The Beginning Of Solar Energy

Solar power has been known about for a long time. Although the capacity of sunlight to generate a charge had been understood since the early 19th century, it took around another 100 years for science to create workable solar panels to harness this power.

The Beginning

Photovoltaic effect, the conductivity resulting from the build-up of charge between two electrodes under direct sunlight, was first noted by French physicist Becquerel in 1839. Although some experiments had attempted to harness the tiny charges that could be harnessed, using primitive strips of selenium bound with gold connectors, they barely produced enough wattage to make the needle move

Albert Einstein

As late as 1905 Albert Einstein had established the physical properties of Photoelectric Effect, but the technology simply did not exist to support his theories. It would take until 1954 for Bell Laboratories to come up with a workable selenium cell designed to produce a constant charge.

Initial Problems

Even then, the reception was lukewarm. The main problem was that 1 watt of power generated through this array cost $250 in manufacturing and production costs; a similar amount of power generated from coal cost around $2. There seemed to be nobody interested in finding a practical use for the technology.

Use in Space

Salvation came from the heavens, and the space race was a great accelerator of events. From 1957 artificial satellites orbited the earth, but their limited battery life meant that they could only effectively transmit for a few days or weeks. In 1958 Bell’s array powered the US Navy satellite Vanguard 1, which allowed it to transmit for 7 years until its transmitter failed; amazingly, it is still in orbit today and shows no signs of stopping.

The Gradual Rise

The success of Vanguard 1 meant the widespread adoption of solar cell technology for space missions. As orbiting spacecraft greeted the sunrise once every 90 minutes, it seemed a perfect solution. By 1973 the solar cell was not only helping probes make the most of every bit of sunlight on their way to the farthest reaches of the solar system, and was powering life support systems on space stations. This also led to new manufacturing techniques and a lower unit cost for the technology. However, even at this point, solar panels on Earth still cost over $100 to produce 1 watt of electricity. Apart from spacecraft and ships, there seemed to be few practical applications for solar panels.

Solar Energy as an Eco Friendly Alternative

The Oil Crisis of 1973 led to renewed efforts to make the technology workable. With Middle Eastern producers snubbing the west, governments realised just how acutely vulnerable their energy supply was and sought alternatives. This led to the development of solar panel companies by the major petroleum producers, and the invention of thin selenium strips sandwiched under sheets of glass. Efficiency also increased, allowing production costs of around $1 per watt – lower than coal. By 1979 a 600 watt array was providing lift for the world’s first solar-powered aircraft – the Gossamer Penguin. Solar power was here to stay.

People like you and I can now take advantage of solar energy by installing solar panels in our home. Solar Contact can provide information on different solutions for solar energy in the home and put you in contact with local solar energy experts.

Natural Ways To Cure A Headache

Headaches can be very distracting, right? When you feel pain, you can hardly work or think well at all. That’s why a lot of people experiencing headache try to look for alternative remedies such as natural ones.

If you want to avoid taking in medicines for headache and pain, why not try the following natural ways to cure a headache?

1. Meditate. What the mind thinks, the body achieves. Meditation has been practiced by some people to keep their mind, body, and soul healthy. There are different types of meditation which you can try online. From listening to the sound of running water, smooth waves on the beach, chirping of birds, humming of bees, to the sound of the crisp, cool breeze- all these you can experience by listening to nature sounds. The images you create in your mind will help you release the stress and tension which your body has absorbed during the day. When your stress levels are low, headaches are also likely to stop. You can try downloading meditation sounds online.

2. Get some exercise. Did you know that regular exercise can help cure headaches? You can try simple exercises like breathing exercises, jogging or brisk walking. Such movements increase the healing process of headaches. Exercise is also a good alternative for releasing stress and worries which are usually causing headaches.

3. Get a hot bath. After doing some simple exercises, try to get a hot bath. Hot water will help release the body’s contracted muscles which usually cause headaches. A nice warm bath will also make you feel relaxed.

4. Use herbs for healing. Another natural remedy for headaches is herbs. However, you have to seek permission from your doctor in case you have allergies and to avoid side effects before you take natural herb remedies. Some would simply boil the herbs and drink them to make them feel better.

