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Solar Power Breakthrough

From: Ken (SHIELDSIT)19 Aug 2011 17:02
To: ALL1 of 6
38825.1
I found this pretty interesting. I guess it stands to reason that Trees would have this already figured out!

7th grader Aidan Dwyer, who used phyllotaxis — the way leaves are arranged on plant stems in nature — as inspiration to arrange an array of solar panels in a way that generates 20-50% more energy than a uniform, flat panel array.
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From: 99% of gargoyles look like (MR_BASTARD)22 Aug 2011 07:57
To: Ken (SHIELDSIT) 2 of 6
38825.2 In reply to 38825.1
He writes better and more clearly than a lot of adults.
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From: Ken (SHIELDSIT)22 Aug 2011 07:59
To: 99% of gargoyles look like (MR_BASTARD) 3 of 6
38825.3 In reply to 38825.2
He also does solar power better than most adults.
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From: DrBoff (BOFF)22 Aug 2011 10:41
To: Ken (SHIELDSIT) 4 of 6
38825.4 In reply to 38825.1

There was another great story about a girl in her final year of high school that built a mounting for solar panels that followed the sun. The difference being there were no mechanical parts, just two bi-metallic strips, meaning they cost about 10p and give something like a 40% increase in efficiency.

 

Though these numbers are a bit misleading - solar panels are currently only about 30-40% efficient, and those are the really high grade ones, so a 20-40% increase in that is still only getting you to around 50%!

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From: ANT_THOMAS22 Aug 2011 10:45
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 5 of 6
38825.5 In reply to 38825.4
Still, it's free money/electricity if it works for very little. Also, I like the bimetallic strips idea a lot!
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From: Ken (SHIELDSIT)22 Aug 2011 16:01
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 6 of 6
38825.6 In reply to 38825.4
It will take time, but we have to explore other sources I think. Getting kids in on it is a /good/ thing me thinks.
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