Record efficiency of 18.7 percent for flexible CIGS solar cells on plastics Public release date: 19-May-2011 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Professor Dr. Ayodhya N. It's all about the money. One major advantage of flexible high-performance CIGS solar cells is the potential to lower manufacturing costs through roll-to-roll processing while at the same time offering a much higher efficiency than the ones currently on the market. At the forefront of efficiency improvements In recent years, thin film photovoltaic technology based on glass substrates has gained sufficient maturity towards industrial production; flexible CIGS technology is, however, still an emerging field. Record efficiencies of up to 17.5% on steel foils covered with impurity diffusion barriers were so far achieved with CIGS growth processes at temperatures exceeding 550°C. Scaling up production of flexible CIGS solar cells The continuous improvement in energy conversion efficiencies of flexible CIGS solar cells is no small feat, says Empa Director Gian-Luca Bona. [ Print | E-mail
7 Ways to Get Rid of the Bed For LifeEdited, Graham describes his sleeping requirements: The apartment should have at least a queen size bed, ideally raised off the floor. Or should the bed just go away? Like this article? "Our beds are empty two-thirds of the time.Our living rooms are empty seven-eighths of the time.Our office buildings are empty one-half of the time.It's time we gave this some thought." While Bucky notes that beds are used for a third of the time, we are asleep for much of that. One thing that designers never talk about when they put in alcove or bunk beds is that they are hard to make; there is nothing easier than walking around a conventional bed at conventional height. Another Italian version of a loft bed that probably costs as much as buying a bedroom, but will help you make the most of small spaces, is the spectacular Tumidei line, which is full of interesting ideas. But perhaps the best solutions are those which are adapted to the particular situations and needs. Like this article?
Surface Area and Wind Power Click for bigger version. Credit: Land Art Generator Initiative. Putting Things in Perspective The picture above has been making the rounds of the internet lately (sadly it hasn't always been attributed to the Land Art Generator Initiative). It's a bit similar to things we posted aboutin the past and represents the total surface area that would be required to power the whole world in 2030 using nothing but solar or wind power (see below for wind power pic). All the assumptions used to create the solar power pic above (you can click on it to see a bigger version) can be found here, but here are the main ones: They did the same thing with wind power (again, you can click on the pic above to see a bigger version): A 5 MW turbine can be expected to produce 17 GWh per year (they are 40% effective from their peak rated capacity - 5 MW x 365 x 24 = 43.8 GWh). Of course, nobody's suggesting creating a kind of "clean energy monoculture".
How to Build a DIY Portable Solar Charging System! 5 years ago, it was a lot harder to build your own solar-charging systems but now there are so much more resources plus price of solar systems have dropped quite a bit. If you own a home and you have some space in your backyard (or roof) for solar panels, there’s absolutely no reason why you aren’t powering some of your home electronics via the power of the sun (unless you live in Alaska and it’s no-sun season). Here’s a great example of a DIY portable solar charging system built completely from scratch with most parts bought on eBay, a portable solar charging system with wheels and you can plug-in anything. You’ve probably found this Instructable to gather ideas about making a portable solar power supply yourself. I’ve always been interested in electronics with this project being my latest idea to come wandering out of my head, why not make a portable box on wheels, that I can plug basically anything into, thats powered by the sun?
Combo Couch: All-in-One Lounger, Love Seat + Sofa Bed = « Dornob Sofa beds sneak two functions into one piece of furniture, but these designs go beyond the binary ‘convertible couch’ typology to be completely modular, comfortable for sitting up, laying back or lying down in any number of custom configurations. This seating set from Zuiver builds on the classic fold-out footrest and flip-up backrest concepts of an easy chair, but take such loungers to new levels by expanding the entire idea horizontally into a multi-person love seat, then stretch it further to a full-length sleep-friendly sofa. Each modular segment can be flipped in, out, up or down as desired by the people using each part of the seating space – a pair of chairs can be formed within the larger whole of the couch, or the entire system can open and accommodate a couple comfortably. Smaller versions are also interesting craft experiments, but the purpose seems less clear in a simple lounge chair variant.
