Jun
12
Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd have developed a “power-saving” sheet that blocks sunlight in summer and lets it through in winter. The idea is to stop the heat gain from summer infrared, yet let he the infrared come in during winter while keeping the window […]
Jul
23
Can UCLA Save Solar Panels?
July 23, 2012 | 2 Comments
In the face of a string of intensely demoralizing federally backed alternative energy projects with Solyndra taking over a half billion dollars alone – solar panels seem to lead the way into a dead end. Except that China’s solar industry is very much alive and competitive. The technology advances usually start in the U.S. But […]
Jul
6
Moving Infrared Wave Energy With Wires
July 6, 2011 | 1 Comment
A project of three research groups at nanoGUNE at Donostia in San Sebastian, Spain, reports an innovative method to focus infrared light with tapered transmission lines to nanometer-size dimensions. The key in that announcement is the method of transporting infrared energy by wire. If the physics expressed in the paper work out to larger applications […]
May
10
Collecting Solar Heat to Make Electricity
May 10, 2011 | 2 Comments
Rice University researchers are describing a new way to harvest solar energy with a new paper this week in the journal Science. Naomi Halas, Rice’s Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, the paper’s lead researcher explains, “We’re merging the optics of nanoscale antennas with the electronics of semiconductors. There’s no practical way […]