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Mobile phone chargers are not really chargers, only adapters that provide a power source for the charging circuitry which is almost always contained within the mobile phone. Nowadays mobile phones are essential part of life and it is one of the most important modes of communication.

Mobile phones are the cause of eco-pollution that comes from large number of still-in-use cell phones and out-of-use cell phones. The need is to curtail the use of cell phones. Toxic products like lead, mercury, cadmium and other materials pose a real threat to our ecosystem. Handset manufacturers are very interested and showing emphasis on manufacturing not only environmentally-friendly handsets but also eco-friendly chargers.

Mobile communication to go green has brought forward innovative new designs with latest technology and skills to please customers. Solar energy, wind energy and kinetic energy are energy sources that will be harnessed to power the handsets. India has largest markets for mobile phones and it has proposed plans for mobile towers that will be powered by solar energy. China mobile is the leading Chinese telecommunication operator and has already setup the world’s biggest solar energy powered base station in China.

Nokia, mobile phones manufacturer is trying to manufacture such cell phones that will use ambient radio waves. This type of mobile phones prototype can harness 50mW of power from radio waves which is ample to power the cell-phone in standby mode. Cell-phone manufacturing industry is busy in introducing solar-powered cell-phones. Pop by LG, Blue-earth by Samsung and two other Sharp Models are new prototypes using solar power.

Eco-friendly mobile phones are gaining popularity and now mobile phone chargers are also going green. Many chargers will be made with environmentally friendly materials and will be powered by renewable energy sources. As solar power is unavailable at night time, so the idea of using kinetic energy to generate electrons is now being explored.

There are some other plans on the anvil e-g, fuel cells which can generate power from water; generating power from sources that are unconventional like cold drink or alcohol. So the day is not so far when the mobile communication will totally goes green and it will use only power made from renewable energy.

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Today cell-phones have become an integral part of our life and are the most used mode of communication. More prevalent the use of cell-phone, more imperative is the need to curtail eco-pollution that emanates from the huge number of still-in-use and out-of-use cell phones. Toxic products like lead, mercury, cadmium and other materials pose [...]
Posted in: Future Energy, Industry, Solar Power

The ultimate step in utilizing solar power is to convert maximum energy from sun into electricity. This will make solar power highly cost-advantageous compared to other traditional power sources. Capturing energy wasted as heat from the sun can increase solar conversion efficiency greatly. Research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy is on-going to [...]
Posted in: Inventions, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

A new process is being tested by chemical engineers of Purdue University to get high hydrogen production at fuel-cell temperature-level with no catalyst use. This is full of promise for vehicles powered by hydrogen and other portable electronic items like dig-cams, medical diagnostic devices, defibrillators, cell phones and notebook computers. The research funded by [...]
Posted in: Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Fuel, Inventions

Solar energy is a renewable energy which doesn’t pollute the air and is used in various forms of utility on Earth, Such as drying cloths, heating water and powering different technologies etc. Though many usage of solar power have been discovered, but still we are not capable to make full use of solar energy. First ever solar cell was created in 1883 and now solar energy is used in powering vehicles as well. It’s a long journey of enhancement of solar energy from a solar cell to a solar car.

Solar Powered Cars:

In solar powered cars, same photovoltaic cells (PVC) are used which are also used in solar panels. PVC panels convert the solar energy into electricity that can be used. Solar technology is expensive and costs a lot. Solar panels have different prices, depending how fast the panel can capture and convert the energy. Solar powered car’s body is covered with solar panels, which costs hundreds of thousands dollars. Solar powered car can speed more than 60 miles per hour.

Different big motor vehicle companies are researching to make a solar car on reasonable price, so that they can launch it in the market. In Paris Auto Show, the Venturi Eclectic was presented. This car was designed to use solar and wind energy and was having speed up to 30 miles per hour. But such type of prototype cars can not be in practical use for traveling on highways. May be in future, solar cars are developed more on reasonable prices for general public, and those can be used on highways also. As the advancements in the field of solar energy are being made day by day, it seems solar powered cars wont take so long to be in scene on highways.

None the less solar energy have many benefits. Solar panels don’t make any noise pollution, so cars will be moving silently on the roads. Most of all, solar energy is free of cost and you won’t be dependent on oil. Though sun is not available around the clock, but batteries are used to store the power. As it’s expected to have solar cars on roads in future, so for time being you can experience solar energy powered car by purchasing the Toyota Prius, which has a new solar roof that can power the car for at least 20 miles longer.

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We love the idea of clean and green fuel. But they come with certain disadvantages. First one is they are heavy on pocket of a commoner. Second disadvantage is their power conversion rate is quite low. Last one is you need storage space to save all the power converted by a clean and green [...]
Posted in: Inventions, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

Solar energy is present in abundance around us. The problem is how to harness a substantial portion of it for human use. How to raise the efficiency bar of solar conversion into electricity? Scientists are continuously engaged in finding a way out for this problem. Recently scientists at the Kyoto Institute of Technology [...]
Posted in: Inventions, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

Whenever we think of solar energy, we assume that it is just simple sunlight, ignoring the fact that visible light is just part of the complete electromagnetic spectrum.