Magenn Power Inc. Solar power without solar cells: A hidden magnetic effect of light could make it possible (PhysOrg.com) -- A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light discovered by University of Michigan researchers could lead to solar power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells. The researchers found a way to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics. In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics. “You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of Applied Physics. Light has electric and magnetic components. “This could lead to a new kind of solar cell without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge separation,” Rand said. What makes this possible is a previously undetected brand of “optical rectification,” says William Fisher, a doctoral student in applied physics.
Patchwork Orange: Art of Fixing Buildings with LEGO Blocks « Dornob A missing brick here and chipped stone there show the normal marks of wear and tear on the structures and streets of a city, but filling them in with multi-colored LEGO bricks makes them stand out in sharp relief with their surroundings – especially in a place like Berlin. Titled ‘Dispatchwork’ (a linguistic play on ‘dispatching’ and ‘patching’ the holes), this is part urban art installation, part historical highlighting (since many of the gaps date back to World War II) and part method of calling attention to buildings that could use some help. Jan Vormann has been toying with LEGO pieces for a long time in various artistic capacities – as well as infilling structural holes with mirrors and other attention-getting materials. It may look haphazard at first, but there is an art to the process: identifying gaps is naturally subjective, and filling them in is both a creative and crafty act that can involve turning corners and working with existing structural details.
Debut of the first practical 'artificial leaf' Public release date: 27-Mar-2011 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 714-765-2012 (Meeting, March 27-31) 202-872-6042 (Before March 27) Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 714-765-2012 (Meeting, March 27-31) 202-872-6293 (Before March 27) American Chemical Society ANAHEIM, March 27, 2011 — Scientists today claimed one of the milestones in the drive for sustainable energy — development of the first practical artificial leaf. "A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades," said Daniel Nocera, Ph.D., who led the research team. The device bears no resemblance to Mother Nature's counterparts on oaks, maples and other green plants, which scientists have used as the model for their efforts to develop this new genre of solar cells. The hydrogen and oxygen gases would be stored in a fuel cell, which uses those two materials to produce electricity, located either on top of the house or beside it. [ Print | E-mail
Horror Stationery Disturbing stationery designed by Jacques Pense for 13th Street, the most popular crime and horror television channel in Germany. Envelope Ripping open the horror envelope tears out the zombie’s eyes. CD Cover Saw shaped compact disk sticks into zombie’s head. Greeting Card Opening the greeting card tears a hole in the blood covered head. Letter An attachment has been stapled to the letter to give the appearance that the staple went through the zombie’s eyes. Invoice Archiving the invoice results in punctured zombie heads. Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt, Germany For more inspiration, check out: Super Mario Wedding Invitations
Clean, cheap hydrogen production from water using cobalt catalyst For years, proponents of the hydrogen economy have argued that hydrogen will replace traditional hydrocarbon fuels for transportation purposes. But, so far, a lack of new, inexpensive methods for hydrogen production and storage has impeded this goal. Over the last several years, an MIT professor has been pushing cobalt catalysts as a cheap replacement for the expensive metals typically used to split water. A paper in this week's Proceedings of the National Academies of Science describes the latest progress here: integrating the cobalt catalyst with a silicon solar cell to create a device that uses the sun to split water. Hydrogen is a desirable fuel, because when it is burned or otherwise consumed (as in a fuel cell), it only produces water, although combustion results in small amounts of nitrogen oxides as by-products.
The Ultimate Photoshop Toolbox - Noupe Design Blog Sep 07 2010 For years now, whenever designers have been asked about their go-to program for image editing and creation, one of the top answers that comes back, is Adobe Photoshop. Its generations of evolution has centered around the growth of any number of digital imaging professionals and has made this software giant a staple in the graphic design community. Since so many of us find this tool in our design arsenals, we thought we would put together a post that would have you get the most out of this dynamic imaging program. Below is a collection of invaluable Photoshop resources from the online community that runs the proverbial gamut of available PS content. Websites The websites that have been gathered below are the first place that you should go when you are setting out on a path of beefing up your proverbial toolbox of Photoshop resources. Web Designer’s Toolkit is a valuable resource for Photoshoppers indeed. Photoshop Tutorials is a site whose name slightly undersells the place.