5. Aromatherapy. Another natural remedy for headaches is aromatherapy. For instance, lavender has therapeutic effects because it helps the body relax and thus releases stress and tension from inside. When you meditate or take a hot bath for example, try to use some aromatherapy scented candles, soap, or lotion.

6. Acupuncture. When headache is caused by nervous tension, the suggested form of remedy is acupuncture. Acupuncture has long been practiced in other countries like China and is still widely used to cure various diseases today.
These are just some of the natural remedies to cure headaches. If your headache still poses a problem, try one of these tips and you will definitely see the big difference.

This is a guest post written by Gracie Roloff. Gracie runs MyGetRidOfGuide, a website that offers several ways to get rid of anything that is unwanted.

Wind Power An Alternative Energy

A wind turbine needs air, lots of it to turn the blades. A modern wind turbine ranges from 600 KW to 5 MW of rated power, although for commercial use the output range is typically 1.5-3 MW.

Because wind speed is not constant, a wind farm’s annual energy production is never as much as the sum of the generator nameplate ratings multiplied by the total hours in a year. The ratio of actual productivity in a year to this theoretical maximum is called the capacity factor. Typical capacity factors are 20-40%, with values at the upper end of the range in particularly favorable sites. For example, a 1 megawatt turbine with a capacity factor of 35% will not produce 8,760 megawatt-hours in a year, but only 0.35x24x365 = 3,066 MWh, averaging to 0.35 MW. Online data is available for some locations and the capacity factor can be calculated from the yearly output.

Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand. This could require large amounts of land to be used for wind turbines, particularly in areas of higher wind resources. Offshore resources experience mean wind speeds of ~90% greater than that of land, so offshore resources could contribute substantially more energy. This number could also increase with higher altitude ground-based or airborne wind turbines.

Wind power is renewable and produces no greenhouse gases during operation, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Wind Power Market

At the end of 2008, worldwide wind farm capacity was 120,791 megawatts (MW), representing an increase of 28.8 percent during the year, and wind power produced some 1.3% of global electricity consumption. Wind power accounts for approximately 19% of electricity use in Denmark, 9% in Spain and Portugal, and 6% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland. The United States is an important growth area and installed U.S. wind power capacity reached 25,170 MW at the end of 2008.

Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, in Texas, is one of the world’s largest wind farm at 735.5 MW capacity. It consists of 291 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines and 130 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines. A proposed 4,000 MW facility, called the Pampa Wind Project, is to be located near Pampa, Texas.

In the UK, a licence to build the world’s largest offshore windfarm, in the Thames estuary, has been granted. The London Array Windfarm, 20 km off Kent and Essex, should eventually consist of 341 turbines, occupying an area of 230 km². This is a £1.5 billion, 1,000 megawatt project, which will power one-third of London homes. The windfarm will produce an amount of energy that, if generated by conventional means, would result in 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year. It could also make up to 10% of the Government’s 2010 renewables target.

Wind Farms

Wind power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of renewable energy

A wind farm, when installed on agricultural land, has one of the lowest environmental impacts of all energy sources:

* It occupies less land area per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated than any other energy conversion system, apart from rooftop solar energy, and is compatible with grazing and crops.
* It generates the energy used in its construction in just 3 months of operation, yet its operational lifetime is 20 to 25 years.
* Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution produced by its construction are low and declining. There are no emissions or pollution produced by its operation.
* In substituting for base-load coal power, wind power produces a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and a net increase in biodiversity.
* Modern wind turbines are almost silent and rotate so slowly (in terms of revolutions per minute) that they are rarely a hazard to birds.

Studies of birds and offshore wind farms in Europe have found that there are very few bird collisions. Several offshore wind sites in Europe have been in areas heavily used by seabirds. Improvements in wind turbine design, including a much slower rate of rotation of the blades and a smooth tower base instead of perchable lattice towers, have helped reduce bird mortality at wind farms around the world. However older smaller wind turbines may be hazardous to flying birds. Birds are severely impacted by fossil fuel energy; examples include birds dying from exposure to oil spills, habitat loss from acid rain and mountaintop removal coal mining, and mercury poisoning.