Skip to main content

Home/ qmstech2/ Group items tagged to

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
dylan purner

Energy Basics: Photovoltaics - 1 views

www.eere.energy.gov/...photovoltaics.html

solar history

shared by dylan purner on 08 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • First used in about 1890, "photovoltaic" has two parts: photo, derived from the Greek word for light, and volt, relating to electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta. And this is what photovoltaic materials and devices do—they convert light energy into electrical energy, as French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered as early as 1839.
  • kenyonlau99 on 08 Mar 13
     
    "First used in about 1890, "photovoltaic" has two parts: photo, derived from the Greek word for light, and volt, relating to electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta. And this is what photovoltaic materials and devices do-they convert light energy into electrical energy, as French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered as early as 1839. Becquerel discovered the process of using sunlight to produce an electric current in a solid material. But it took more than another century to truly understand this process. Scientists eventually learned that the photoelectric or photovoltaic effect caused certain materials to convert light energy into electrical energy at the atomic level. PV systems are already an important part of our daily lives. Simple PV systems provide power for small consumer items such as calculators and wristwatches. More complicated systems provide power for communications satellites, water pumps, and the lights, appliances, and machines in some homes and workplaces. Many road and traffic signs also are now powered by PV. In many cases, PV power is the least expensive form of electricity for these tasks."
carusonepay99

How sustainable is wind power? | OregonLive.com - 0 views

blog.oregonlive.com/...sustainable_is_wind_power.html

wind sustainable

shared by carusonepay99 on 08 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • When looking at a wind powered electric generator, many people see a permanent source of renewable electricity. The problem with this image is that wind generators have shorter life spans than the term “sustainable” would imply. Wooden windmills in Holland that used to power industrial machinery before the invention of steam engines were more durable than these picket lines of propellers along our Columbia Gorge. The composite material and rare earth chemicals they require are both perishable and costly to replace. More important, like fossil fuels, our planet has a finite supply of these materials. Wind power is such an inefficient means of generating electricity that a world that seriously relied on it the way we do fossil fuels would run out of the limited resources needed to build and maintain them long before our present trends would exhaust our vast bounty of hydrocarbons.
  • carusonepay99 on 08 Mar 13
     
    "The first hard core environmentalist I ever encountered in life taught my 8th grade energy class at Estacada Junior High, a course that President Carter's brand new Department of Education had mandated upon us a decade before as a symbolic gesture to show he cared about America's energy future. Despite an overall policy of separating church and state, in this class it was the gospel that we would deplete all fossil fuels by the year 2000. Back when "2000" was preceded by "THE YEAR" it seemed so far away didn't it? The only lasting lesson this course taught me was a healthy skepticism of government mandated indoctrination."
cottonetar98

GENERATION TO THE NATION - 0 views

www.ehow.com/es_4740597_wind-farm-work.html

wind form ehow

shared by cottonetar98 on 08 Mar 13 - No Cached
cottonetar98 liked it
  • Wind is created when the sun hits the earth. The air above water and the air above the ground heat at different rates. Since the air above the ground heats faster, the warm air from the ground hits the atmosphere first. It then is pushed out toward the sea. As the air heads toward the sea, it gets colder and sinks back down to the sea level. This creates a current pushing the sea air toward the land in the form of wind. The stronger the sun's energy on the land and water, the faster the wind will circulate.
  • As the gearbox turns, it feeds the RPM into the generator, which transfers the energy into usable electrical energy and stores it. Large cables are attached to the generator that feed the electrical currents from the generators of all the wind turbines on the farm into one electrical storage area. The energy can then be transported through power lines around the area for commercial and home usage.
  • cottonetar98 on 08 Mar 13
     
    What makes wind. 
aaronschr00

Where does Wind Energy Come From? - 1 views

www.motiva.fi/...index.htm

wind history

shared by aaronschr00 on 08 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • All renewable energy (except tidal and geothermal power), and even the energy in fossil fuels, ultimately comes from the sun. The sun radiates 174,423,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy to the earth per hour.
  • The sun radiates 174,423,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy to the earth per hour.
  • freeberntay99 on 08 Mar 13
     
    " Where does Wind Energy come From? All renewable energy (except tidal and geothermal power), and even the energy in fossil fuels, ultimately comes from the sun. The sun radiates 174,423,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy to the earth per hour. In other words, the earth receives 1.74 x 10 17 watts of power . 1) About 1 to 2 per cent of the energy coming from the sun is converted into wind energy. That is about 50 to 100 times more than the energy converted into biomass by all plants on earth. 2)"
rascoekat00

