A student-led research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed what is claimed to be the world’s most efficient solar dish. The prototype, which measures just over 3 metres wide, generates enough heat to melt solid steel, by concentrating the sun’s power by a factor of 1000. The prototype, which is made from a simple lattice of aluminium tubes, supporting an array of mirrors, generates steam, produced by focussing the sun’s energy on a coiled tube carrying water.
This stam can be used to power a generator or for heating or cooling buildings. The design is such that it can be easily replicated using cheap, readily available materials, making it ideal for both small and large scale installations, and it’s particularly appropriate for poorer countries where more exotic solar technologies can be prohibitively expensive.
One day I will check my archives but I suspect that I have been writing about the imminent arrival of low cost, flexible photovoltaic solar cells for at least the past 20 years. The idea seems simple enough. Instead of making solar cells out of expensive and fragile silicon and glass and in the process using more energy than they’ll ever generate in their useful lives develop a chemical cocktail that turns light into electricity and coat or print it onto other materials.
Well, here’s another one, and I’m no longer holding my breath, but as usual it all sounds very promising. Konarka, the company behind the technology has come up with a flexible ‘Power Plastic’ film using inkjet printing techniques. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re going to make a pedal car based on the Ferrari FXX you have to go all out, and it looks like Berg Toys has done just that. While the FXX Exclusive model pictured above isn’t exactly a spitting image of the real thing, it comes with a list of features that make other pedal cars look like… well… a children’s toy. Read the rest of this entry »
Inspired by Jules Verne’s classic novel, the Nautilus home theater is truly a work of art. It was designed by Dillon Works Inc. for Dallas-based dentist Randy Moran and his wife. It looks unbelievably awesome and is nearly 900 square feet. I just showed it to my girlfriend and told her I wanted something similar. Read the rest of this entry »
A 1990 Nintendo World Championship NES cartridge is up on eBay with a “Buy-It-Now” price of $12,000. There were only 116 ever made, and this is one of 90 grey ones given to semi-finalists. Read the rest of this entry »
A student-led research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed what is claimed to be the world’s most efficient solar dish. The prototype, which measures just over 3 metres wide, generates enough heat to melt solid steel, by concentrating the sun’s power by a factor of 1000. The prototype, which is made from a simple lattice of aluminium tubes, supporting an array of mirrors, generates steam, produced by focussing the sun’s energy on a coiled tube carrying water.
