Beam me to Planet Gore !
Only those trying to cash in on the latest junk science. LOL
The efficiency of solar cells is measured as a percentage of light energy they convert to electricity. Silicon solar cells finally reached 25% in late December. But multi-junction solar cells can achieve efficiencies greater than 40%.Ouch.Although touted as the future of solar power, those and most other multiple-junction cells owe their performance to the rare metal indium, which is far from abundant. There are fewer than 10 indium-containing minerals, and none present in significant deposits – in total the metal accounts for a paltry 0.25 parts per million of the Earth's crust.
Most of the rare and expensive element is used to manufacture LCD screens, an industry that has driven indium prices to $1000 per kilogram in recent years. Estimates that did not factor in an explosion in indium-containing solar panels reckon we have only a 10 year supply of it left.
If power from the Sun is to become a major source of electricity, solar panels would have to cover huge areas, making an alternative to indium essential.
Now *there’s* a source I’ve rarely seen posted on FR. :)
I agree, and I have a 50KW solar installation on line...
Solar ane wind power are jokes!
Until they go NUCLEAR, they are NOT SERIOUS about “CLEAN ENERGY”.
Do you have a link??
While it is entirely practical and necessary to cut the emissions of carbon MONOXIDE (a biologically poisonous gas) and unburned hydrocarbons, as well as particulate carbon, the attempt to apply this limitation to carbon DIOXIDE, is both self-defeating, and for practical purposes, impossible, as the evolution of carbon dioxide takes place well outside the purview of mere mankind. Say we managed to curb ALL production of carbon dioxide, by total prohibition of all combustion of coal, petroleum, natural gas, and even cellulostic forms of carbohydrates. The atmospheric content of carbon dioxide would drop a microscopic amount, and within sixty days or less, the natural level of carbon dioxide in the air would be restored to its former level. The evolution and reabsorption of carbon dioxide goes on continuously, with or without the participation of human activities.
Air Composition
The sea-level composition of air (in percent by volume at the temperature of 15°C and the pressure of 101325 Pa) is given below.
Name- Symbol- Percent by Volume
Nitrogen- N2- 78.084 %
Oxygen- O2- 20.9476 %
Argon- Ar- 0.934 %
Carbon
Dioxide- CO2- 0.0314 %
Neon- Ne- 0.001818 %
Methane- CH4- 0.0002 %
Helium- He- 0.000524 %
Krypton- Kr- 0.000114 %
Hydrogen- H2- 0.00005 %
Xenon- Xe- 0.0000087 %
Water vapor is a highly variable component of the atmosphere, ranging from less than 1% to more than 4% of the volume of a given amount of air, and is expressed as “relative humidity”.
Source:
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
by David R. Lide, Editor-in-Chief
1997 Edition
With all the atom smashing going on these days, I wonder why no one had yet come up with a bulk process for stripping protons and neutrons of one element to obtain a lower on the periodic table element or elements.
For example, the element Lead is relatively cheap and available. If you could strip large bunches of protons and neutrons from a bar of Lead, most any other element you produced, or several of them, would all be worth a lot.
First you would create Thallium, then Mercury, then Gold, then Platinum, then Iridium and Osmium, any of which are very rare and valuable.
This claim is based on the old “known reserves” fallacy. Well, duh, known reserves of any valuable resource are going to be used up in a matter of a few decades — because nobody bothers to get off his ass and look for more if they already have access to a 10+ year supply. The only reason for exceptions is that somebody stumbled upon a 100+ year supply of one resource while out looking for something else.