CAJ 7 - Organic Solar Cells

I just found out that there are even more advances in the field of solar energy. Everybody knows the typical silicon solar cells but there also are organic solar cells. They are called organic because they use carbon-based materials to convert light into electric energy. Right now there still are some challenges to be overcome, such as only 5% efficiency compared to 15% efficiency in silicon solar cells. Furthermore the efficiency is worsened by instabilities against oxidation and reduction and by temperature variations. However, they also have major advantages. To start with, these solar cells are cheap to produce and it is possible to use roll-to-roll processing, which makes the production even more cost-effective. The manufacturing also consumes less energy than usual silicon cells. Moreover, the material is light and flexible and is therefore easy to transport, store and install. Due to the flexibility of the material it is also less prone to damage and failure.  One possible application for the material is the use on laptops, phone and even clothes. Even the military uses it by putting it on its tents to generate energy. What is special about it is that the molecule properties can be tailored by molecular engineering to fit the intended application. These organic cells can also be combined with conventional solar cells to form a hybrid solar cell, which combines the advantages of both. Hybrid solar cells have higher efficiency and could be printed in any form or color.

Abstract of “When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection”

The purpose of this paper is to mathematically calculate the possible outcomes of a theoretical outbreak of zombie infection. Due to the fact that the mythical concept of a zombie can differ considerably, one specific type of undead had to be chosen. Accordingly, the type of zombie calculated in this model is the slow moving, cannibalistic and undead kind of zombie that spreads the infection through saliva. To calculate the prospects of human civilization which is attacked by zombies, one basic model was developed and was calculated similarly to usual infectious diseases. This model assumes three classes: the Susceptible (S), the Zombie (Z) and the Removed (R).  It then continues to clarify how S, Z and R interact with each other and uses Euler’s method to solve the equation. On this basis, different scenarios for the human civilization were modeled, such as latent infection, quarantine of the infected, treatment for the disease and impulsive eradication of the zombies. The only two cases in which the outcome for human civilization was not complete extermination, were the model with treatment and the impulsive eradication. However, the impulsive eradication was the only one to actually defeat the zombies, as the treatment only accomplished that a small group of humans could survive. Thus, the recommendation derived from this purely theoretical mathematical model is that humans would have to deal with the new zombies as quickly as possible to avoid human extinction.

CAJ 6 - New Material for Solar Panels

Even though solar energy is a very useful source of energy right now, the technology improves almost every day. Just now a new material for solar panels, called Perovskite, has been discovered. This new material is five times cheaper than the current material and has one special feature. It can not only absorb light to convert it into electricity, it can also emit light. In addition to that it can be produced in different colors. That means that in its semi-translucent form, it could replace current windows. These new windows could produce electricity in sunlight and serve as light decorations or as space for adverts during night. Due to the multitude of colors this material can take, even flat screen displays could be made out of it. That way smart phones, tablets or any kind of electrical device with a flat screen could be recharged by lying in the sun. Clearly, Perovskite is a huge advance in terms of energy safety in the future.

http://www.zeitnews.org/applied-sciences/energy/solar-cell-material-can-absorb-light-during-day-and-emit-light-night

Photography Project - Evaluate Instructions

The instructions for making a camera lucida are generally not well organized but still manage to give the most essential information. As soon as looking at the instructions, one gets confused as where to begin. After eventually finding the start and continuing reading, the confusion grows as one does not know what to glue together exactly. The general lack of numbered steps makes the instructions seem more complicated than necessary. While the drawings provide details for the construction of the camera, the text merely instructs the reader briefly in terms of what actions to perform. The text also does not contain a list of needed materials or tools, which would be very helpful. Another unhelpful part is that a certain David Hockney is mentioned but the reader has no idea who this is supposed to be, so it is a irrelevant information and could simply be left out. Although the text is rather confusing than helpful and although its references to the drawings are unclear, the construction of a camera lucida with the help of these instructions is generally speaking doable.

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CAJ 5 - Infrared energy?

I just stumbled upon a very interesting article on the website “www.zeitnews.org”. It is about a possible new way of creating energy be using temperature differences. Physicists found out that heat that leaves the atmosphere could be used as a power source just like solar energy, which is basically heat entering our atmosphere. This could be accomplished by devices collecting energy by releasing infrared light. One possible model for this would be a solar cell which collects incoming sunlight during the day and collects leaving infrared light during the night. I must say that I like this idea very much. It would mean that solar energy is even more efficient and also that there would be just one device that can generate both types of energy.

http://www.zeitnews.org/applied-sciences/energy/infrared-new-renewable-energy-source

CAJ 1 - Description of Environmental Technology

My topic “Environmental Technology” is a very widespread field as it includes everything that helps to weaken negative impacts of humans on the environment. These negative impacts involve phenomena like air pollution, water pollution, pollution of the soil, global warming and many more. All possible solutions to such problems can be counted as environmental technology. Popular examples for this are photovoltaics, wind energy, water purification or also just simple recycling. Questionable energy sources such as nuclear power could also be included if it does not produce radioactive waste, like the fusion-fission hybrid reactor does not. The main point is that the destruction which is caused by humans living on this planet is reduced.

CAJ 4 - Nuclear Power

For a change of topic in my CAJ, I decided to look into nuclear power as an environmentally friendly option. I am aware that the common fission reactors are not really considered environmentally friendly, even though many people feel that way. Granted, they to not emit greenhouse gases. However, they are insecure and produce huge amounts of radioactive waste. To these problems there already have been found solutions, which results in two better ways to generate energy through nuclear power.

The first and probably more established idea is the fusion reactor. This process does not split the atoms, like in typical fission reactors, but join them. There are many advantages to this idea, like lower waste, more security and higher availability of the resources needed. However, the technology is not quite far enough and many more billions of dollars have to be spend for fusion power research.

The second solution is not as known as the first one but maybe the more realistic one. This concept is called nuclear fusion-fission hybrid and combines nuclear fusion and fission. It was invented back in the 1970s but has not received much interest because fusion seemed more promising. Now that research has shown that fusion power will not be implemented soon, the hybrid version has attracted attention again. As in fusion power alone the energy input is still higher than the energy output, the hybrid version is the only way to make fusion power profitable. Through this hybrid enough energy is produced, waste is reduced to the minimum and safety issues shrink extremely. That is because the fission depends on neutrons provided by the easily stoppable fusion reaction and if the fusion is turned off, the fission reaction stops almost instantly. All this means that this way of generating energy seems reasonably safe and clean.