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METEORITE TELLS A STORY

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Nanodots From Pencil Leads

If you want to improve the efficiency of solar cells, use your pencil. Well, the graphite in pencils can now be used to make tiny nanodots. Graphite rods in sodium hydroxide solution produce nanodots which can potentially be used to augment existing solar panels.

The Pencil study involved using pencil "leads" as the cathode and anode, which were dropped into ethanolic sodium hydroxide. Nano particles of 3 nanometers (nm) were produced. Nanodots in a compound with carboxyl and hydroxyl collected on the anode. The nanodots were then drawn into the pores of a titanium and silicon dioxide template.

Other mesoporous materials have been tested. They each have particular properties in regard to sensing, catalysis and optoelectronics. This allows for fine tuning of solar panels. The pencil lead system improved current transfer from simulated sunlight by 38 per cent.

◆ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan ◆

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PENCIL LEAD POWER
#nanodots #pencil #lead #carbon #graphite #solution #electricity #solar #power

chemistry science tests pencil lead graphite carbon solar panels mesoporous synthetic materials optoelectronic Mesoporous materials polymer templates titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticles sunlight electrochemical anode cathode porosities pores articles news politics economics society anthropology historiography history sociology people nations country asia europe africa u.s. south america central Mediterranean eastern western interesting funny technology free

NASA Announces That Life is Out There

There is something out there - so NASA says. The U.S. space body announced that life producing water exists on Mars and more information on Pluto is about to come out soon. The New Horizons spacecraft is working perfectly and data collection is continuing.

New Horizons spacecraft photographing Pluto

High resolution photographs have been taken of Pluto for some time now. They have been analyzed. Findings will interesting. It seems we are not totally alone. Life seems to be everywhere in the cosmos.

Pluto even has its own weather. The "environment" changes like here on Earth. Apparently the planet is geologically active. NASA has only downloaded 10 per cent of the data so far. Some fascinating insights will be made known on Thursday.

◆ Science by Ty Buchanan ◆

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LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS SAYS NASA

Organic sem-conductors

The path to develop better solar energy products from silicon are exhausted. Other materials need to be examined to provide more efficient solar panel operation. Scientists are analyzing a wide spectrum of materials.

Plastics show a great deal of promise, particularly at the molecular level. Organic sem-conductors appear to be the key to future developments. This is a type of plastic that conducts electricity. More effective conductivity seems to be the key not so much heat generation.

It is expensive to make silicon conductors for solar cells. OSCs can be manipulated at the molecular level to reduce energy loss, thus more energy is accumulated. Improved efficiency will see the whole production method change for solar cells.

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✿ Economics by Ty Buchanan ✿

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Battery Technology Not Advancing Quickly Enough

Despite claims that battery technology will improve over the next few years, the battery has remained the same for half a century. Sure base materials that make the battery store electricity have changed, but not that much in recent years.

All the same battery technology

Due to mass production and increasing demand the price of batteries will fall. This is just economics really. The cost of Solar has fallen 80 per cent in five years. Don't expect batteries for your phone or tablet to fall this much though.

The great hope is that advances in solar technology in electrical catchment and storage can be "transferred" to other products. Communication and motor vehicle manufacturers could be putting too much faith in this, however. It may not happen.

Batteries can be charged in a matter of minutes now. The future could see people carrying a "spare" mobile phone power pack in their pocket. Exchange stations could spread and be ubiquitous everywhere.

✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴

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Biomass is the Wrong Way forward

Much has been said about the adoption of biomass technology to replace wind and solar energy production. Biomass involves the burning of sugars, starches and oils from crops to make biodiesel and ethanol. The cost of gathering this waste has not been factored in. Wind and solar need maintenance but for the most part they just sit there and do their job.

Farmers have simply left waste in the fields - ultimately burning or plowing them in. They do not see money in gathering up the left overs from crops. Environmentally, biomass looks good. However, financially they are a no-go. Who will pay a higher price for electricity? Charges are already extremely high using coal which is just dug from the ground.

The biggest problem is that biomass involves burning while wind and solar do not. Just substituting biomass for widely available conventional fossil fuels is not a an ideal move forward. This is like electric cars which are only substitutes for petrol motor vehicles - a poor and inefficient one at that.

Saying that biomass can be made from wood and straw and could reduce the use of normal fossil fuels is a mistake. It is not as if oil is running out: it isn't. Australia is a "bowl" of natural resources. We do not have to be efficient with industrial waste like European countries which have to import oil.

To make biomass productive will take capital that Australia does not have. This country has a large deficit. It caused the Coalition government to abandon the carbon tax and redistribute savings back to the consumer. After tax collection costs, the government got very little income from the tax. It is simply not rational for Australia to abandon coal in power generation when other countries do nothing to reduce carbon emissions.

Technology by Ty Buchanan

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Efficient Solar Panel Paint Developed

There is about to be a revolution and it is not wearable technology. A spray on paint to quickly make solar panels has been perfected. The paint's main ingredient is perovskite - a calcium titanium oxide mineral. Furthermore, it costs very little.

Soon cheaper solar panels will be flooding out of factory production lines. They will be used everywhere - even on wearables! Perovskite is twice as effective as current spray-on solar collectors.

The environment will be "covered all over" with this new effective paint. Every surface facing upward whether on something mobile or static will have this coating.

Dramatic change will seen on buildings. Indeed, it will be available in many colors and will become an important part of the designed environment. Battery powered cars will have the paint completely covering the vehicle. It will become as common as ordinary paint is today.

Technology by Ty Buchanan

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Australia Breaks Supercritical Steam Record to Replace Coal

Australia has made a new world record in "supercritical" steam. This involves the use of solar panels to generate heat that boils water and generates steam. The steam could be used instead of coal in power plants.

Pressure reached 3,400 psi at a heat of 1,058°F. This is peak performance "stuff". It rivals coal in its efficiency. The first time a non-carbon source has at least equalled the efficiency of coal.

Six hundred mirrors (heliostats) were used and their beams were directed at two towers housing solar receivers and turbines. In the future power generation could be virtually free from the sun during daylight hours.

This technology is new and supersedes older "subcritical" steam production. More work has to be done but there is no doubt power generation will eventually not need coal. It is not good news for Australian exports. It is good for the world though.

Science by Ty Buchanan

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Vast Solar Builds New Solar Thermal Plant

With such a hot sunny climate Australia should invest more in solar energy. The heat also needs to be converted into electricity. With the sun beating down on us, there is almost free energy to be had. Sure there is a cost. Even if it costs as much as coal generation we should go ahead and develop it. China has signed a gas agreement with Russia. As time goes by they will reduce their purchases of coal from Australia. This country should heed the signs and change policy at home as well.

Vast Solar had built the nation's first solar thermal standalone plant at Forbes, NSW. It will generate 6MWth of electricity. Storage will enable electricity to be pushed into the grid 24 hours a day. There are plans to construct a 30MW operation, and other countries are showing interest in having similar plants established by Vast Solar. The big step has been with improved storage making a viable day and night supply. The new plant has been called the concentrated solar thermal (CST) system because it continually provides power.

Wind generation is changeable. Some days there is no wind so no electricity is produced. Plants can be built in windy regions with wind generators alongside as backup.

Tony Abbott's intention to close all such plants to protect the coal industry is backward looking. He is blind to the changes that are occurring in the world. Demand for coal will fall as countries move to gas and pollution free production systems. Anyway, Tony Abbott's plans will not pass the Senate.

Technology by Ty Buchanan

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