Topic: Solar Cells on polymer film

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

It plans to build a manufacturing facility in California that will eventually produce 430 megawatts of solar cells per year, making the company one of the largest solar producers in the world in the span of a few years.

Ultimately, a solar panel from Nanosolar will cost about one-fifth to one-tenth the cost of a standard silicon solar panel, and expanding factory capacity will be easier, according to the company.

"For (traditional manufacturers) to build a 400-megawatt facility, it costs $1 billion. It costs us a tenth of that," Roscheisen said. "It is a roll-to-roll process. It is much simpler. There are three miles of solar cells on a single roll" of polymer film, he said.

"We're going to have the economies of scale of the print business," said Erik Straser, a partner at Mohr, Davidow Ventures.

 
Lets hope they can do so and make solar power much more useful.

[E_Look]

Now this is good news.  Being able to put ANY workable device on polymers is good because the established body of applications that polymers may be suitable in.  I think we can even think of solar powered devices in our clothing in the future, like furnishing power to on-clothing, polymer-film thin "air conditioners" in the summer or heaters in the winter, or enough to power... *groan*... your i-Pod or cell phone as it is clipped on your belt or sleeve or something.

The "coolest" thing was when as a child I saw in a comic book, Lex Luthor providing his gang members with "air-conditioned" suits!  Even Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock had to sweat it out on hot planets.

[Nemesis]

I'd like to see it tough (and cheap) enough to be used as a roofing material so that it becomes a no brainer to put it on every house and factory roof. 

[Sirgod]

That would be good. I recall, in the Early 80's alot of homes here in OK, went to solar powered Hot water heaters, with this huge Solar collecter on the roofs. It was an Eyesore, but man it worked great.

Stephen

[Just plain old Punisher]

Not only that, it would be quick and easy to replace. Hell you could cover just about any surface with the low-cost solar cells.

[Nemesis]

I can just see it now.  You go camping 500 miles from anywhere and as the sun comes up some a*&^^% with a tent made of this has his solar powered 1000 watt ghetto blaster greet the dawn. 

[Sirgod]

Not If we can light a fire under pun, and get him to finish that EMP gun I ordered a year ago.

stephen

[Nemesis]

Not If we can light a fire under pun, and get him to finish that EMP gun I ordered a year ago.

stephen

I've wanted one of them ever since I went to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) and there were 4 guys with identical ghetto blasters on the same station all cranked to the max standing together on a corner yelling their conversation at each other and deafening everyone else.  Did they each really need their personal 200 watts blasting in their own ear and the combined 800 watts attacking the crowd?

[Sirgod]

I hear that. I can't stand one, let alone with four, well someone would have probably died.

Stephen

[Nemesis]

someone would have probably died.

Big crowd ... way too many witnesses though I suspect most of them would have considered it justified.

Right now I like my sound cancelling head phones.  They eliminate a lot of the background noise of city traffic.

[Sirgod]

I tell ya what I really want, that's just a simple program I can run on my PC, that generates White noise. I have tenitis real bad, and at night, It's esp. bad. I have read that a white noise generator can help distract from that buzzing sound in my inner ear.

Stephen

[Nemesis]

I tell ya what I really want, that's just a simple program I can run on my PC, that generates White noise. I have tenitis real bad, and at night, It's esp. bad. I have read that a white noise generator can help distract from that buzzing sound in my inner ear.

Stephen

I just did a quick search and found this free Windows program that may help.

[E_Look]

Better than an EMP gun (if the cops trace the weapon firing back to you, I'm sure you can be sued for damaging the jerk driver's radio equipment) would be something that can cause a "sound cloak" (similar to a light bending stealth device... like on a Rom BOP) by somehow changing the density or content of the air envelope around the jackass sound blasting driver's car so that the "music" bounces back INTO his open windows (or even through his closed windows) and does not get out to annoy the rest of the drivers and passengers on the road.  The only thing that gets damaged is their hearing and I think this time the judge could ask, "Why did you have it on so loud in the first place?"  "What, your Honor?  Could you speak up, sir?" 

[Sirgod]

I tell ya what I really want, that's just a simple program I can run on my PC, that generates White noise. I have tenitis real bad, and at night, It's esp. bad. I have read that a white noise generator can help distract from that buzzing sound in my inner ear.

Stephen

I just did a quick search and found this free Windows program that may help.

Thanks Nem, I'll give It a try tonight.

Stephen

[Bartok]

Greetings All


On the White Noise front - here's a little program which, while not free is pretty inexpensive.  You can generate white, pink and brown noise in addition to or as part of, the other features the program offers.  I've used this for quite some time for meditation and sleep induction (battled insomnia for quite a while and it worked GREAT)
http://www.bwgen.com/

On the solar cells on polymer film front, it would be fantastic if this got some government support as part of our "kicking" our addiction to fossil fuels.  Obviously there's no single replacement for our energy needs, but if it was common to use (like roofing material per Nemesis's remarks) the cumulative effect would be fantastic.

[Sirgod]

Thanks Bartok, appreciate it.

Stephen

[Just plain old Punisher]

Not If we can light a fire under pun, and get him to finish that EMP gun I ordered a year ago.

stephen

It's finished. The only problem is that I couldn't cover the stock with bright pink posies and pictures of unicorns like you asked.