Caltech, BP team for nano solar cell.Can the teaming up of BP plc and Caltech change the world? Last week, the prestigious Pasadena tech powerhouse A fourth-generation language from Cognos that was introduced in the late 1970s for midrange computers. It supports both character-oriented, terminal-based applications as well as Windows clients. Applications developed under PowerHouse can be imported into Cognos' Axiant client/server environment. and the London-based oil giant announced a partnership to develop a radical solar cell solar cell, semiconductor devised to convert light to electric current. It is a specially constructed diode, usually made of silicon crystal. When light strikes the exposed active surface, it knocks electrons loose from their sites in the crystal. using nanotechnology. Existing solar cells use various types of silicon--ranging from paper-thin wafers to films of the material--to coax Same as coaxial cable. coax - coaxial cable electric charges out of sunlight. The problem is, even the most sophisticated cells operate at 30 percent efficiency--and those are in research labs and very costly to fabricate--while those that are commercially viable operate around 15 percent. That means the relative cost of the electricity they produce is higher than conventional sources, such as oil and gas. However, BP, which has pledged to give Caltech $5 million over five years, is betting that creating nano (1) Billionth (10 to the -9th power). See space/time. (2) Refers to the nanotech industry in general. See nanotechnology. (3) See iPod nano. cylinders of silicon, perhaps 100 times smaller than a human hair, could lead to major breakthroughs that would allow the production of vast arrays of solar cells producing more electricity at lower costs. "Nanotechnology can offer new and unique ways to make solar-cell materials that are cheaper," said Nate Lewis Nate Lewis (born October 19, 1966 in Moultrie, Georgia) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for six seasons for the San Diego Chargers and the Chicago Bears. , a Caltech chemistry professor who will co-direct the program. Solar energy solar energy, any form of energy radiated by the sun, including light, radio waves, and X rays, although the term usually refers to the visible light of the sun. proponents see a future in which efficient, commercially viable solar cells ultimately replace oil, gas and coal as primary sources of energy--both by the direct production of electricity and by powering the conversion of water into hydrogen fuel. Of course, without breakthroughs like the one hoped for at Caltech, that will never happen. |
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