Thanks for that chart. Now explain to this simple minded PhD physicist what that graph has to do with all of this. My understanding is that the photons with enough energy to convert usefully into electricy (E=h*nu) are the higher energy photons, which happen to be the ones we can see. I could have this entirely wrong and would welcome an enlightened explanation.
You could also explain to me how you convert the kinetic energy of moving cars to renwable energy. I am awfully confused on this point since I had imagined that the purpose of a car is to go somewhere at some speed and that speed is the kinetic energy of the car (E=mv**2), which is needed for the car to go somewhere. In the process of converting that kinetic energy to renewable energy don't you stop the car or do I not understand? If you stop the car, then why have the car in the first place, or is there some way of converting the kinetic energy to renewable energy without stopping the car? How do you make use of this renewable energy? Is there a cable connecting to the power grid, or do you generate and store H2?
I am very confused and eager to have an explanation of these complicated matters, as my simple minded brain just cannot wrap itself around this stuff.
I am very confused and eager to have an explanation of these complicated matters, as my simple minded brain just cannot wrap itself around this stuff.No need to be a jerk about it with your snide "simple minded PhD" comments, I didn't think I was being rude to you.
There has been work on infrared solar cells, for one thing, and in most office buildings you'll notice that the windows are usually reflective:
... so why not capture some of that solar energy instead of just reflecting it down onto the parking lot? The only glass that's supposed to be 100% perfectly transparent to the entire visible spectrum is found in camera lenses, not in windows.
As for energy from moving cars - the energy expended by the car moving the air in front of it out of the way is wasted, unless you can capture it with a wind turbine overhead or in the median barrier.
