Lifeboat Foundation

The University of Rochester research lab that recently used lasers to create unsinkable metallic structures has now demonstrated how the same technology could be used to create highly efficient solar power generators.

In a paper in Light: Science & Applications, the lab of Chunlei Guo, professor of optics also affiliated with Physics and the Material Sciences Program, describes using powerful femto-second laser pulses to etch metal surfaces with nanoscale structures that selectively absorb light only at the solar wavelengths, but not elsewhere.

Continue reading “Lasers etch a ‘perfect’ solar energy absorber” »

What if solar cells worked at night? That’s no joke, according to Jeremy Munday, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis. In fact, a specially designed photovoltaic cell could generate up to 50 watts of power per square meter under ideal conditions at night, about a quarter of what a conventional solar panel can generate in daytime, according to a concept paper by Munday and graduate student Tristan Deppe. The article was published in, and featured on the cover of, the January 2020 issue of ACS Photonics.

Munday, who recently joined UC Davis from the University of Maryland, is developing prototypes of these nighttime solar cells that can generate small amounts of power. The researchers hope to improve the power output and efficiency of the devices.

Munday said that the process is similar to the way a normal solar cell works, but in reverse. An object that is hot compared to its surroundings will radiate heat as infrared light. A conventional solar cell is cool compared to the sun, so it absorbs light.

The moon’s water could serve as a precious resource for deep space exploration, but how do we actually turn it into rocket fuel?
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To be a space miner, there are a few things you might need: the sun, some lunar soil, a pretty powerful mirror, and the perfect angle.

Continue reading “Inside the Lab That’s Turning Moon Water Into Rocket Fuel” »

In order to develop solar panels that generate electricity at night, you just need them to operate in the exact opposite way solar panels work during the day.

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With high heat and pressure, Ingelia turns sewage and waste into a fuel that burns like coal, but releases less CO₂ and fewer harmful substances.

Tesla has released the first official picture of a Model Y production vehicle, as well as pictures of the production line pictures — hinting at their previously discussed body manufacturing breakthrough.

With the release of Tesla’s Q4 2019 financial results, the automaker also announced the start of Model Y production, which happened earlier this month, and the start of deliveries in March.

For almost a year now, we have seen Model Y pre-production prototypes on public roads as part of Tesla’s extensive test program.

So what’s Tesla to do? The answers may come in the Battery Day, a forthcoming explainer that could take place in April. The day is expected to be similar in setup to the Autonomy Day in April 2019, where Musk explained to investors the company’s progress on full self-driving capabilities.

What will they show? One of the standout features may be the company’s Maxwell Technologies acquisition. The $218 million deal, announced February 2019, brings in a firm working on exotic technologies like dry electrodes and ultracapacitors. The firm has also identified a pathway to raising battery density to 500 watt-hours per kilogram. Current batteries tend to weigh around 300 watt-hours, but a jump to 500 could enable advanced uses like an electric plane.

Musk confirmed during Wednesday’s call that Tesla is working with Maxwell, while also stating that its ultracapacitor technology is an “important piece of the puzzle.” This exotic technology could transform how energy is managed within the car, and Musk was actually planning to do his PhD at Stanford University on them before he dropped out.

While removing the plastic waste that currently contaminates the ocean today will be crucial for protecting marine ecosystems, it is arguably more important that we stop any more plastic trash from entering the ocean. Fortunately for humanity, The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit taking on plastic waste in the ocean today, also has a novel solution for stopping plastic from entering it via rivers.

The solution comes in the form of a solar-powered barge named the “Interceptor”. The 24-meter-long (78 feet) vessel resembles a large houseboat and uses a curved barrier to catch waste floating downstream. The trash, much of it plastic, is directed to the “mouth” of the barge — which operates autonomously and silently — from where it rolls up a conveyor belt and is dropped into dumpsters. Apparently, the Interceptor is capable of collecting up to 50 tons of waste a day.

Currently the Klang River in Malaysia is home to one of these Interceptors where it can be seen quietly scooping up trash. The Klang river alone sends more than 15,000 tons annually into the sea, making it one of the 50 most-polluting rivers across the globe. As well as the barge in Malaysia, one has been stationed in Jakarta, the overcrowded capital of neighboring Indonesia, while two others will be sent to Vietnam and the Dominican Republic.