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Update Post: 05_23_2008
Solar Power is available to every society even if the insolation, degree
[or amount] of
sunshine, is society-specific being dependent on the geographical
location and
the climatic conditions of the
society.
The
Solar
energy source is the mix of energy that is radiated by the sun as a
result of the thermonuclear reactions that are occurring on the
surface of the sun.
Thermonuclear reaction is a
fusion reaction and is an atomic level reaction in which the nuclei
of two atoms fuse into one nuclei resulting in a product with a
heavier nuclei accompanied with the release of large quantities of
energy. This situation is usually driven by very high temperature
and atomic pressure; and these conditions prevail in the sun and in
the stars.
As observed, the reaction in
the Sun entails the combination of two hydrogen nuclei to form a
helium nucleus. The ionization thermal energy, evident in the form
of high temperature, is provided by the gravitational forces of the
sun. More specifically, the high temperature so energizes
the atoms of hydrogen that these atoms exists in the state of
plasma, enabling the nuclei to be able to travel around at such high
speed as to be able to overcome the nucleus vs nucleus repulsion
force established by the potential energy curve, with the result
that the nuclei get close enough to each other for the protons to
fall into the energy wells of each other and form a helium nuclei.
However, the massive gravitational pressure, also squeezes the atoms
so close enough to each other that fusion also occurs with the
attendant high energy release which also cause ionization, further
aiding the high kinetic energy driven fusion explained earlier
above.
The portions of the large
quantities of energy released in course of this thermonuclear
reactions that actually arrive on the earth constitutes the Solar
Energy.
This form of energy production
is thought to be self sustaining as soon as the plasma generation is
achieved and when there is enough hydrogen to continuously support the
reaction. Hence, given the geological life span of the sun the
energy should be generated for a long time.
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Energy Type
The energy form of Solar
power is mix of the streams of both quantum and thermal. The quantum
component is the sunlight [stream of solar photons] that is emitted
by the sun as a result of the intense light of the thermonuclear
reactions that are
occurring on the surface of the sun, and thermal component is
contributed by the radiant energy which are the energy packages
radiated due to the high temperature at which the thermonuclear
reactions occur. Both types of energy are, of course,
electromagnetic radiations, except that the photons are visible and
the thermal packets are non-visible.
Energy Adoption
The solar energy that impinges on earth consists of two
forms of electromagnetic radiations, hence the mechanics for adopting
these energy would also depend on the
solar energy capture process. For the purposes of capturing the thermal component, heat
sensor and recovery devices have to be used and for the purposes of
capturing the light component, photoelectric and photonic devices
would be needed.
Evidently then, the optimal capture device must be able to capture
both the optical component and the thermal component. Besides, because the solar energy is generally transient being
periodically available to a
particular region of the earth only for a definable time-span, the
capture mechanism must also factor storage
consideration is very crucial.
Several solar power capture devices are on the market: The available
devices at the moment include, Photovoltaic cells,
Evacuated Tube
Collector systems, Modified Trickle-Down (MTD) systems, Solar
Thermal air collectors, Pool collectors, and sunspaces. Often, the
solar energy capture devices are supported with
solar radiations concentrators for the insolation in other to
support efficient power production operations However, none of
these
has storage features and none seem to be of dual capture
capability.
There are, however, several efficacious system of capture and
storage, though not currently in the market, that have been
conceptualized and have been developed or are being developed,
currently. Two dominant approaches to the storage consideration are
under-development: Storage as Hydrogen gas, Storage in High Voltage Capacitors. |
The hydrogen gas storage approach entails the capture, conversion to
electricity and use of the electricity to electrolyze water to
generate hydrogen
gas. Simple electrolysis seems to be the easiest and standard method
of storage.
The High Voltage
capacitors storage approach is better suited for use with
Corporate/Centralized Power Generation System.
The Solar Power Adoption-Technology Analysis, of course, has been
exhaustively addressed and the implementation of the
adoption-technology to support a society and the businesses of that
society raises two considerations: The development of Power
Generation Systems to support the distributed/multi-location needs
of the citizens and the businesses; and The single location
preference of a business that prefer Power Systems dedicated for its
own use and completely under its control. Admittedly, however,
adopting Solar Power is an expensive project both in terms of the
initial Capital Investment, Operating Expense and Maintenance
Expense. Part of the reason for this is the cost of storage.
Solar photons transmission
network based on the
multilayer network
design for direct support of photolytic chemical process
operations run during the day hours is also readily supported under
this centralized power generation design.
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