Gizmodo: Scientists Invent Tech for Cost-Effective Solar Power from Windows

Posted: July 11th, 2008 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Sustainability | Comments

One of the big problems with solar power is bringing the cost down so that it is competitive with fossil fuels. This post fro Gizmodo describes a new technology which would probably make solar technology much cheaper:

“Solar power is everywhere at the mo, maybe because it sounds more sci-fi than wind: which is the case with this new technology that turns windows into power sources. Clever bods at MIT have worked out how to use organic dye solar-concentrator coatings to collect light over a whole sheet of glass and “concentrate” it at the edges. This lets you have a much smaller (and hence cheaper) solar-electric cell mounted in the side of a window, more easily achieved than typical mirror-based concentrators. And by tuning the dyes (originally designed for lasers and OLEDs) to different wavelengths, and stacking them up, you get an even bigger power output. Clever stuff. [Physorg]“

Solar Power: Scientists Invent Tech for Cost-Effective Solar Power from Windows


Three Cool Rapd Prototyping Examples

Posted: June 18th, 2008 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Technology | Comments

This week we’ve got some very interesting goodies from the rapid prototyping community.

I’m very excited by this first one, which combines a downloadable design with biomimicry and rapid prototyping to make a very cool-looking table:

fractal table photo

Fractal Table Can Only Be Made By Rapid Prototyping : TreeHugger

This table is a perfect example of how to use examples of nature to make something which is both simple and complex at the same time, and inherently beautiful. While it may seem complex at first, it uses a fractal-based design to implement its complexity. Fractals are basically simple pattern which are repeated on increasingly smaller scales. Most natural  and biological structures are based on fractal designs. They are also used to build the landscapes in video games without a lot of overhead.


Inhabitat » SOLAR LILY PADS Proposed for Glasgow’s Clyde River

Posted: June 18th, 2008 | Author: Steve | Filed under: Sustainability | Comments

Another cool example of biomimetics in action:

Inhabitat » SOLAR LILY PADS Proposed for Glasgow’s Clyde River

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