Have you ever dreaded the Earth running out of natural resources? – Earth without fossil fuel!
In the United States, electricity produced by natural gas and coal is 61%. If we continue to maintain fossil fuels’ usage until the 2070s, we will run out of natural resources.
For this, we have to find an efficient alternative to cope with this issue. Electricity production by solar technology in the U.S is only 2%.
Scientists have found novel ways of using solar technology for maximum production. We’ll discuss the novel ways of using solar technology in the following.
Anti-Solar Panels
How Is It Works?
We all have heard the term Solar Panels! – solar panels are devices that generate electricity by converting heat energy from the Sun’s rays. But what are Anti-Solar Panels? Is it a device that produces heat instead of electricity? What is the primary difference that makes it an anti-solar panel?
One of the imperfections in solar panels is that they cannot produce electric energy at night due to the absence of the Sun’s rays, so to use solar energy at night, we have to store the energy in a battery.
However, anti-solar panels produce electric power at night by applying the exact opposite procedure of solar panel that makes it an Anti-Solar Panel.
The sun’s body temperature is much greater than the solar panel, so the solar panel absorbs the Sun’s rays and converts it to electric energy.
Significance
The phenomenon of the conversion of solar energy to electric energy is known as the Photovoltaic effect.
However, the temperature of space is colder, so if you put a solar panel whose body temperature is higher than space, it will produce heat in the form of invisible infrared light. Therefore, this is how you can make electric energy at night also.
Both devices seem similar, but they are not! Solar panels depend on photovoltaic cells, while anti-solar panels depend on a thermo-radiative cell to discharge infrared radiation.
In initial tests, anti-solar panels produce 50 watts of electricity per sq. Meter, 25% of energy than solar panels made at day.
Artificial Sunflowers
How Is It Works?
In the 21st century, a sunflower can produce electric energy! – This all could be possible by the efforts of genius minds.
Scientists have invented a device named SunBOT (Sunflower-like Biomimetic Omnidirectional Tracker), inspired by sunflowers. However, the device even looks like a sunflower; the stem’s material tends to react towards sunlight; it can bend itself to get maximum solar energy.
The light-absorbing material of the flower’s head is flexible. The flexibility helps the flower to absorb maximum sunlight. This phenomenon of flexibility towards sunlight is known as Phototropism.
When rays of sunlight reach it, warms up and recoils. This scenario makes the stem curve and points the sunBOT towards the light. The stem quits bowing once SunBOT is lined up with the sunlight because the bowing makes a shadow that permits the material to chill off and stop contracting.
Significance
SunBOT produces 30% more energy than the static solar panels. Conventionally solar panels are generally photovoltaic, which means they assemble sun-oriented energy legitimately into power continuously.
This act can be impractical without sunlight because it’s challenging to move the energy into a storable format. The little sunflowers can create warm sun-powered energy, lined up with some space with a fluid or gas that conducts heat. If a fluid use, it may be called solar vapor energy, and it works a lot like a conventional steam motor or generator. Since this warmth goes through an energy-proficient medium, the battery can reserve it without any complexion.
To sum it up, Anti-Solar Panels and Artificial Sunflowers are incredible inventions in the field of reusable energy. The usage of Solar Energy will also help us in fighting against climate change.
Through this, a massive change could be possible in the energy sector and cut down the emission of Carbon dioxide. Give your part in this humanitarian act by replacing natural resources electricity production with photovoltaic technology. Save Earth saves natural resources!