General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSolar Collector Magnifies Sun By 2000X – Could Provide Power To The Entire Planet (edited)
Last edited Sun Mar 2, 2014, 08:08 PM - Edit history (1)
http://banoosh.com/blog/2014/02/27/ibm-solar-collector-magnifies-sun-2000x-provide-power-entire-planet/A team at IBM recently developed what they call a High Concentration Photo Voltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system that is capable of concentrating the power of 2,000 suns, they are even claiming to be able to concentrate energy safely up to 5,000X, thats huge.
The process of trapping the sunlight produces water that can be used to produce filtered drinkable water, or used for other things like air conditioning etc. Scientists envision that the HCPVT system could provide sustainable energy and fresh water to communities all around the world.
Each 1cmX1cm chip can convert 200-250 watts, on average, over a typical eight-hour day in a sunny region. In the HCPVT system, instead of heating a building, the 90 degree Celsius water will pass through a porous membrane distillation system where it is then vaporized and desalinated. Such a system could provide 30-40 liters of drinkable water per square meter of receiver area per day, while still generating electricity with a more than 25 percent yield or two kilowatts hours per day. A large installation would provide enough water for a small town. (2)
ON EDIT
For all the people who need to be spoon fed, here's the link to IBM. An actual credible source....(jeebus)
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/40912.wss?utm_content=bufferaae51&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer
arcane1
(38,613 posts)IBM doesn't understand business
Fred Gilmore
(80 posts)That we actually aren't totally and completely dependent upon dinosaur juice?
GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)IDemo
(16,926 posts)That would truly be an earth-melting technology and probably not advisable even if true.
They are effectively concentrating an area of solar insolation, but the press release could stand some editing.
ElboRuum
(4,717 posts)It sounds more like we can build the Death Star than it does like we can concentrate solar energy.
Jack Rabbit
(45,984 posts)Vashta Nerada
(3,922 posts)This sounds awesome!
A huge, huge, huge K&R!
NewJeffCT
(56,827 posts)which i've never heard of, but has it made it to CNN, Fox, CBS News, ABC News, etc yet?
odd that the mainstream media hasn't said anything yet about what could be a huge, huge deal.
RC
(25,592 posts)This is a solar collector. Where does the water come from? It concentrates heat, as does any other solar collector.
Really?
packman
(16,296 posts)but I could be wrong- the energy is so intense that it "dries out" the air around it, producing water moisture. Somewhat akin to putting a sealed glass jar in the sun and noticing the moisture that condenses on it after awhile.
Could this be it?
However, seems like we hear about these remarkable break thru's on solar/wind energy on a regular basis but we keep on fracking and drilling. But, hope it is true.
Stevepol
(4,234 posts)that they use sea water as the coolant and the heat from the solar energy serves to desalinate the water while it simultaneously provides heat and electricity in the usual way.
madokie
(51,076 posts)at that site I'm more inclined to think this is totally made up bullshit.
Generally if it sounds too good to be true, it is
MindMover
(5,016 posts)gristy
(10,667 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)itsrobert
(14,157 posts)All I see is huff post.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)caraher
(6,276 posts)What the "2000x" means is that the little chip can cope with sunlight at 2000 times the intensity of regular sunlight. But sunlight is still sunlight - you don't magically get more of it.
Concentrated solar technologies do promise to be quite a lot more efficient than the usual photovoltaics in regions with a lot of sunny days. But you're still going to have to collect over a large area to get a lot of power, even if you have smaller/fewer elements of the system devoted to transforming the energy.
quakerboy
(13,901 posts)If you only have to have a small chip, and a bunch of shiny stuff around it, it seems like you should be able to make that for less(and possibly more durable and easier to install) than a bunch of PV cells.
Blanks
(4,835 posts)What I've always wondered is why they don't supplement coal plants with concentrated solar. Coal plants just boil water (unless my thermodynamics professor lied to me).
It's just a parabolic dish (like the old satellite dishes) that has something absorbing the heat at the focal point. The best ones have a stirling engine so that the water isn't even necessary.
The last I knew they were setting up a huge array in the middle of the Arizona desert with an expected efficiency of around 30%, but I haven't looked into it for a while.
France has a big one that's been around for years.
obxhead
(8,434 posts)former9thward
(31,798 posts)itsrobert
(14,157 posts)IDemo
(16,926 posts)BBR Esq
(87 posts)By Lucas Mearian
Computer World
February 24, 2014
IBM, working with other researchers, has announced an "affordable photovoltaic system that can concentrate solar radiation 2,000 times."
A byproduct of the system is that it also produces a massive amount of heat. That heat can be harvested to perform other functions, such as desalinating water and creating cool air in sunny, remote locations where they are often in short supply, the IBM researchers said.
The High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system can convert 80% of the incoming solar radiation into useful energy.
If IBM's claims prove true, its solar concentrator would surpass a recently achieved world record for solar conversion efficiency, which is 44.7%. That system, created by a team of scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems along with others, was able to concentrate power that is the equivalent of 297 suns.
The HCPVT system uses a big mirror that looks like a satellite dish to concentrate sunlight onto a small semiconductor chip, which then converts that light into energy. Because of the high concentration, along with energy, heat is also concentrated and must be dissipated so it doesn't melt the system. That heat can be used for other processes, such as desalination (evaporating saltwater to make potable water), according to Bruno Michel, a lead scientist with IBM Research, Zurich.
More: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246558/IBM_solar_energy_tech_claims_to_harness_power_of_2_000_suns
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)Xithras
(16,191 posts)It's about 1.4 Kw per square meter in space. Once you calculate in reflection and absorption from the surface and atmosphere, that number drops to right around 1 Kw per square meter at high noon on a cloudless day when averaged over the Earth's surface.
Of course, latitude and weather play a big part in "real world" output. In the southwestern deserts, the maximum daily potential output of a one square meter solar panel is just over 6KwH per day. In Boston during the summer that number is about 3.6 KwH daily. In wintertime Seattle, that number is about 0.7KwH. And ALL of those assume a solar panel with 100% efficiency, which our technology is nowhere near achieving.
Anyone claiming to invent a solar panel with output levels higher than these needs to review the First Law of Thermodynamics. You cannot collect more energy than the Sun provides. You cannot create energy.