Bill takes apart a smoke detector and shows how it uses a radioactive source to generate a tiny current which is disrupted when smoke flows through the sensor. He describes how a special transistor called a MOSFET can be used to detect the tiny current changes.
Dec 012010
The power of the sun is amazing, but with that amount of solar energy being focused into that small of an area, I’m not suprised at what it can do. According to the video, it can reach temperatures around 2,500 Degrees F / 1,370 Degrees C.
What truth is behind the idea that our coastal cities are going to drown? Yes, there has been a noticeable increase in the average sea level… But that increase is huge, roughly an increase of 2.77 millimeters per year. So how long would it take to duplicate the history channel Armageddon week image?
Well, let’s make it easier, let’s specify a 3-5 meter sea level rise, so we’ll call it 4 meters.
For calculation purposes, we’ll assume sea level rise to be linear, and round-up the Battery Park tide gauge rate to 3.0 mm per year, which puts it closer to the 3.1 mm per year measured by satellite and published at Colorado State University’s Global Sea Level Page.
- 4 meters = 4000 millimeters
- 4000 millimeters /3.0 millimeters per year = 1333 years
Or for the History channel image above…
- History Channel photo submersion = 20 stories
- Story height = 3.9 meters
- Sea Level Rise in the photo 20 x 3.9 meters = 78 meters
- 78 meters = 78,000 millimeters
- 78,000 millimeters / 3 millimeters per year = 26,000 years
I am feeling just a little safer knowing this. Of course, this is working under the assumption that the water level rises will be linear…
Well, the 2.7 millimeter rate is the averaged graph shown here, the growth is well contained and it seems like a reasonable figure for the near future. But let’s speculate a little.
Let’s say it becomes 10 mm, that would be one centimeter a year. And roughly 400 or 7800 years. Even if we increased the figure to 50 mm or 5 centimeters a year, that would be 80 or 1560 years…
Please keep in mind, I am not saying that sea levels are not changing. I have seen that they do, what I am saying is to be aware of the real rate of changes, and be aware of the time scale that we are discussing.
Many of the details in this article is from Freaking out about NYC sea level rise is easy to do when you don’t pay attention to history?
It may still be a lab experiment, but still, this could led to eventual mainstream adoption of solar power…
Photoelectric current as function of photon energy was measured on single crystal TiO2 coated with a monolayer of PbS nanoparticles. The experiments conclusively showed that multiple electrons were generated and extracted from the nanoparticles for each high energy photon that was absorbed. The result is a theoretical efficiency increase from 31 percent in single junction photovoltaic cells to 47 percent in a MEG cell.
Ars Technica explores how Solar cells could get two electrons for the price of one, efficiency bonus.
There was a hydrogen fire and explosion at a renewable fuel station used by government vehicles near Rochester’s airport. The nearby freeway and airport was closed resulting in diverted flights. This may the first major incident at a hydrogen vehicle refueling station. GM has their major fuel cell development center nearby, in the town of Honeoye Falls. The fire occurred when the 18-wheeler tractor truck was transferring hydrogen to the station. The airport press conference reported that airport firefighters responded first and initially waited on the scene deciding how to respond. No news yet if the hard to see flames of hydrogen combustion contributed to this delay. The fueling station is also adjacent to a NY State Trooper station, and a firefighting training facility is a few blocks away.” RossR also provides a Police/FD Radio transcript. Luckily, no one was killed, and only two injured, including the driver.
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Aug 252010
… So the architect — and later your building engineer, too — each asks you to sign a document saying you won’t sue them when beavers eat a load-bearing wall and your entire family is crushed by forest debris. You make the mistake of mentioning this arrangement to your family, and they leave you. But you are not deterred because you’re saving the planet, damn it. You’ll get a new family. A greener one. Your next hurdle is the local planning commission. They like to approve things that are similar to things they’ve approved before. To do otherwise is to risk unemployment. And the neighbors don’t want to live next to a house that looks like a compost pile. But let’s say, for the sake of this fascinating story, that everyone in the planning commission is heavily medicated with medical marijuana and they approve your project over the objections of all of your neighbors, except for the beavers, who are suspiciously flexible. Now you need a contractor who is willing to risk his career to build this cutting-edge structure. Good luck with that.’”
Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Tries to Build an Eco-Friendly House – WSJ.com.