NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

Power a City With a Man-Made Tornado

This is an artist's rendition of an artificial tornado. Theoretically, such a system could generate enough electricity to power a city. Credit: Colin Anderson/Blend Images/Corbis

By Dan Levitan, IEEE Spectrum

Tornados are very energetic. But of course, they are far too unpredictable and uncontrollable to actually make use of that energy. Right?

Peter Thiel, billionaire founder of PayPal and early Facebook funder, says wrong. Thiel's foundation, through its Breakout Labs fund, awarded US $300,000 to a company called AVEtec, based in Canada, to work on designs and prototypes for an "atmospheric vortex engine." The AVE involves a circular chamber into which warm air is introduced at tangential angles, creating a rising vortex controlled by colder air above the chamber (mini-prototype pictured blow). Turbines at the base will spin thanks to the artificial tornado, generating energy. According to AVEtec, a 200-meter wide version of this could generate 200 megawatts of energy at a cost of only $0.03 per kilowatt-hour, below even the cheapest forms of power we have now.

In a press release from Breakout Labs, AVEtec founder Louis Michaud said: "The power in a tornado is undisputed. My work has established the principles by which we can control and exploit that power to provide clean energy on an unprecedented scale. With the funding from Breakout Labs, we are building a prototype in partnership with Lambton College to demonstrate the feasibility and the safety of the atmospheric vortex engine."

WIDE ANGLE: Tornadoes

Turbines at the base spin because of the artificial tornado. Credit: AVEtech

The best part of this idea -- other than the fact that it is a controlled tornado used to generate electricity, is that the heat source for the warm air could be standard fossil fuel power plants. (The chamber for the AVE could just be a power plant cooling tower.) Coal and natural gas plants don't operate at particularly high efficiencies, with much of the power in the fuel source lost as waste heat; one study from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory found that around 68 percent of all the energy involved with electricity generation in 2011 ended up as "rejected energy." Aside from power plant waste heat, the tornado could also be fed with warm water or solar power.

Thiel's foundation's backing suggests we might actually see a prototype built, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Michaud's idea has been floating around for some time now, and hasn't yet gotten off the ground; this very publication included it in a "Powered By Crazy" feature in 2010. This is the second such bit of insanity, pulling uranium from seawater being the other, that has gone from crazy to maybe just in the last few months. But even AVEtec's "endorsements" page doesn't feature too many "Eureka!" type explosions; as was noted in the 2010 article, the Canadian Academy of Engineering merely says the concept "does not defy known physics."

Following the laws of nature is a good first step, but let's see if Thiel's money, which, at $300K, is a homeopathic amount, for a billionaire, can actually yield a tame, electricity-generating tornado.

This article originally appeared on IEEE Spectrum as Tornado Power: Breakout Labs Funds Research Into Energy-Generating Vortex

Get More from IEEE Spectrum

• Mapping From Wi-Fi "Fingerprints" Could Improve Indoor Navigation
• Wearable Computers the Size of Buttons Monitor Health
• Kodak's Digital Imaging Patent Sold for $525 Million

Marshes Could Produce Electricity: DNews Nugget

Marshes Could Produce Electricity: About 6 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in marshes and wetlands. Researchers in The Netherlands think that some of these areas could become sources of renewable energy.

They've developed a Plant-Microbial Fuel Cell that generates electricity as plants grow without harm their environment. The fuel cell is made from an electrode and anode, basic components that make up a battery. The electrode is placed in the soil near the plants roots, where organic material is excreted by the roots and where naturally occurring bacteria release electrons as a waste product. By capturing these electrons, the fuel cell is able to generate electricity.

In addition to harvesting electricity from the soil, the researchers also think their technique could be used to produce energy on houses that have green roofs, that is, roofs made of living plants. Grasses such as common cordgrass and rice produce a low-voltage direct current, which can be directly used to charge batteries and power LEDs.

via Gizmag

GET MORE MUST-READS HERE!

