Invisible Solar Nano-cells Promise Clean Energy

Scientists have developed solar cells 200 hundred times thinner than a human hair that could power the nanoscale gadgetry of tomorrow.

From consumer devices to bioterrorism monitors to in-body diagnostics, this ultra-microscopic technology is poised to take centre stage in less than a decade from now. But finding the sources to power these devices was an issues.

However, Charles Leiber and colleagues at Harvard University, have devised a 'silicon nanowire' that can convert light into electrical energy.

Virtually invisible to the naked eye, a single strand can crank out up to 200 picowatts.

Two hundred billionths of a watt may not seem much, but at nanoscale it is enough to provide a steady output of electricity to run ultralow power electronics, including some that could be worn on -- or even inside -- the body.

It is also clean, highly efficient and renewable.

"An individual nanoelectonic device will indeed consume very little power, but to do something interesting will require many interconnected devices and thus the power requirement -- even for nanosystems -- can be a challenge," Lieber said in an e-mail interview.

Monitoring bioterrorism threats, for example, would require an entire array of nanosensors, nanoprocessors to analyse the signals received, and nanotransmitters to relay information to a centralised facility, he said.

Conventional sources, he added, are "bulky, non-renewable and expensive" by comparison.

The cable itself looks, at first blush, like the cables used to hook up cable television networks: both have a core covered with two layers, according to the study, published in the British journal Nature.

But the similarity stops there. Beside being 100,000 times smaller, the nanowire is not made of metal but of silicon with three different types of conductivity arranged as layered shells.

Incoming light generates electrons in the outer shell, which are then swept into the second layer and the inner core along micropores.

These "holes", as they are called, carry an equal, but opposite, charge as electrons, which means that the two particles move in opposite directions in the presence of an electric field.

"The electrically connected core and cladding" -- a kind of sheath -- "play the same role as the '+' and '-' termini of a battery," Lieber said.

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Bioneers Conference

Bioneers was founded in 1990, for the first annual Bioneers conference, a gathering of scientific and social innovators who have demonstrated visionary and practical models for restoring the Earth and communities.

Right now, I'm blogging from the Tallgrass Bioneers conference in Iowa at Grinnell College.

I highly recommend that you attend your local Bioneers conference in your state to learn about what you can do to help save our Earth.

The conference dates are October 19-21, 2007.

For a list of conference locations, visit Beaming Bioneers or see map below.


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Global Dimming - Action Needed

Global Dimming has been hiding the true power of Global Warming.

What is Global Dimming?

Fossil fuels produce both greenhouse gases and other pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, soot, and ash. These other pollutants change the properties of clouds.

Clouds are normally formed when water droplets are seeded by air-borne particles, such as pollen.

Polluted air results in clouds with larger number of droplets than unpolluted clouds. This makes those clouds more reflective and less likely to precipitate as rain. As a result, more of the sun’s heat and energy is reflected back into space.
This reduction of heat reaching the earth has reached levels of 20% and is known as Global Dimming.

This was part of a talk I gave last month in Fairfield, Iowa at Maharishi University of Management.

You can download a copy of my Global Dimming talk here.

There is a video about Global Dimming done by BBC that I highly recommend watching.

TED: A Greener Future

I've recently come across some inspiring videos that I would like to share. The site is called TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. They have a page called a Greener Future?

Here is a list of videos on the site that I especially liked:

• William McDonough: The wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle

• John Doerr: Seeking salvation and profit in greentech

• Al Gore: 15 ways to avert a climate crisis

• Janine Benyus: 12 sustainable design ideas from nature

Ten Simple Things You Can Do

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning

3. Use daylight if you can or buy CFL or LED lighting

4. Drive Less and Drive Smart

5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products

6. Use Less Hot Water

7. Turn off Lights when not in use and use daylight whenever possible

8. Plant a Tree

9. Use a clothesline or drying rack instead of a dryer

10. Encourage Others to Conserve

News - Saltwater into fuel

With this discovery, we will be able to use saltwater to power our vehicles and end up saving money on gasoline.

Welcome

I will update this blog every few days with news that might interest you and tips on how you can save the environment.