solar

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

An Electrical Engineer Explains How A Large Solar Storm Could Knock Out The Power Grid And The Internet

On Sept. 1 and 2, 1859, telegraph systems around the world failed catastrophically. The operators of the telegraphs reported receiving electrical shocks, telegraph paper catching fire, and being able to operate equipment with batteries disconnected. During the evenings, the aurora borealis, more commonly known as the northern lights, could be seen as far south as Colombia. Typically, these lights are only visible at higher latitudes, in northern Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia. What the world experienced that day, now known as the Carrington Event, was a massive geomagnetic storm. These storms occur when a large bubble of superheated gas called plasma is ejected from the surface of the sun and hits the Earth. This bubble is known as a coronal mass ejection. The plasma of a coronal mass e...

A Massive Expansion Of Solar Power, Who Pays And Who Benefits?

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

A Massive Expansion Of Solar Power, Who Pays And Who Benefits?

Felix Mormann, Texas A&M University Electricity generation produces a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. The electric grid also is highly vulnerable to climate change effects, such as more frequent and severe droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events. For both of these reasons, the power sector is central to the Biden administration’s climate policy. President Joe Biden’s proposal to produce 45% of the nation’s electricity from solar energy by 2050 seeks to transform the power sector from problem child into child prodigy. As the details evolve, two cornerstones have emerged. First, Biden has repeatedly called for extending tax credits for solar power and other renewables, at a projected cost of US$200 billion over the next decade. Second...

Yielding Water, Land, Air And Climate Payoffs By Installing Solar Panels Over California’s Canals

3May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

Yielding Water, Land, Air And Climate Payoffs By Installing Solar Panels Over California’s Canals

Climate change and water scarcity are front and center in the western U.S. The region’s climate is warming, a severe multi-year drought is underway and groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many locations. Western states are pursuing many strategies to adapt to these stresses and prepare for the future. These include measures to promote renewable energy development, conserve water, and manage natural and working lands more sustainably. As engineers working on climate-smart solutions, we’ve found an easy win-win for both water and climate in California with what we call the “solar canal solution.” About 4,000 miles of canals transport water to some 35 million Californians and 5.7 million acres of farmland across the state. Covering these canals with solar panels would reduce evapor...

What A Massive Flare Seen On The Closest Star To The Solar System Means For Chances Of Alien Neighbors

3May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE

What A Massive Flare Seen On The Closest Star To The Solar System Means For Chances Of Alien Neighbors

The Sun isn’t the only star to produce stellar flares. On April 21, 2021, a team of astronomers published new research describing the brightest flare ever measured from Proxima Centauri in ultraviolet light. Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the solar system and is home to a potentially habitable planet. Hubble/European Space Agency/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA To learn about this extraordinary event – and what it might mean for any life on the planets orbiting Earth’s closest neighboring star – I spoke with Parke Loyd, an astrophysicist at Arizona State University and co-author of the paper. Excerpts from our conversation are below and have been edited for length and clarity. Why were you looking at Proxima Centauri? Proxima Centauri is the closest star to this solar system. A couple...

With The Right Kind Of Help Low-Income Families Can Also Benefit From Cheaper Solar Power

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

With The Right Kind Of Help Low-Income Families Can Also Benefit From Cheaper Solar Power

Until recently, rooftop solar panels were a clean energy technology that only wealthy Americans could afford. But prices have dropped, thanks mostly to falling costs for hardware, as well as price declines for installation and other “soft” costs. Solar power is becoming more common for households at all income levels. These homes in Richmond, California, went solar with the help of GRID Alternatives. GRID Alternatives, CC BY-ND Today hundreds of thousands of middle-class households across the U.S. are turning to solar power. But households with incomes below the median for their areas remain less likely to go solar. These low- and moderate-income households face several roadblocks to solar adoption, including cash constraints, low rates of home ownership and language barriers. Our team o...

To safely explore the solar system and beyond, spaceships need to go faster – nuclear-powered rockets may be the answer

20May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE

To safely explore the solar system and beyond, spaceships need to go faster – nuclear-powered rockets may be the answer

With dreams of Mars on the minds of both NASA and Elon Musk, long-distance crewed missions through space are coming. But you might be surprised to learn that modern rockets don’t go all that much faster than the rockets of the past. There are a lot of reasons that a faster spaceship is a better one, and nuclear-powered rockets are a way to do this. They offer many benefits over traditional fuel-burning rockets or modern solar-powered electric rockets, but there have been only eight U.S. space launches carrying nuclear reactors in the last 40 years. However, last year the laws regulating nuclear space flights changed and work has already begun on this next generation of rockets. Why the need for speed? The first step of a space journey involves the use of launch rockets to get a ship into...