TRAPPING THE SUN !

AviatorAUTOBOT
Member • Jan 3, 2012

TRAPPING THE SUN !

One problem that solar energy resources face is that the amount of energy used is very less than what it absorbs. Also, this energy needs to be converted into heat energy or mechanical energy, or electrical energy to be used. That makes it too expensive, and unefficient. But some fellows from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (as most of innnovations come from) have found a solution! They have created a sort-of- suntrap using titanium sheets that increases the amount of energy that is usable. Also, no heavy mechanical instruments would be needed as the absorbed energy would be directly usable.
Read More @ Indian Express- #-Link-Snipped-#

Replies

Howdy guest!

Dear guest, you must be logged-in to participate on CrazyEngineers. We would love to have you as a member of our community. Consider creating an account or login.

Replies

Ramani Aswath

Member • Jan 15, 2012

One problem is that solar energy is essentially heat radiated by sun with a surface temperature of about 6000 degC. Heat is virtually the lowest form of energy while mechanical or electrical energy is the highest. The cost of conversion is currently very high. If world over all energy currently used for heating is converted to using solar, a lot of electric power can be saved. We should continue to work on making solar photovoltaic cheaper. However, the need of the hour seems to be to make greater use of solar heat as heat.

Are you sure? This action cannot be undone.
Cancel
lal

Member • Jan 16, 2012

One of the main reasons, I think, for why people dont stick to solar energy is that, the availability is not guaranteed. Any time when there is no bright sunshine means - the complete mechanism is a waste. A clear sky can go cloudy in just minutes and the energy source disappears at some very urgent situations without a warning. And the use through out the year is also restricted.
So it seems to prove not profitable when the capital investment is large and the outcome is not reliable by cent percent.

Are you sure? This action cannot be undone.
Cancel
AviatorAUTOBOT

Member • Jan 19, 2012

Well......as this thread notes, the invention mentioned above hav come-up with the solution of these problems. It just now needs to be taken to the actual market, to reap benefits from it.

Are you sure? This action cannot be undone.
Cancel
M.satya narayana

Member • Apr 13, 2012

lal
One of the main reasons, I think, for why people dont stick to solar energy is that, the availability is not guaranteed. Any time when there is no bright sunshine means - the complete mechanism is a waste. A clear sky can go cloudy in just minutes and the energy source disappears at some very urgent situations without a warning. And the use through out the year is also restricted.
So it seems to prove not profitable when the capital investment is large and the outcome is not reliable by cent percent.
what you are saying is correct but we can handle this problem by using the dual power source instead of using only single solar source so that automatically the power source changes into the available power source when solar power diminishes.

Are you sure? This action cannot be undone.
Cancel