by Timon Singh, 07/28/11
filed under: News, Renewable Energy, Solar Power
Filed under: Inhabitat
A solar energy system that doesn’t require sunlight is almost as bizarre as a tidal power system that doesn’t use water – however that’s exactly what researchers at MIT have cooked up. The team just unveiled a new photovoltaic energy conversion system that can be powered by heat, the sun’s rays, a hydrocarbon fuel, or a decaying radioisotope. The button-sized power generator that can also run three times longer than a lithium-ion battery of the same weight.
The science behind the device is not necessarily groundbreaking, as engineers have long used the surface of a material to convert heat into precisely tuned wavelengths of light. However MIT’s method to convert light and heat into electricity is much more efficient than previous versions.
Described in the journal Physical Review A, MIT’s breakthrough was enabled by a material with billions of nanoscale pits etched on its surface. When this pitted material absorbs heat, it radiates energy at precisely chosen wavelengths depending on the size of the pits. It is hoped that the technology may one day be used to generate power for spacecraft on long term missions where sunlight may not be available.
“Being able to convert heat from various sources into electricity without moving parts would bring huge benefits,” says Ivan Celanovic, research engineer in MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN), “especially if we could do it efficiently, relatively inexpensively and on a small scale.” Celanovic went on to say that he believes his team could triple the efficiency of their prototype, adding that “It’s a neat example of how fundamental research in materials can result in new performance that enables a whole spectrum of applications for efficient energy conversion.”
Considering that space firms are looking for new ways to power spacecraft efficiently now that the shuttle fleet has been retired, we imagine NASA will be among the many companies interested in this technology.
+ MIT
Solar sail satellites have been taking the top headlines this year, with devices such as Lightsail-1 grabbing much of the attention. However, NASA has just become the first agency to launch an experimental micro-satellite from a larger, solar powered satellite. The NanoSail-D was recently ejected from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSAT) in order to show that NASA had the capability to deploy a small cubesat payload from an autonomous micro-satellite in space. NASA believes that this technology could eventually be used to clean up space debris.
The FASTSAT satellite, which was launched on November 19, contained a number of scientific experiments aboard including the tiny NanoSail-D spacecraft. The satellite, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, was attached to the Poly Pico-Satellite Orbital Deployer and deployed once in orbit.
Once it was released, the NanoSail-D began a three-day countdown which was due to end today. When the countdown ends, the NanoSail-D will deploy a gossamer-thin solar sail that will stretch out to 100 square feet. It will then conduct a series of tests to see how viable solar travel is, much like the Japanese did earlier in the year with their Ikaros satellite.
Once the tests are done, Nanosail-D will burn up in the planet’s atmosphere proving that satellites can be made to ‘self-destruct’ instead of staying in orbit and posing a danger to other spacecrafts. Currently there are thousands of disused satellites in orbit, but if NASA can devised a way to bring them safely back to Earth, or to burn them up in the atmosphere, it will greatly reduce the debris in Earth’s inner space caused by numerous unpowered satellite collisions.
Solar sail satellites have been taking the top headlines this year, with devices such as Lightsail-1 grabbing much of the attention. However, NASA has just become the first agency to launch an experimental micro-satellite from a larger, solar powered satellite. The NanoSail-D was recently ejected from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSAT) in order to show that NASA had the capability to deploy a small cubesat payload from an autonomous micro-satellite in space. NASA believes that this technology could eventually be used to clean up space debris.
The FASTSAT satellite, which was launched on November 19, contained a number of scientific experiments aboard including the tiny NanoSail-D spacecraft. The satellite, which is about the size of a loaf of bread, was attached to the Poly Pico-Satellite Orbital Deployer and deployed once in orbit.
Once it was released, the NanoSail-D began a three-day countdown which was due to end today. When the countdown ends, the NanoSail-D will deploy a gossamer-thin solar sail that will stretch out to 100 square feet. It will then conduct a series of tests to see how viable solar travel is, much like the Japanese did earlier in the year with their Ikaros satellite.
Once the tests are done, Nanosail-D will burn up in the planet’s atmosphere proving that satellites can be made to ‘self-destruct’ instead of staying in orbit and posing a danger to other spacecrafts. Currently there are thousands of disused satellites in orbit, but if NASA can devised a way to bring them safely back to Earth, or to burn them up in the atmosphere, it will greatly reduce the debris in Earth’s inner space caused by numerous unpowered satellite collisions.
+ NASA
Read more: NASA’s Solar Powered Micro-Satellite Will Clean Space Debris Nanosatellite2 – Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World
Read more: MIT Unveils Solar Power System That Doesn't Need Sunlight | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World
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