IBM Research Unveils Breakthrough In Solar Farm Technology

www.physorg.com ^ | 05/16/2008 | Source: IBM

[Red Badger]

Age of Aquarius? Let the sun shine in!..............

[Red Badger]

Ping!............

[ShadowAce]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2016490/posts?page=1

[Red Badger]

Now if they can just take that “waste heat’ and turn it into electricity thru a thermoelectric material we’ll be all set.......

[wbill]

Cool. But how big is the lens?

Doesn't matter if the photovoltaic is 1 cm^2 if the lens is 1 m^2.

[RightWhale]

Seems like a dud. Photovoltaic is a lot of hype and $5 a watt. Five cents a watt would do the trick.

[Ingtar]

LOL - reminds me of the Bond movie: Goldfinger.

[PC99]

“If it can overcome additional challenges to move this project from the lab to the fab...” If we could find a way to extract power from all the claims of “solar breakthroughs” like this over the last 30 years, we’d be in great shape.

[bmwcyle]

ping

[SengirV]

Exactly. I’m guessing this tech is 10-20 years away from implementation as well. Ahhh, the magic that is PERPETUALLY 10-20 years in the future.

[montag813]

That is just a Fresnel lens.

[Deaf Smith]

"able to cool the solar cell from greater than 1600 degrees Celsius to just 85 degrees Celsius."

Use the heat manufacturing device to power a steam turbine to generate electricity.

[Always Right]

Cool. But how big is the lens? Doesn't matter if the photovoltaic is 1 cm^2 if the lens is 1 m^2.

Yeah, I am puzzled by this also.

[DigitalVideoDude]

Our Scoutmaster recovered a 52” Fresnel lens from a dead rear-projection TV. Hold that thing up to the sun and focus the beam on a pile of tinder in the campfire. You get flames in a split-second.

Just be careful where you focus it.

[fireforeffect]

Buying stock in that buggy whip factory?

Original IC engines were pretty anemic too. But research and development gave us the powerful engines of today.

Babies do not walk either, so are they automatic failures?

[RightWhale]

Photovoltaic has been $5 a watt for the 35 years I have been looking at the catalog. Should be 5 cents a watt by now judging by all the hype.

[TheCipher]

By mimicking the antics of a child using a magnifying glass to burn a leaf

Most kids I knew growing up skipped the leaf and went directly to the ants !!!

[fireforeffect]

Pretty good performance considering inflation.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

....Goldfinger.

"I suppose you expect me to talk."
"No, Mister Bond. I expect you to die!"

[RightWhale]

It’s no performance unless you got a gov’t grant.