Clipmarks | Solar Clips

Scientists create solar cells with a twist.

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:53:18 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: I suppose it won't be hard to have the power to at least power a Laptop. Perhaps a Solar powered tent for camping. We are finding new ways to transform energy into media we can use, and it, with the open information on the web is only bound to improve dramatically

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Julie Steenhuysen

US researchers have found a way to make efficient silicon-based solar cells that are flexible enough to be rolled around a pencil and transparent enough to be used to tint windows on buildings or cars.

The finding, published in the journal Nature Materials, offers a new way to process conventional silicon by slicing the brittle wafers into ultrathin bits and carefully transferring them onto a flexible surface.

"We can make it thin enough that we can put it on plastic to make a rollable system. You can make it grey in the form of a film that could be added to architectural glass," says Professor John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who led the research.

"It opens up spaces on the fronts of buildings as opportunities for solar energy."

Solar cells, which convert solar energy into electricity, are in high demand because of higher oil prices and concerns over climate change.

Rogers says his technology uses conventional single crystal silicon.

NASA spacecraft to visit Mercury again

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:48:51 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: I suppose now they have more of an idea where to look

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A US space probe is poised to glide past Mercury to photograph the solar system's smallest planet, in the second of three planned passes, says NASA.

The NASA spacecraft MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) will pass the innermost planet at an altitude of 201 kilometres with its camera expected to take more than 1200 images of the cratered surface.

Mercury is the closest of all the planets to the Sun, and because of the high-risks of its proximity - the Sun's enormous gravitational pull, and massively high levels of radiation - it is one of the most mysterious bodies in the solar system, even though it is relatively close to Earth.

"The results from MESSENGER's first fly-by of Mercury resolved debates that are more than 30 years old," says Sean Solomon, the mission's principal investigator from the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

"This second encounter will uncover even more information about the planet."

Solar company starts green university

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:08:16 GMT

clipped by: pglaza

Clip Source: www.marketwatch.com

SAN ANTONIO, Oct 06, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sunrise Solar Corp. (SSLR:

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Plug-In Hybrids Aren't Coming — They're Here

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:10:55 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Plug-In Hybrids Aren't Coming — They're Here

Everything about Alison Gannett is green, from her straw-bale house to her solar-powered appliances. But when you're as serious about curbing carbon as she is, a mere hybrid won't do. That's why she spent $35,000 to install an extension cord on her Ford Escape Hybrid.

She is among a small but vocal — and growing — number of people who aren't waiting for automakers to deliver plug-in hybrids. These early adopters are shelling out big money to have already thrifty cars like the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape Hybrid converted into full-on plug-in hybrids capable of triple-digit fuel economy. "I love watching the mileage go up," says Gannett, a world champion extreme skier and dedicated eco-evangelist. "The highest I have gotten is 232 mpg. I average around 80-100 mpg."

Tags: fuel, energy, hybrids, green, ecology, environment

New Solar Cell Easy As Pizza To Make

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:33:44 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Too easy.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Listen Now [2 min 59 sec] add to playlist

Weekend Edition Saturday, October 4, 2008 · The iJET is a new type of solar cell that's cheap and easy to make, requiring not much more than a pizza oven, some nail polish remover, and a common inkjet printer. Australian scientist Nicole Kuepper describes her invention.

Tags: science

Layman's Guide to Global Warming

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:09:33 GMT

clipped by: infopunk
clipper's remarks: Visit site for more details.

Clip Source: www.climatescience.org.nz

LAYMAN'S GUIDE TO "GLOBAL WARMING" HOAX

Clip Source: www.middlebury.net

As our own knowledge of "climate science" grew, so grew our doubts over the "settled science". What we found was the science was far from "settled".. in fact it was barely underway.

"hockey stick" chart

Let's look at a real result, below

CO₂ makes up only 380 of each million molecules of air – the rest are a mixture of all the other atmospheric gases and water vapor – i.e. only one in every 2632 molecules is a CO₂ molecule.

Man-made CO2 doesn't appear physically capable of absorbing much more than
two-thousandths of the radiated heat (IR) passing upward through the atmosphere.

1,500-year cycle in the sun's irradiance

The current warming Solar Cycle is just about over.
The global temperatures have been nominally flat for the past 8 years.
If the Solar Scientists are correct, we about to head into a cooling cycle... which is not good news.

CO₂ is by far the heaviest of the major constituents

Those are shear lines, where the ice has broken, not "melted"

Tags: global warming

Sunspots Are Fewest Since 1954, but Significance Is Unclear

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:53:19 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The Sun has been strangely unblemished this year. On more than 200 days so far this year, no sunspots were spotted. That makes the Sun blanker this year than in any year since 1954, when it was spotless for 241 days.

In another sign of solar quiescence, scientists reported last month that the solar wind, a rush of charged particles continually spewed from the Sun at a million miles an hour, had diminished to its lowest level in 50 years.