---

Email:

---

Bladeless Wind Turbine Inspired by Sails

Here's a cool concept for wind energy: a turbine that doesn't have blades. What's so bad about blades? They can kill birds and bats and some people think they're too loud.

BIG PICS: Wind Power Without the Blades

This turbine from Saphon Energy looks more like a flat satellite dish. The Saphonian is based on a boat sail. As the wind pushes on it, the dish oscillates a little bit back and forth. That motion drives small pistons connected to a hydraulic system. The kinetic energy captured can be stored or converted directly into electricity with a generator. Because there isn't a transmission, or a gearbox, the device is completely silent. And the lack of blades means fewer bird and bat deaths -- perhaps none. Each dish harvests about 80 percent of the available wind energy, which is 2.3 times more efficient than a traditional bladed turbine.

Credit: Saphon Energy

---

Email:

---

First All-Carbon Solar Cell: DNews Nugget

First All-Carbon Solar Cell: Nearly everyone is familiar with what a rooftop solar panel looks like. It's a big, rigid square panel. But now scientists have developed a thin film prototype made entirely of carbon that can be coated from liquid. "Every component in our solar cell, from top to bottom, is made of carbon materials," said Stanford graduate student Michael Vosgueritchian, who was on the research team. "Other groups have reported making all-carbon solar cells, but they were referring to just the active layer in the middle, not the electrodes."

Since carbon is abundant, the material is cheap and because the process involves coating, the manufacturing is inexpensive. Right now, the scientists are working on making the solar cells more efficient, but in the future cheap, flexible solar cells made from carbon could be coated on everything from buildings to cars to generate power. via Physorg.com

GET MORE MUST-READ DNEWS NUGGETS HERE!

---

Email:

---

Kinetic Charger Makes You a Power Source

Just the other day, I read yet another article about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle. I was sitting while I read it. Don't judge. Obviously, being active is good for our health, but what if it was good for our gadget's battery life? A concept device from design studen Toby Blake uses movement to power up your phone.

NEWS: Geoengineering Schemes Split Scientists

The Kinetic Charger is a colorful little clip-on that uses a technique called reverse electrowetting to turn mechanical movement into electricity. Essentially,a microfluidic device pushes nano-droplets of liquid through channels embedded in a thin film. The movement of the droplets through the film produces an electrical current. This same process was used in a pair of electricity-generating shoes we covered last year.

The charger can store up to 4 watts of generated energy. And when one device is connected to another, the charging capacity doubles. Phones and other electronic devices connect to the charger through a USB cable.

It's a tiny package, but it packs alot of tech. Too bad it's just a concept for now. Until then, put your charger on the other side of the room, at least that forces you to get up and walk.

Credit: Toby Blake

---

Email:

---

Backyard Inventors Print Mini Solar Panels

Two inventors have figured out how to print their own miniature solar panels that can be used for charging up cell phones and kids' toys to almost any small consumer electronic device. Their "solar pocket factory" uses 3-D printing techniques and inexpensive PV material.

NEWS: Giant Marble Harvests Energy From Sun and Moon

The pair recently raised $77,000 on Kickstarter and are now hoping to actually build a miniature factory using a laser cutter to speed up production. Shawn Frayne and Alex Hornstein, two MIT grads, said they came up with the idea after finding micro-sized solar panels that were too expensive, tended to break and didn't last very long.

"This simple question led us on a voyage of investigation and discovery through the world of small, low-cost solar; through rotting solar factories in Southern China to shivering, soaked motorcycle trips across unelectrified tropical islands in the Philippines and countless late nights working on prototypes in an industrial building in Hong Kong," the pair write on their Kickstarter page. "And all along the way, we kept asking questions, and started to find answers."

NEWS: Liquid Air Powers Wind Turbine

The inventors say their small printing machine is cheaper than large-scale factory production of micro-solar panels. That means that rather than outsourcing labor to poorer countries, they can use the device to make the panels right where they will be used.

