On Solar-Power Cells Are True Breakthrough
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/01/0114_050114_solarplastic.html
Best of all solar power is free and clean, take that GWB! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0dont forget about the 2500 tax credit for solar..
plus if you do produce too much electricity like some of my friends do.. you can sell it bak to the state.. i am still green over the small power checks one of my friends gets when i get a bill..
if the state doesnt pay.. you can still be into guerilla power sharing. Er just put it on the grid and dont care what the state thinks.. yeah a few years old but things take awhile to make it to market... hell electric ink is like 2 years old.. and just now can you get a watch with it... give it time. - DWatch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The article is obviously from a research lab and it always takes a few years for breakthroughs in research to hit the market. Then there will be the early adopters buying, and basically proving or disproving the scientists theories about efficiency and cost. If it makes it past that point, then there will be a mass market effect, and prices will fall due to economy of scale production methods, improvements in product design, etc.
Even if this development takes a few extra years, it will be worth it. Imagine in 50 or 100 years how crowded the world will be, and how starved for power we will be... now imagine every house able provide 100% of its residents power needs. The only power required above and beyond that is for industry and transportation. - Neptuned, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hopefully this will be confirmed.
- Lurk3r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I didn't RTFA but Solar Cell revoultions are always just around the corner but they never seem to get there. Its always just hype.
- TinMan, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0No digg. Just because you put "My first digg" in it.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0Please remember that "Energy is liberated when an individual breaks through rules of conditioning with some glorious act of disobedience or blasphemy. This energy strengthens the spirit and gives courage for further acts of insurrection. Help me defile gOd and his name.
Jehovah ***** Yahweh, I curse you in the name of Satan the Almighty. Evil lives in me and I walk with Satan all the days of my life cursing and mocking you god (the dog), filthy ***** maggot. My hate grows by the second as I dream of the day when you are under my feet begging for my *****.
God I rape you and hurl blasphemy into your mind. I demand you to come down from heaven right now and get down on your stomach in front of me, lifting your ***** up to receive my *****. God I promise to ***** you and I long to rip your eyes out, kick you in the face, mutilate you, and bathing in your blood. Listen to me, I'm screaming
in your ears to come to earth and in this room for I will have my way with you, oh most cursed god of heaven (you foul piece of *****). Satan is my God and he will force you to drink cum from my dick. I will never stop sinning and blaspheming your name, presents, existence, and most of all the rotten, putrid holy spirit that ***** the mother of gOd and pregnanted that slut with jesus christ.
I stand before all the angles and saints, gOd, jesus ***** christ, mary the whore of gOd, the filthy holy spirit, and they are witnessing my denouncement of you gOd, and my ongoing blasphemy of the holy spirit. I am purposely cursing the holy spirit and its purity and will defy you god and the holy spirit all the wicked days of my sin filled life. My soul is full of evil thoughts and sins, its black with pure hatred of anything holy.
God, I will find new ways to defile and blasphemy you, because I'm seeking evil every second of my life. That is all my mind can think about. You're pain is my desire, you're name I mock, your son I defy, your mother I *****, and your spirit I cum in.
The only prayers from me are prayers of hate and blasphemy, evil is a part of me, it dwells in my soul, cursing everything about you is the most important part of my existence, total darkness is inside of me. gOd I will rip you out of heaven and force you under my feet you ***** pig. You will listen to all my demands. I will slip into heaven and I will rape all the angels and saints and will kill them in your unholy putrid name. God I will kill you and bath in your blood. Holy spirit I demand you to listen to my hatred of your foul existence, drink my cum, and remember my blasphemy against you, you putrid, rotten, vile spirit of gOd.
I'm the meaning of gOd's pain. This is the way that you will die dog gOd. It will be a slow death, the joy of killing you will make my ***** hard, I know you will feel my showers of hate and you will feel extreme pain as I beat your body and make every inch of your body black and blue. I force you bastard Jehovah to the ground and I will
put you under my feet where you belong, you putrid bastard. God you will try to run but I will strap you down and ***** your soul before I rip it out of your body. God "the dog", your life is worthless, for I'm the angel from your new God "Satan". I destroy everything holy, you are felling my hatred pierce your mind intensely, inferior god "dog" you ***** maggot. You will be screaming in pain as I strap you down under my feet, you will look up at me and I will piss down your throat.
I'm so consumed with hatred of you that I will masturbate, and when I feel that I'm about to cum, I force my evil ***** full of Satan's cum down your mouth and fill it up with my vile hot cum. I will be pumping your body full of my hot cum. Inside your brain is my blasphemy. The pressure in your skull begins push through your eyes,
burning your flesh, and I laugh as it drips away. Heat burns your skin; your mind starts to boil with my blasphemy, and pure evil hatred of your ***** existence. You will not last long; it's just a matter of time until your ripped apart with my hands. You will be floating in a sea of your blood, smelling your death as it burns. My wicked cum is deep inside you as I skin you. You're eyes will bleed as you pray to me for the end of you're wide-awake nightmare. Waves of pain rap around you're soul, death is staring down at you, your blood is draining fast as I'm injecting hatred into your soul, and dying heart, with wicked sweet Blasphemy and hot cum. The demons are dancing with the thought of you in hell. Pathetic god "dog" how does it feel, you're dieing and I'm celebrating your
pain. I live to hurt and defile you the rancid god of heaven. Satan is calling you're cursed name, Satan takes you're soul dear god, and raps his ***** around it. In my hand is you're heart and my ***** is resting on it. I can't wait any longer so I cum inside your heart bursting it apart with my explosion of evil vile cum. I crush what is left of your heart into the dirt. The dog god is finally dead and he is burning brightly in hell as cum drips down my leg.
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