Scientists expect that sunspot activity will pick up in the coming months, but exactly what will happen next is open to debate.

the strength of the solar wind seemed to be in a long-term decline. The pressure exerted by the solar wind particles during the current minimum is about a quarter weaker than during the last solar minimum

Global Warming... SUN?

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:57:52 GMT

clipped by: rvnurse2b
clipper's remarks: the solar activity may actually COOL the planet in coming years

Clip Source: www.eworldvu.com

So, Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.

In fact, if the current trend continues, 2008 could total 290 spotless days by the end of December, making it nearly a century since we have seen such a lack of activity fom our sun.

What does the current lack of activity on the sun mean? It could mean that scientists can test their various theories concerning the relationship between the sun and global climate change. It also may mean that much colder times for the planet are just ahead.

"If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration."

Gore was widely quoted last week, in a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative as follows:

Tags: global warming, sun, heat, carbon, solar, weather

usa protector solar

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:44:21 GMT

clipped by: ranascalvas

Clip Source: es.youtube.com

[Video]

tv spain

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:28:54 GMT

clipped by: foxy1

Clip Source: www.sky.com

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Güneş Enerjisi İle Şarj Cihazı

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:51:10 GMT

clipped by: depresan

Clip Source: www.usbgeek.com

TYN-96 USB Solar Charger

The hottest tech job in America: Wildlife biologist

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:09:54 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com

The hottest tech job in America: Wildlife biologist

The hottest tech job in America

Giant solar plants are being built where dozens of protected species live. That’s good news for wildlife biologists.

(Fortune Magazine) — It looks like a scene from an old episode of The X-Files: As a red-tailed hawk circles overhead and a wild pronghorn sheep grazes in the distance, a dozen people in dark sunglasses move methodically through a vast field of golden barley, eyes fixed to the ground, GPS devices in hand. They’re searching for bodies.

In this case, however, the bodies belong to the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and the crew moving through the knee-high grain are wildlife biologists hired by Ausra, a Silicon Valley startup that’s building a solar power plant for utility PG&E on this square mile of central California ranchland.

Tags: wildlife, biologist, wildlife biology, tech jobs

Congress sets stage for solar boom

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:06:05 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com

Green Wombat

Environment + Technology

By Todd Woody

Congress sets stage for solar boom

After months of failed attempts in Congress to extend crucial renewable energy tax credits, the end-game came with lightning speed Friday afternoon: The House of Representatives passed the green incentives attached to the financial bailout package approved by the Senate Wednesday night and President Bush promptly signed the legislation into law.

There were goodies for wind, geothermal and alternative fuels, but the big winner by far was the solar industry.

“It feels like we should be popping the champagne,” said a Silicon Valley solar exec Green Wombat met for lunch minutes after Bush put pen to paper.

Tags: congress, solar, bigsolar, solar panels, wind, windmills

A Solar Prominence Unfurls

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:00:04 GMT

clipped by: fredondo
clipper's remarks: On September 29, this magnificent eruptive solar prominence lifted away from the Sun's surface, unfurling into space over the course of several hours. Suspended in twisted magnetic fields, the hot plasma structure is many times the size of planet Earth and was captured in this view by the Sun-watching STEREO (Ahead) spacecraft.

Clip Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2008 October 4

A Solar Prominence Unfurls

Explanation: On September 29, this magnificent eruptive solar prominence lifted away from the Sun's surface, unfurling into space over the course of several hours. Suspended in twisted magnetic fields, the hot plasma structure is many times the size of planet Earth and was captured in this view by the Sun-watching STEREO (Ahead) spacecraft. The image was recorded in extreme ultraviolet light emitted by ionized Helium, an element originally identified in the solar spectrum. Seen against the brilliant solar surface in visible light, such prominences appear as dark filaments because they are relatively cool. But they are bright themselves when viewed against the blackness of space, arcing above the Sun's edge. A video of the eruption (a 2.6MB .mov file) is available here.

Tags: astronomy

Google plans 4.4-trillion-dollar green energy plan

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:10:03 GMT

clipped by: ninadalton

Clip Source: www.efluxmedia.com

Google plans 4.4-trillion-dollar green energy plan

San Francisco - Web giant Google unveiled a new national energy plan for the US Wednesday that it said would largely wean the country of fossil fuels by 2030.

The 4.4-trillion-dollar plan was developed by Google's philanthropic arm Google.org, which predicted that the county would reap net savings of 1 trillion dollars over the idea's 22-year term.

The plan called "Clean Energy 2030" was unveiled in an online posting by Jeffery Greenblatt, Google.org's climate and energy- technology manager. It is based on halting the generation of electricity from coal and oil by 2030 and instead relying on power from wind, nuclear and geothermal sources.

It also entails cutting oil use for cars by 40 per cent. It calls for heavy investments in transmission capacity for wind and solar power in the Great Plains and desert Southwest to help cut 88 per cent of fossil fuel use and 95 per cent of carbon-dioxide emissions by 2030.