Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar energy technologies include solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity and solar architecture, which can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent problems the world now faces.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
The Need For Innovation Around the world people are conscious of the need for innovation when it comes to energy. Especially here in the USA, the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy has not been forgotten. However, energy conservation and innovation is not just an American problem, it is a global problem. While […]
Sponsored by Murdock Capital Partners The Age Of Energy We are living in the Age of Energy. The fossil fuel based economy of the present must give way to the renewable energy based economy of the future. Getting there is the grandest challenge humanity faces. Chemistry can help meet this challenge by discovering new materials that […]
Sponsored by Murdock Capital Partners The Largest Nuclear Disaster Since Chernobyl The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster consisted of a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. It is the largest nuclear disaster since the […]