Via GigaOm

Credit: Solar Pocket Factory

---

Email:

---

Solar Power Morphs Into Cones and More

All of a sudden everyone seems to be getting funky with the solar cells. From glass for balconies to spinning cells shaped like ice cream cones, solar power is looking slicker and holding more promise than ever.

An LA-based company called V3Solar just made a splash with designs for sapphire blue "Spin Cells" that it says can produce 20 times more electricity than traditional flat, static photovoltaic panels. A cone containing triangular PV cells spins underneath a static shell lens to concentrate the solar power, Ubergizmo's Latif Salman explained.

Wind Power Without the Blades: Big Pics

This YouTube video shows a prototype in action. "Like a spinning discoball, we make the photons dance," the video says. While the cost per watt wasn't readily available, the company's CEO has said that he thinks removing the inverter and increasing efficiency will lower the overall cost of ownership.

DNEWS VIDEO: IS IT FUTURE YET?

Sharp recently came out with interesting solar cells as well. In a Japanese press release, the company said it created semi-transparent black glass photovoltaic panels that could be used as a green building material. A series of 4.5 feet by 3.2 feet thin panels could add a heat barrier and privacy to balconies in high rise buildings. The panels went on sale in Japan this week.

Although Sharp's panels have a maximum output of 95 watts with a conversion rate that seems lackluster, they are commercially available and see-through, CNET's Christopher McManus pointed out. We've got to start somewhere.

Mirrored Troughs Could Power Remote Clinics

Meanwhile, Dow's Powerhouse Solar Shingles, which protect houses from the elements and offset electric costs, were just named one of the top 10 tech breakthroughs of the year by Popular Mechanics.

Dow's solar cells are made from copper indium gallium diselenide and covered in glass. They can be nailed right into a roof, just like normal shingles, Rachel Z. Arndt of Popular Mechanics noted, except they happen to be photovoltaic. According to Dow, the shingles are available from authorized dealers in central Texas, Northern California and Colorado.

All this new solar power tech makes me think that the hardware store is going to be an even more exciting place to visit in the future.

Image: A rendering of V3Solar's cone-shaped spinning solar cells. Credit: V3Solar via Ubergizmo

---

Email:

---

Freshwater Ecosystem Lives Off Seawater

Over half of the world's population lives and works within 120 miles from a coastline. Regardless of your views on climate change, it's safe to say that rising sea levels would present nothing short of a catastrophe. 

DNEWS VIDEO: GREEN ENERGY

In the event that the ivory towers of denial do start to surround with sea water, detractors will be happy to know that Studiomobile won't leave you high and dry.

PHOTOS: Extreme Underwater Gadgets For Fun

Billing themselves as makers of art and technology for architecture and urban research, the firm came up Networking Nature, an ecosystem that lives off seawater and produces fresh drinking water.

Glass tanks anchored near the coast would fill with seawater where a series of solar-powered stills would extract fresh water. Heat produced by small lamps would evaporate the saltwater and convert the condensed steam into fresh water. That water would then be collected in reservoirs near the coast and distributed to those who need it.

Here's how Studiomobile explains it:

However, water is not produced in isolated systems under central control. The new model provides for a large ecological infrastructure as well as small local production units connected to a network able to integrate the production of fresh water and to supply it where needed. It's a Smart Water Network controlled by sensors that read the local lack of water and, through an Arduino board, activate the pumps providing the water where there is a peak of demand. The Smart Water Network will be a layer of the ecological network as well as the Smart Power Grid and the communications network. This strategy not only gives response to the preservation of the environment, but it is also a radically new model that ensures free and democratic access to the resources to everybody.

PHOTOS: Top 5 Surprises From Climate Change

Networking Nature was created for the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.

via Inhabitat

credit: Studiomobile

---

Email:

---

A Dry Run For Fusion Power

The reality of fusion power the same energy that powers the sun remains outside of our reach. Although scientists have figured out how to split atoms and attain nuclear reactions, they have yet to find an efficient way to fuse atoms. So far, techniques require more energy than what's produced.

