Last class discussion was very productive and we talked about the different issues linked with diminishing oil and possible solutions to allow society to continue to thrive. However with these possible solutions also means change and large scale cooperation, and will pose questions such as “Risk vs. Safety,” will it mean the downgrade of society (classes merging), and what are the trade-offs. Many students in the class suggested some possible solutions that may help our future situation. I figured I might add to these ideas and make people aware of some of the other possible solutions that exist I have came across through surfing the internet and reading science articles on reliable websites. I came across two very interesting articles on the National Geographic website both discussing promising ideas for renewable energy sources and proving future hope.
Because I am interested in the newly developing field of nanotechnology myself I will discuss this article first, “Spray-On Solar-Power Cells Are True Breakthrough," written by Stefan Lovgren. According to the article, “Scientists have invented a plastic solar cell that can turn the sun's power into electrical energy.” This is not unheard of in fact solar panels today use this technology (plastic solar cells) in collecting energy from the sunlight. However this is not the only energy the sun emits. While half of the sun's power lies in the visible spectrum which is sunlight, the other half lies in the infrared spectrum (which is non-visible radiant heat energy). Thus with these new plastic solar cells, using nanotechnology can also collect solar energy on a cloudy day; the first of their kind. This will increase the efficiency of pre-existing solar energy collecting technology from 6 percent to a staggering 30 percent according to Peter Peumans, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University. "The sun that reaches the Earth's surface delivers 10,000 times more energy than we consume," said Ted Sargent, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Toronto, who was also one of the inventors stated in the article. He also states, "If we could cover 0.1 percent of the Earth's surface with [very efficient] large-area solar cells, we could in principle replace all of our energy habits with a source of power which is clean and renewable." What can we do with these plastic solar cells? They can be sprayed onto virtually anything. Some ideas of their use suggested in the article include, sweaters coated with the material that could in turn power cell phones or other wireless devices. Also, a hydrogen-powered car painted with the cells could potentially convert enough energy into electricity to continually recharge the car's battery. They could possibly be incorporated into paints where entire building can be sprayed and in turn power themselves with the solar energy they absorb. Residential houses could be painted with the same paint, or windows could be coated with a film of the cells. The possibilities are quite broad, and obviously a breakthrough. In the article, it states that “researchers envision that one day "solar farms" consisting of the plastic material could be rolled across deserts to generate enough clean energy to supply the entire planet's power needs.”
The second article titled, “Can Earth Be Powered by Energy Beamed From Moon?,” written by Bijal P Trivedi, discusses something called a Lunar Solar Power System (LSP). “David Criswell, a physicist and Space Age veteran began looking into lunar-based power systems over 20 years ago during a decade-long stint at the Lunar Science Institute, which is now the Lunar and Planetary Institute, established in 1967 by Lyndon Johnson to maintain interest in the moon.” According to the article, “While he was there he participated in the administration of peer-reviewed proposals on lunar and planetary science, thus he had a constant exposure to lunar-related research and development.” In other words, he is a moo expert and the man for the job if there is somebody. Stated was that, “Between a half a billion and a billion dollars was spent to analyze moon rocks during the 1970s and 1980s, collected during the six Apollo moon landings. It was revealed that rocks contained an abundance of silicon, magnesium, aluminum, and titanium—the basic material required for building solar cells.” How convenient. With that being said Criswell is confident with the cooperation of the nation and the world, we would be able to utilize resources on the moon in order to successfully set up LSP. The article explains that “His idea is to use lunar materials to build bases on the moon that will collect solar energy and convert it to microwaves, which would then be beamed to a several thousand receivers around Earth. The microwaves subsequently are converted into electricity sent to local power grids.” More specifically, the system would require between 20 to 40 power bases located on the eastern and western edges of the moon, from Earth’s perspective and Criswell estimates that in 2050, a population of about 10 billion would require about 20 terawatts of power. Because the moon receives more than 13,000 terawatts of solar power, by just harnessing one percent of this plentiful energy source, we could easily satisfy Earth's power needs, states Criswell in the article. The problem however is of course cost.
I believe the combination of these ideas, as well as various others also suggested in class can result in a major turnaround for the future of our planet. In fact by just making people aware of these different perspectives and suggested solutions that they may never have heard of opens their eyes to hope and perhaps will drive them to work towards one or their own. How do you think I became interested in physics and nanotechnology? Simply by reading articles and watching channels that discuss scientific breakthroughs. What could be more important or interesting than contributing in some way to determine the outcome of our future planet I ask myself? Doing something is 100 times better than doing absolutely nothing but shooting down ideas. Physics and science was frowned upon by the church for the longest time, if those great physicists and scientific thinkers simply quit, where we would be today. As much as many viewed their opinions as lunacy or heresy, past scientific discoveries set the foundation for what we build upon today. Yes it may cost a major change in our way of living, and require much cooperation as a nation and world to make all of these ideas successful, to implement renewable energy resources on a large scale, but is it not worth taking that leap? Rather than stay our course of certain demise we are on now?
References
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