about 23 hours ago - 3 comments
Question by : how large must a solar panel be to power a train? If the schematics of a solar train were drawn, what would they look like? Would the train be large or small? Where would the panels be placed? And if so, how large must the panels be to fit the roof? Even
about 2 days ago - No comments
Question by Ashley J: How much solar energy (kJ) would have to be…? How much solar energy (kJ) would have to be transferred to a 145.0 foot length of asphalt highway that is 49.0 feet wide and 25.0 centimeters deep in order to raise the temperature 5.00 oC ?The average density of asphalt is 721
about 3 days ago - No comments
Question by tim is cool: how to turn a fan into a wind turbine? like those wind turbines that make energy. because it is basically the opposite. it takes energy and turns it into wind. a turbine takes wind and turns it into energy. how can i do this? —————————————— Answer by billrussell42Depends on the
about 3 days ago - 2 comments
Question by : How do I make my own solar panel? How do I make my own solar panels and generate my own power cheaply. The commercial one’s are just too expensive. —————————————— Answer by mugikuyuIts very easy but the entire process is quite lengthy. You will need to purchase some materials and then assemble
about 4 days ago - 2 comments
Question by elrodvoss: What Solar Panel Efficiency would replace Coal? A friend sent me an article that a company called Fraunhofer has produced solar panels that can achieve 41.1% efficiency. Now taking into account the fact that solar do sent work during storms or night and greatly reduced during winters, what % do you think
about 6 days ago - No comments
Question by Jake P: Are there any Universities that have programs about solar energy? I wanted to know if there are any Universities in North America that have programs that teach about solar energy and using it for electricity in a home (mainly installation). —————————————— Answer by Dr. Clandestine:)Many dude, they have a nice supply
about 1 week ago - 1 comment
Question by GorgeousLilThing: I want to conserve energy, Is there anyone out there who knows how to make solar panel the simple way? What are the key materials needed to create a solar panel and the simple steps to assemble it. What would be the desirable size of the panel enough to run a desk
about 1 week ago - 1 comment
Question by : why not people use solar energy for their daily need? I am observing that normally we need electricity for lighting purpose then why not people use solar energy for lighting in each room. —————————————— Answer by DifdiMost people are not millionaires. Solar energy systems equal to what you can get via normal
about 1 week ago - 2 comments
Question by : What is an issue or something interesting about the solar panel technology? I’m hoping to do a science fair project on solar panels. Since energy has been a large issue lately, I was hoping to research on this topic! What are some things that I can possibly do or experiment on? Thank
about 1 week ago - No comments
Question by : Using electronic ballast instead of the magnetic one in lighting save the electricity if having PF correction? —————————————— Answer by Ken CIf they are both PF corrected, then the power consumed would be about the same. The advantages of an electronics ballast are weight reduction and a wider input voltage range. It’s
about 1 year ago
There’s no reason why a material built as a sheet couldn’t be built as just a very very narrow sheet and be like a wire, but why would you want to? Key to the effectiveness of solar power is how much light they can capture and then make use of, which is multiplied by a factor proportional to width in a rectangle or whatever. Area is good.
about 1 year ago
a solar cell is basically ohmic contacts to semiconductor material. forming it as a wire gives you very little area for incident light, hence such construction would be impractical and inefficient.
it has to be at least wide enough so that the top metal doesn’t block light from entering the semiconductor material.
about 1 year ago
Sure. Recently it has been done experimentally.
http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/14754/
Personally I don’t think this is as useful as the inventors claim.
As for thick wires… I don’t see a geometric advantage of making a wire. Solar cells do not like to be illuminated unevenly and a wire is kind of a guarantee for uneven illumination. I can’t quite imagine an application which would absolutely need a wire and couldn’t be done any other way.
As a curiosity, solar wires will certainly stick around. As a practical application… probably not so much.
That’s just my two cents.