But at Sandia labs, researchers are getting closer. Recent experiments led by plasma physicist Ryan McBride show that it's possible to reach a "break even" point, where the energy that goes into running a fusion reactor is equal to energy produced. That's a big step toward an alternative energy that produces emission-free energy without the nuclear waste.

Wind Power Without the Blades: Big Pics

The fusion method at Sandia is called magnetized inertial fusion. Doing it requires a system of coils at each end of a beryllium cylinder just under seven millimeters across. Inside the cylinder is a small amount of deuterium, which is an abundant molecule in the ocean made of hydrogen with an extra neutron.

Here's how the reactor works: First the two coils generate a magnetic field. A few milliseconds later, an accelerator called the Z machine fires a 25-million-ampere current. That current generates a magnetic field that crushes the cylinder in 100 billionths of a second. In that short space of time a laser fires at the cylinder, heating the deuterium gas inside and turning it into a plasma. The two coils at the end, meanwhile, are generating a magnetic field that contains the plasma to allow it to fuse.

DNEWS VIDEO: GREEN ENERGY

In this experiment, the compression part of that system was tested. The current was run through the coils and the beryllium cylinder was compressed, and retained its shape. This is important because if the cylinder deforms too much, there isn't enough pressure on the whole sample deuterium to initiate fusion.

One of the factors that Sandia labs was trying to determine was how thick and large the cylinder should be. Too big, and the magnetic fields can't crush it. Too small and the electrical current will simply vaporize it completely before it can crush the plasma inside. They found the optimum proportion seems to be a cylinder with a wall about one sixth the radius.   

The experiment is an extension of simulations performed in March. The next step is to try pre-heating the deuterium with the laser, and after that -- possibly some time in late 2013 -- testing it with nuclear fuel inside. The fuel will be deuterium, and it won't be powerful enough to get past the "break even" point and produce energy. But McBride told Discovery News that the output should tell the researhers whether or not using tritium -- hydrogen with two neutrons -- will work when mixed with deuterium.

Laser Beams Close In On Fusion Power

So will this lead directly to fusion reactors? Not really, because the amount of current needed to get to "high gain" fusion -- which would mean energy output more than 1,000 times that applied to the fuel -- is more than twice what the Z machine can produce, some 60 million amperes. That said, if the proof-of-concept works, then there isn't any technical barrier to building such a machine. 

The experiment will be presented in an upcoming issue of Physical Review Letters.

Top Photo: Sandia researcher Ryan McBride pays close attention to the tiny central beryllium liner to be imploded by the powerful magnetic field generated by Sandia’s Z machine. The larger cylinders forming a circle on the exterior of the base plate measure Z’s load current by picking up the generated magnetic field.

Image: Sandia National Laboratories

---

Email:

---

Giant Marble Harvests Energy from Sun and Moon

It looks like a giant, glass marble. But this globe is no game. It's a sun-tracking, solar energy concentrator created by Barcelona-based architects and, according to the designers, is able to collect not just sunlight but moonlight as well.

The Rawlemon project revolves around a weatherproof sphere that's designed to rotate and follow the sun across the sky. It's so sensitive to light that at night, it can even harvest moonlight and convert it into electricity.

PHOTOS: Top 5 Places to Harvest Energy from Action

Andre Broessel, the architect and designer, says his spherical, sun-tracking glass globe is able to concentrate sunlight and moonlight up to 10,000 times and that the system is 35 percent more efficient than photovoltaic designs that track the sun. One of Rawlemon's idea is to build these globes into the exterior walls of buildings and use them to generate electricity. For other uses and beautiful images of the globes, click here. 

via Design Boom and Inhabitat

Credit: Andre Rawlemon

ANALYSIS: Solar Panels Light Up the NFL

---

Email:

---