Tidal Power - How Tidal Power Plants Work - 0 views

inventors.about.com/...tidal_power.htm

tidal energy

shared by rascoekat00 on 11 Mar 13 - Cached
  • Tidal power traditionally involves erecting a dam across the opening to a tidal basin. The dam includes a sluice that is opened to allow the tide to flow into the basin; the sluice is then closed, and as the sea level drops, traditional hydropower technologies can be used to generate electricity from the elevated water in the basin. Some researchers are also trying to extract energy directly from tidal flow streams.
  • Another form of ocean energy is called tidal energy. When tides comes into the shore, they can be trapped in reservoirs behind dams. Then when the tide drops, the water behind the dam can be let out just like in a regular hydroelectric power plant.
  • kramerjac99 on 11 Mar 13
     
    How it works
butlerlei98

tidal energy steps to electricity - Google Search - 1 views

www.google.com/webhp

history tide

shared by butlerlei98 on 11 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • butlerlei98 on 11 Mar 13
     
    "Mills using tidal power can be dated back to 12th century Europe, a technology that followed colonists to the Americas."
millingtoneli99

Aquamarine Power - Why wave power? The potential to capture clean sustainable energy fr... - 2 views

www.aquamarinepower.com/...why-wave-power

wave sustainable

shared by millingtoneli99 on 11 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Ocean waves are generated by wind passing over the surface of the sea - a process which often begins many hundreds or thousands of miles from shore.
  • rodriguezjos99 on 11 Mar 13
     
    "Ocean waves represent our planet's last untapped natural renewable energy resource.  Over 70 per cent of the earth's surface is covered with water.  The energy contained within waves has the potential to produce up to 80,000TWh of electricity per year - sufficient to meet our global energy demand five times over. The potential to capture energy from the sea offers a vast and endless source of clean sustainable electricity."
crandallmad00

Energy Resources: Tidal power - 0 views

www.darvill.clara.net/...tidal.htm

tide wave

shared by crandallmad00 on 11 Mar 13 - Cached
  • A huge dam (called a "barrage") is built across a river estuary. When the tide goes in and out, the water flows through tunnels in the dam. The ebb and flow of the tides can be used to turn a turbine, or it can be used to push air through a pipe, which then turns a turbine. Large lock gates, like the ones used on canals, allow ships to pass. If one was built across the Severn Estuary, the tides at Weston-super-Mare would not go out nearly as far - there'd be water to play in for most of the time. But the Severn Estuary carries sewage and other wastes from many places (e.g. Bristol & Gloucester) out to sea. A tidal barrage would mean that this stuff would hang around Weston-super-Mare an awful lot longer! Also, if you're one of the 80,000+ birds that feeds on the exposed mud flats when the tide goes out, then you have a problem, because the tide won't be going out properly any more.
dpurdy

First Tidal Power in U.S. Starts Flowing to the Grid - IEEE Spectrum - 0 views

spectrum.ieee.org/...wer-starts-flowing-to-the-grid

tide current

shared by dpurdy on 19 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • An offshore turbine is finally spinning in the United States!
  • Bay of Fundy, off the Maine coast. The TidGen has a peak power output of 180 kilowatts, enough to power around 25 to 30 homes
  • dpurdy on 19 Mar 13
     
    The ONLY tidal power plant connected to the grid in the US is online.
rascoekat00

Where is tidal power being used to generate electricity - 0 views

wiki.answers.com/...g_used_to_generate_electricity

tide power convert electricity

shared by rascoekat00 on 19 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Barrage systems. This system, built like a dam across a river, holds back the water till the tide has gone out, then uses the potential energy of the water to turn turbines in the barrage. This is an expensive system with many disadvantages.
  • Tidal Stream systems. This consists of using turbines, rather like wind turbines, to use the kinetic power of the moving water to generate electricity. This is easier and cheaper to install.
  • There are three Barrage systems operating throughout the world. One large 240 MW plant on the Rance River in France, and two small plants, one in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, and another in Kislaya Guba in Russia.
demboskiemm00

