Nanhua blog

Monday, March 23, 2015

Wind Energy could be stored in Huge Underground Salt Caverns and released during low seasons

Wind turbines encounter difficulties during the energy production because there are fluctuations in wind speed during different seasons. The main problem is that the peak seasons in energy production are not the same as the peak seasons for energy consumption. Therefore, it is wise to store the energy for later use. Engineers in Utah are working on a huge project that will make the storage of wind energy easy. They are going to adapt the old salt mine caverns and store the compressed air in them. The principle is easy, wind turbines will generate electricity for the air compressors that will send air to the caverns during the high seasons. The compressed air will be released during the low seasons, when the wind speed is not high enough and the electricity will be generated by the compressed air. Although there were similar projects in Alabama and Germany, the size of the current project in Utah is enormous. Storing air is much cheaper and more convenient than storing energy in the batteries. Therefore, this technology is very promising.

Source->

http://www.pddnet.com/news/2014/09/huge-underground-salt-caverns-could-store-wind-generated-energy

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Synthetic Biology will Supply the Future Missions to Mars

The problems to Mars missions and colonization are closely related to the great distances between Mars and Earth. The problems of supplying the mission during the long distance journey are hard to solve. The scientists are trying to solve this problem by developing synthetic fuel, materials and food. Synthetic fuel could be produced by turning carbon dioxide into methane. Food could be produced by microbiological farming and minerals could be used for materials for 3D printing. By using these technologies, the necessary fuel and food load could be decreased by 50 percent. Although these technologies are still in development, the first testing could be used for a Moon base, before missions to Mars.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Nearly 'Invisible' solar panels will be integrated in future buildings

Solar panels are ruining aesthetics of many buildings and there are many researches that are trying to create the solar panels that are nearly invisible since they blend in with the buildings. The traditional photovoltaic solar panels are not decorative and they have visible cables, frames, mounting poles and other accessories. The main idea is to create the solar panels that have other color than the traditional black and blue photovotaic cells. The main problem is the fact that white and other bright colors are reflecting the solar radiation instead of absorbing it. Therefore it was impossible to use white panels. To solve this problem, it is necessary to develop solar panels that are using the infrared solar spectrum. The scientists have created the solar cells that are effectively using the infrared spectrum. The silicone based solar cells are blended into the panels. Because of the fact that these panels use only infrared light, they can operate at lower temperatures than the traditional solar cells. Nearly invisible solar panels will surely find their application in buildings, cars, personal electronics and other equipment. Some time is needed to implement the technology to practice, but the first results will surely be visible in the near future.

Monday, March 16, 2015

In the Future, Spray-on Transparent Solar Nano Cells will become reality

If you want to make any surface into a solar cell, you could just use a solar spray. This technology is still in development, but the main principle is based on organic solar nano cells that are so small that they can be sprayed on any surface, including glass, plastic, paper, wood or any other material. This easy technique will certainly lower the costs for production of solar panels as any structures could be easily sprayed with solar nano cells and they will become solar panels. You could imagine roofs or whole houses sprayed with nano solar cells. This would easily make a house completely energy independent with high yield solar power cells with large surface. Beside being efficient, this technology would also be environmentally friendly as there is no need to produce separate solar panels and then replace them after they wear off. You just spray the nano cells and repair the old solar cells. Ultrathin film of hydrogen carbon materials that is 1000 times thinner than the human hair could easily be sprayed on any surface and replace the traditional solar panels. The technology is still in development, but the first applications on lab scale have been tested.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

In the Future Body Heat will be used to produce electricity that can charge cell phones and other devices

Human body produces large quantities of heat that are released in the environment. The main question is if it is possible to use this heat to generate electricity and charge mobile phones and other gadgets. The scientists have made progress in related research by developing termoelectric technology that is based on carbon nanotubes. The main idea is to line the devices with a special nanofiber material that is able to convert heat into electricity. You could put your phone in your pocket and it will be charged by using your body heat. The other ideas for inventions based on the termoelectric principle is creating car seats lined with termoelectric materials and boost the car batteries. Chairs and sofas could also be lined with termoelectric materials and you could just sit at home and watch TV and generate electricity for your devices. Termoelectic materials that are based on carbon nanotubes are still in development, but we could certainly hope that the idea will come into practical usage.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Microscopic Wind Turbines will recharge and power the future mobile phones and other gadgets

You can imagine tiny wind turbines in your phone that could power your phone on the go. The first steps in this technology have already been made with a development of a 1.8 mm wind turbine. The main idea is that you could recharge your phone just by waving it in the air or holding it next to an open window. Hundreds of micro turbines could be installed in a cell phone sleeve. This is a good idea for people who spend a lot of time outdoors and there is no opportunity to charge the phone.

The other interesting usage of microscopic wind turbines is to create wind panels. Wind panels could be made by using thousands of micro wind turbines that could power houses or provide lighting. Wind panels could be easily mounted on the walls and other structures.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The future of wind energy is in Airborne high altitude wind turbines

According to the calculations, wind speed is three times higher at 2000m than at 30m of altitude. At the same time, wind power is thirty times higher at 2000m than at 30m of altitude. Concerning these calculations, the scientists agree that airborne high altitude wind turbines are the future of wind energy. Some attempts have been already made Alaska and other parts of the world. At high altitudes, constant strong winds can provide reliable energy sources.

The main concepts of airborne wind turbines include:

Balloon

Kite

Kytoon

Tethered autogen

Read more about airborne future technologies for wind turbines here ->

http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2014/07/02/wind-turbine-rises-high-altitude-future-wind-energy/

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The future of solar power is in usage of Perovskites instead of Silicon in Photovoltaic solar cells

The photovoltaic solar cells that are currently used for harvesting of solar power are highly ineffective with power conversion rates that are lower than 15%. Therefore it is necessary to find the new materials for the solar cells. Silicone are widely used for solar cells, but many scientists are researching the materials that can replace silicon. Perovskites are special mineral structures, where calcium titanium trioxide is one of the most common forms. The researchers still need to solve the barriers that are caused by high costs of perovskites comparing to silicone. The first perovskite solar cells have already reached 16 percent efficiency and there are predictions that they will reach more than 50 percent efficiency in the future.

Monday, March 2, 2015

In the Future Force Field Could Replace Windshield Wipers - first applications are in development

Windshield wipers are highly ineffective in many cases and they wear off with time. Therefore, the scientists have developed an advanced force field system that can effectively remove all the water, debris, snow or ice from the windshield, making it clear and increasing visibility. This technology was at first developed for fighter jets, but it can also be used for cars. An ultrasonic transducer sends waves of ultrasound that removes all of the debris from the windshield.

This technology could significantly improve the traffic safety, especially during bad weather conditions.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Skin implants will replace passwords in the future - the first successful implementation of new technology

In the future a tiny implant the size of a grain of rice could replace all of your keys, passwords, id and other documents. The first successful usage of a tiny skin implant was recently tested in Cancun. The near field communication chip implanted in a hand could successfully replace the car keys, proximity cards, digital passwords and other electronic barriers. The tiny implant is equipped with a battery that is in a dormant state until it is used. This makes it possible to use the implant for a long period of time without a need for replacement of the battery.

Several questions still arise about the safety of the implants and protection of the data that is stored in them. The high level encryption methods are necessary for their usage and protection of the data. However, this technology will certainly make the life easier by eliminating the need for passwords, keys and other documents.