It is important to keep in mind that electromagnetic radiation is not monochromatic, it’s made up of a wide range of different wavelengths, and therefore different energy levels.

It is possible to separate light into different wavelengths, which can be seen in the form of a rainbow. And as the light that falls on our solar cell has multiple photons carrying different ranges of energies, some of these photons don’t have enough energy to alter an electron-hole pair.

This means that they’ll simply pass through the cell as if it were transparent. However, other photons may have too much energy. Only a specific amount of energy, which can be measured in electron volts (eV), and is about 1.1 eV for crystalline silicon, is needed to loosen up an electron. This is called the band gap energy of a material.

In case the photon has more energy than the required amount, then this extra energy is lost. Thus if the photon has less energy, or has too much energy, in both the cases energy will be lost. These losses can account for about 70 percent of the radiation energy incident on our cell.

Question arises that why can’t we use a material that has a really low band gap, so we can use more photons? But this is not possible as unfortunately, our band gap also decides the strength (voltage) of our electric field, and if it’s too low, then whatever we make up in extra current through absorbing more photons, we will loose by having a small voltage.

Balancing both these effects, the optimal band gap can be found around 1.4 eV for a cell made from a single material.

However, these aren’t the only losses that we face. The electrons have to flow from one side of the cell to the other through an external circuit. The bottom can be made with a metal which allows good conduction, but if the top is completely covered, then photons can’t get through the opaque conductor and we lose all of our current.

Also, as silicon is a semiconductor, its internal resistance is fairly high, leading to high losses. To minimize these losses, cells are typically covered by a metallic contact grid that shortens the distance that electrons have to travel while covering only a small part of the cell surface. Even after this, some of the photons are blocked by the grid.

Technorati Tags: Energy,Solar,Cell,radiation,voltage,cells,electromagnetic,photons,electron,silicon,photon,electrons

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In my previous posts, I gave an overview about the composition of a solar cell, what it is made of and how it is used to transform sunlight into electric energy. In this article, I will illustrate the inside anatomy of a cell and how it really works.

In the last post, I explained the concept of a solar cell with two separate pieces of silicon, that were electrically neutral. However, it becomes much more interesting when you put them together. This is because without an electric field, the cell wouldn’t work; the field is formed when the N-type and P-type silicon come into contact. This makes the free electrons on the N side to rush to the openings on the P side.

But do all the free electrons rush to fill all the free holes? The answer is no. They do mix and form a barrier at the junction, making it more harder for further electrons on the N side to cross over to the P side. Eventually, equilibrium is reached and an electric field is created separating the two sides.

This electric field now acts as a diode, allowing the electrons to flow from the P side to the N side, but not the other way around. It’s just like a hill, where the electrons can go down to the N side, but can’t climb to the P side.

When sunlight falls on the solar cell in the form of photons, its energy is used to break apart electron-hole pairs. Each photon having enough energy will usually free exactly one electron, resulting in a free hole as well. The electron flow provides the current, and the cell’s electric field causes a voltage. Together with both current and voltage, we get power, which is the product of the two.

Silicon, which is commonly used to make solar cells, is a very shiny material, and thus reflects photons, causing them to bounce away before they’ve done their job. To counter this, an antireflective coating is applied to reduce the loss.

At the end, a glass cover case may be applied to keep the solar cell safe, and several solar cells may be combined together to form an array of solar panels, absorbing more sunlight and thus creating more electricity.

Technorati Tags: Solar,Cell,energy,voltage,Silicon,cells,panels,electrons,electron

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We have all seen calculators with solar cells, that enable the device to work without any batteries, and can be used for unlimited time period as long as there’s enough light.

These solar cells that are present in calculators and many other devices are also called photovoltaic (PV) cells. As the name depicts, these cells have the capability of converting sunlight directly into electricity.

A group of cells can also be connected together electrically, fitted into a frame to form a solar panel. Moreover, these solar panels can be combined together to form larger solar arrays, similar to the ones operating at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Photovoltaic cells are made up of special material called semiconductors such as silicon, which is currently used most commonly.

When light falls on to the cell, a certain amount of the light is absorbed by the semiconductor material. The energy of the absorbed light is then transferred to the semiconductor. The energy is used to loosen up the electrons, allowing them to flow freely, and thus create electricity.

PV cells also have one or more electric fields that force electrons freed by light absorption to flow in a certain direction making a current. Thus by inserting metal contacts on the top and bottom of the PV cell, we can direct the current for some external use. This current, combined together with the cell’s voltage due to the built-in electric fields, defines the power that the solar cell can produce.

This is the basic process through which photovoltaic cells work, but clearly there’s much more to it, which will be explained in the proceeding articles.

Technorati Tags: Photovoltaic,panel,cell,energy,voltage,Cells,batteries,panels,semiconductor,electrons

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