Solar power in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/...lar_power_in_the_United_States

solar current

shared by demboskiemm00 on 22 Oct 12 - Cached
  • Solar potential from very large scale solar power plants State Land used (sq mi) Potential (GWp) Annual generation (TWh) Arizona 19,279 2,468 5,837 California 6,853 877 2,075 Colorado 2,124 272 643 Nevada 5,589 715 1,692 New Mexico 15,156 1,940 4,588 Texas 1,162 149 351 Utah 3,564 456 1,079
  • 6,877
  • Total generation in the United States is about 3,800 TWh.[11]
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • ) systems. This was double the 435 MW installed in 2009 around the U.S.[16] According to a 2011 survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, nine out of 10 Americans support the use and development of solar technology. Eight out of 10 respondents indicated that "the federal government should support solar manufacturing in the U.S. and should give federal subsidies for solar energy".[17] According to the Energy Information Administration, in 2010, subsidies to the solar power industry amounted to 8.2% ($968 million) of all federal subsidies for electricity generation.[18] Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research found that the amount of new solar electric capacity increased in 2012 by 76 percent from 2011, raising the United States’ market share of the world’s installations above 10 percent, up from roughly 5 to 7 percent in the last seven years. [19]
  • vogelabi98 on 22 Oct 12
     
    "Total: 42,554 MW - 76,577 MW, depending on the technology used"
hughesacam99

Wave Energy Pros and Cons - Tidal and Ocean Wave Power Still Niche Technologies | Green... - 2 views

www.greenworldinvestor.com/...power-still-niche-technologies

pros wave energy

shared by hughesacam99 on 22 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Wave Power is quite immature,costly and unproven in large scale. While some companies have made good progress, the technology remains largely unproven and has only been put to actual test in pilot cases.
  • While Wave Energy has been known since the 1700s the progress has been extremely slow.
  • One of the biggest problems of Renewable Power is that it is intermittent in nature as it generates energy only when there are waves. This problem can be solved with energy storage however this leads to additional costs.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Severe Weather like Storms and Typhoons can be quite devastating on the Wave Power Equipment especially those place on the Sea Floor.
  • This is a disadvantage which is common to all  the 3 types of Water based Energy that is Tidal, Hydro and Waver Energy. Some forms of Energy are just better suited to some places.
  • Wave Power generate power quite far away from the consumption of electricity. Transportation of Wave Energy can be quite cumbersome and expensive. Some Wave Energy Generators are converting power at the bottom of the ocean or far away from the shoreline. Moving that power towards where it is used can be difficult.
  • The sight of wave generators around the shoreline can look quite ugly and cause loss of tourism potential around shorelines. Also local residents can have problems even with wave power equipment which is not far offshore. The Cape Wind Energy project off the shore of Massachusetts has been delayed by over 10 years as it has drawn serious objections from the owners of coastal homes about loss in their property values.
  • A Wave Power Plant can cost around$6-10 million million to be spent in building 1 Megawatt.
  • Waver Energy does not require any fuel like most other sources of energy
  • Wave Energy is powered by the waves of the ocean which are totally free just like Wind and Sunlight.
  • Wave Energy Generators can be installed in various sizes with as little as 1 MW. This is not possible for other energy forms which require a minimum large size such as Coal, Nuclear etc.
tavarreskat99

Tidal power (tidal energy) facts - Interesting energy facts - 1 views

interestingenergyfacts.blogspot.com/...-power-tidal-energy-facts.html

tidal energy

shared by tavarreskat99 on 22 Oct 12 - Cached
  • Tide mills, in use on the Spanish, French and British coasts, date back to 787 A.D.
  • Tidal energy is a type of energy that produces electricity and other forms of power through the use of water.
  • The tide moves a huge amount of water twice each day and although the tidal energy supply is reliable and plentiful, converting it into useful electrical power is not easy.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • The first involves converting the power of the horizontal movement of the water into electricity. The second involves producing energy from the rise and drop of water levels
  • Although the technology required to harness tidal energy is well established, tidal power is expensive, and there is only one major tidal generating station in operation. This is a 240 megawatt station at the mouth of the La Rance river estuary in France.
  • There are three prototypes of tidal energy devices: horizontal axis turbine, vertical axis turbine, and oscillating devices
  • Tidal energy is not on the list of sustainable energy technologies the UN agencies even though for islanders it is our best hope for large amounts of affordable clean power.
  • Turbines, similar to wind turbines, can be anchored to the sea bed to generate electricity from tidal currents
  • Tidal energy has an efficiency of 80% in converting the potential energy of the water into electricity
dpurdy

BBC News - Wilburton giant solar farm connected to National Grid - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...ngland-cambridgeshire-14218355

solar grid transported infrastructure how

shared by dpurdy on 26 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • dpurdy on 26 Oct 12
     
    Video shows farm connected to grid. This shows the type of infrastructure that will need to be installed. 
dynesbri97

