A bright future with solar lanterns for India's poor
Solar energy has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural households in India as well as contribute to the country's future energy security, according to Professor Govindasamy Agoramoorthy from Tajen University, who is Tata-Sadguru Visiting Chair, and Dr. Minna Hsu from the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. view more (2009-04-28)
Nano surfaces could slash cost of solar energy
Nanotechnologies which can artificially change the optical properties of materials to allow light to be trapped in solar cells could greatly reduce the cost of solar energy. view more (2005-02-03)
Plastic solar cell efficiency breaks record at WFU nanotechnology center
The global search for a sustainable energy supply is making significant strides at Wake Forest University as researchers at the university's Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials have announced that they have pushed the efficiency of plastic solar cells to more than 6 percent. view more (2007-04-20)
Astrophysicists find fractal image of Sun's 'Storm Season' imprinted on Solar Wind
Plasma astrophysicists at the University of Warwick have found that key information about the Sun's 'storm season' is being broadcast across the solar system in a fractal snapshot imprinted in the solar wind. view more (2007-05-29)
Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized solar energy'
New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalized solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities. view more (2009-11-05)
Researchers demonstrate 'avalanche effect' in solar cells
Researchers at TU Delft and the FOM Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter have found irrefutable proof that the so-called avalanche effect by electrons occurs in specific, very small semiconducting crystals. view more (2008-05-27)
The future of solar-powered houses is clear
People could live in glass houses and look at the world through rose-tinted windows while reducing their carbon emissions by 50% thanks to QUT Institute of Sustainable Resources (ISR) research. view more (2008-04-10)
Highways Agency congratulated for environmentally friendly lighting
Lighting that shines in a controlled manner rather than skywards, has resulted in the Highways Agency being congratulated by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee recently. The Committee praised the Agency for forward thinking, and believes the high pressure sodium lanterns are a step in the right direction to reducing light... view more... (2003-12-01)
A New Russian Meteorite?
On Thursday 3 October, residents of the village of Bodaibo in the Irkutsk region of Siberia witnessed the fall of a large glowing object from space. Witnesses saw a large fireball in the sky, followed by a thunder-like sound, a flash of light, and a small earth tremor. Scientists from the Institute of Solar and Earth Physics of the Russian Academy... view more... (2002-10-04)
Voyager data may reveal trajectory of solar system
Nearly 30 years after launch, the two Voyager spacecraft are still operational and returning useful data. In their early years they produced some of the first close up images of the large outer planets. view more (2006-05-31)
Star on a Hubble diet
How heavy can a star be? This conundrum has haunted astronomers for decades. Theory indicates that there should be an upper stellar mass limit somewhere between 120 and 300 solar masses. Even though heavy stars are very bright, measurements of their masses can be complicated. view more (2006-12-12)
Industrial collaboration on Uppsala solar cells
In five years' time, the first factory-made solar cell panels developed in Uppsala will be on the market. This can become a reality thanks to a new agreement between three major companies, two investment funds, and a spin-off company from the Uppsala University Ã"¦ngström Solar Center. Swedish solar cell technology has long been on the... view more... (2003-06-27)
University of Alberta and NINT researchers make solar energy breakthrough
The University of Alberta and the National Research Council's National Institute (NINT) for Nanotechnology have engineered an approach that is leading to improved performance of plastic solar cells (hybrid organic solar cells). view more (2009-02-26)
Getting into hot water
An analysis of the engineering and economics for a solar water-heating system shows it to have a payback period of just two years, according to researchers in India. They report, in the International Journal of Global Energy Issues, on the success of the 1000-liter system operating at a university hostel. view more (2009-03-09)
Winds of 320 000 kilometres per hour on the Sun
The SUMER instrument on the ESA-NASA SOHO spacecraft has measured amazing wind speeds during its observations of the Sun. It sets a new record in its examination of two loops of gas arching in the solar atmosphere, where NASA`s TRACE satellite spotted bright blobs of gas. Shifts in the wavelength of ultraviolet light from highly ionized neon... view more... (2002-05-17)
New efficiency record for solar cells
The efficiency improvement is achieved by the use of an ultra-thin aluminum oxide layer at the front of the cell, and it brings a breakthrough in the use of solar energy a step closer. view more (2008-05-15)
Silicon nanoparticles enhance performance of solar cells
Placing a film of silicon nanoparticles onto a silicon solar cell can boost power, reduce heat and prolong the cell's life, researchers now report. view more (2007-08-21)
Solar Contribution To 'Global Warming' Predicted To Decrease
New research on the sun's contribution to global warming is reported in this month's Astronomy & Geophysics. By looking at solar activity over the last 11,000 years, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) astrophysicist, Mark Clilverd, predicts that the sun's contribution to warming the Earth will reduce slightly over the next 100 years. This is a... view more... (2003-10-01)
Glowing Accolade For Scottish Solar Physicist
A University of St Andrews solar physicist has been awarded one of the world's most prestigious accolades for his shining contribution to solar theory. Professor Eric Priest of the School of Mathematics and Statistics was this week awarded the Hale Prize 2002, usually awarded every two years by the American Astronomical Society (AAS). It is the... view more... (2002-06-07)
Space technology keeps Nuna II ahead of the pack
The Nuon Solar Team look set to beat their own world record for driving a sun-powered car across Australia in the World Solar Challenge. At the end of day 3 Nuna II, despite two flat tires, finished half an hour ahead of its closest competitors. Nuna II, raced by the Nuon Solar Team, and aided by ESA space technology, reached Cadney Homestead,... view more... (2003-10-21)
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