Wind - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/Wind

shared by dynesbri97 on 13 Mar 12 - Cached
  • Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space. Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale, their speed, the types of forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effect. The strongest observed winds on a planet in our solar system occur on Neptune and Saturn.
  • Winds can shape landforms, via a variety of aeolian processes such as the formation of fertile soils, such as loess, and by erosion. Dust from large deserts can be moved great distances from its source region by the prevailing winds; winds that are accelerated by rough topography and associated with dust outbreaks have been assigned regional names in various parts of the world because of their significant effects on those regions. Wind affects the spread of wildfires. Winds disperse seeds from various plants, enabling the survival and dispersal of those plant species, as well as flying insect populations. When combined with cold temperatures, wind has a negative impact on livestock. Wind affects animals' food stores, as well as their hunting and defensive strategies.
  • Wind is caused by differences in pressure. When a difference in pressure exists, the air is accelerated from higher to lower pressure. On a rotating planet, the air will be deflected by the Coriolis effect, except exactly on the equator. Globally, the two major driving factors of large-scale winds (the atmospheric circulation) are the differential heating between the equator and the poles (difference in absorption of solar energy leading to buoyancy forces) and the rotation of the planet. Outside the tropics and aloft from frictional effects of the surface, the large-scale winds tend to approach geostrophic balance. Near the Earth's surface, friction causes the wind to be slower than it would be otherwise. Surface friction also causes winds to blow more inward into low pressure areas.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • [hide]General wind classifications Tropical cyclone classifications (all winds are 10-minute averages) Beaufort scale[17] 10-minute sustained winds (knots) General term[20] N Indian Ocean IMD SW Indian Ocean MF Australian region South Pacific BoM, BMKG, FMS, MSNZ NW Pacific JMA NW Pacific JTWC NE Pacific & N Atlantic NHC & CPHC 0 <1 Calm Low Pressure Area Tropical disturbance Tropical low Tropical Depression Tropical depression Tropical depression Tropical depression 1 1–3 Light air 2 4–6 Light breeze 3 7–10 Gentle breeze 4 11–16 Moderate breeze 5 17–21 Fresh breeze Depression 6 22–27 Strong breeze 7 28–29 Moderate gale Deep depression Tropical depression 30–33 8 34–40 Fresh gale Cyclonic storm Moderate tropical storm Tropical cyclone (1) Tropical storm Tropical storm Tropical storm 9 41–47 Strong gale 10 48–55 Whole gale Severe cyclonic storm Severe tropical storm Tropical cyclone (2) Severe tropical storm 11 56–63 Storm 12 64–72 Hurricane Very severe cyclonic storm Tropical cyclone Severe tropical cyclone (3) Typhoon Typhoon Hurricane (1) 13 73–85 Hurricane (2) 14 86–89 Severe tropical cyclone (4) Major hurricane (3) 15 90–99 Intense tropical cyclone 16 100–106 Major hurricane (4) 17 107–114 Severe tropical cyclone (5) 115–119 Very intense tropical cyclone Super typhoon >120 Super cyclonic storm Major hurricane (5)
Connor Wiggins

HowStuffWorks "How Fuel Cells Work" - 0 views

auto.howstuffworks.com/...fuel-cell.htm

fuel cell sustainable

shared by Connor Wiggins on 15 Mar 12 - Cached
  • This initiative, supported by legislation in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) and the Advanced Energy Initiative of 2006, aims to develop hydrogen, fuel cell and infrastructure technologies to make fuel-cell vehicles practical and cost-effective by 2020
  • Why are governments, private businesses and academic institutions collaborating to develop and produce them? Fuel cells generate electrical power quietly and efficiently, without pollution. Unlike power
  • that use fossil fuels, the by-products from an operating fuel cell are heat and water
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead -- as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.
  • If you want to be technical about it, a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity.
  • polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC)
  • United States has dedicated more than one billion dollars to fuel cell research and development so far.So what exactly is a fuel cell,
  • With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead -- as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.
  • ricciardellinick on 08 Mar 13
     
    "In 2003, President Bush announced a program called the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI) during his State of the Union Address."
  • Connor Wiggins on 11 Mar 13
     
    It shows how its sustainable 
dpurdy

Fuel Cells 2000 : Fuel Cell Basics : Applications - 0 views

www.fuelcells.org/...apps.html

hydrogen current use

shared by dpurdy on 15 Mar 12 - Cached
  • There are many uses for fuel cells — right now, all of the major automakers are working to commercialize a fuel cell car. Fuel cells are powering buses, boats, trains, planes, scooters, forklifts, even bicycles. There are fuel cell-powered vending machines, vacuum cleaners and highway road signs. Miniature fuel cells for cellular phones, laptop computers and portable electronics are on their way to market. Hospitals, credit card centers, police stations, and banks are all using fuel cells to provide power to their facilities. Wastewater treatment plants and landfills are using fuel cells to convert the methane gas they produce into electricity. Telecommunications companies are installing fuel cells at cell phone, radio and 911 towers. The possibilities are endless.
  • Stationary
  • More than 2500 fuel cell systems have been installed all over the world
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Telecommunications
  • Landfills/Wastewater Treatment Plants/Breweries/Wineries-
  • dpurdy on 15 Mar 12
     
    Current Applications for fuel Cells
dpurdy

Top 15 Unexpected Uses For Biodiesel - 0 views

gas2.org/...-unexpected-uses-for-biodiesel

biofuel use

shared by dpurdy on 15 Mar 12 - Cached
  • Producing Hydrogen for Fuel-Cell Vehicles
  • Cleaning Up Oil Spills
  • Generating Electricity
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Heating Your Home
  • Camping: Cooking and Illumination
  • Cleaning Up Tools and Grease
  • Adding Lubricity to Diesel Fuel
  • 8. Removing Paint and Adhesives Biodiesel can replace the exceedingly toxic products designed for paint removal. It’s probably best used for smaller-scale and non-critical applications (ie not on your car’s custom paint job). Biodiesel can also be used to remove adhesive residues, like those left by duct tape. The last 7 uses I’ve heard about but wasn’t able to substantiate. If you know something about these, or have a resource to contribute, feel free to add it here: 9. Asphalt Cleanup Agent 10. Hand Cleaner 11. Crop Adjuvant 12. Screen Printing Ink Remover 13. Auto Wax Remover 14. Corrosion Preventative 15. Metal Working Lubricant
  • dpurdy on 21 Mar 12
     
    Uses for biofuel
dpurdy

Energy Report - Hydrogen - 1 views

www.window.state.tx.us/...h2.php

Fuel Cell history

shared by dpurdy on 15 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Hydrogen is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non-toxic. It is a gas at temperatures above -423° F and is highly diffuse, having a density approximately 14 times less than that of air. Because it is buoyant and diffusive, hydrogen dissipates quickly in open areas and can move through small spaces, which makes it difficult to store. Hydrogen is flammable over a broad range of gas concentration (from 4 to 74 percent), although its lower flammability limit – that is, the lowest temperature and pressure at which it will combust – is higher than those for some common fuels such as gasoline, propane or diesel.1 Hydrogen has been described as “the fuel of the future.” On Earth, hydrogen is found in combination with other elements such as carbon (hydrocarbons), oxygen (water) and nitrogen (ammonia). Although hydrogen may sometimes be used as a fuel, it is most often used as an energy carrier, such as electricity, and not an energy source. To make hydrogen a usable, stand-alone fuel, it must be separated from these other elements by chemical, thermal or electrochemical processes.
  • History British scientist Henry Cavendish identified hydrogen as a distinct element in 1766. Subsequent experiments by British and French scientists resulted in the first flight of a hydrogen balloon and the discovery that applying electricity to water can produce hydrogen and oxygen.
  • In the 1960s, NASA space capsules used hydrogen fuel cells for onboard electric power, heat and water.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) does not maintain comprehensive statistics in this area, but the various demonstration projects suggest that there are some hundreds of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road in the U.S.
  • dpurdy on 15 Mar 12
     
    On Earth, hydrogen is found in combination with other elements such as carbon (hydrocarbons), oxygen (water) and nitrogen (ammonia). Although hydrogen may sometimes be used as a fuel, it is most often used as an energy carrier, such as electricity, and not an energy source. To make hydrogen a usable, stand-alone fuel, it must be separated from these other elements by chemical, thermal or electrochemical processes.
fiorinijam98

E85 | Making Ethanol - 0 views

e85.whipnet.net/...make.ethanol.html

biofuel making

shared by fiorinijam98 on 15 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Wheat or corn kernels are ground in a hammermill to expose the starch. The ground grain is mixed with water, cooked briefly and enzymes are added to convert the starch to sugar using a chemical reaction called hydrolysis. Yeast is added to ferment the sugars to ethanol. The ethanol is separated from the mixture by distillation and the water is removed from the mixture using dehydration.
« First ‹ Previous 141 - 160 of 535 Next › Last »
Showing 20▼ items per page