Alternative Energy – Using Water, Earth, Wind, and Fire
With the price of oil above $50 a barrel and everyone pronouncing the end of “cheap oil” there’s an expected interest in alternative energies such as solar, wind, and ocean power. Emerging technologies play a key role in making alternative energy viable.
For solar power, emerging technologies bring, Stirling engines fitted to a solar array panel farm. In this pilot plant for the state of California, 37-foot solar panels focus sunlight on a Stirling engine which is a highly efficient engine.
Stirling engines use a fixed amount of gas within an engine. Unlike an internal combustion engine which transfers gases in and out, the Stirling engine does not release any gases. By increasing the temperature and pressure in a cylinder, the Stirling engine generates movement of a piston and enough energy to reset the piston for the next cycle of operation.
Here’s an example in which virtual instrumentation controls the positioning of the solar array panels to generate optimum energy.
Wind power is the fastest growing alternative energy. The key to making wind power affordable is to make the turbine bigger so that it can generate more electricity with each rotation of the turbine blade. Virtual instrumentation plays a key part in this sector by monitoring the wind turbine for vibrations. Also, wind power generates swags and swells in the generated electricity due to fluctuations in the wind. Electrical power monitoring plays an important role in making wind turbines cost efficient. Here’s an example in which LabVIEW provides data acquisition and machine control.
Ocean power captures energy from the waves as they come ashore. Here’s one example of capturing energy from a wave of water by placing a chamber in a structure along the shore. As the water enters the chamber, it forces air through a compressor generating power.
Ethanol is processed corn which burns cleanly. In this article the authors created a model measuring net energy usage for ethanol and comparing it to fossil fuels. The article verifies the efficiency of ethanol over gasoline. An emerging technology, called cellulosic technology improves the process by using bacteria to convert the fiber content of plants (cellulose) into starches that can be fermented by other bacteria to produce ethanol. Virtual instrumentation brings advanced sensors and graphical software to the measurement of ethanol and control to the process of manufacturing it.
Biofuels use plants to create fuel. A variation of ethanol is biodiesel which uses plant matter, roots, stems, leaves and all as a biomass material. It is cheaper and easier to make than ethanol because it doesn’t require the process of distillation that ethanol requires. In this application a university team measured engine performance running biodiesel fuel by using virtual instrumentation.
Technology continues to improve the viability of alternative energies and virtual instrumentation supports these technologies.
Best regards,
Hall T.
For solar power, emerging technologies bring, Stirling engines fitted to a solar array panel farm. In this pilot plant for the state of California, 37-foot solar panels focus sunlight on a Stirling engine which is a highly efficient engine.
Stirling engines use a fixed amount of gas within an engine. Unlike an internal combustion engine which transfers gases in and out, the Stirling engine does not release any gases. By increasing the temperature and pressure in a cylinder, the Stirling engine generates movement of a piston and enough energy to reset the piston for the next cycle of operation.
Here’s an example in which virtual instrumentation controls the positioning of the solar array panels to generate optimum energy.
Wind power is the fastest growing alternative energy. The key to making wind power affordable is to make the turbine bigger so that it can generate more electricity with each rotation of the turbine blade. Virtual instrumentation plays a key part in this sector by monitoring the wind turbine for vibrations. Also, wind power generates swags and swells in the generated electricity due to fluctuations in the wind. Electrical power monitoring plays an important role in making wind turbines cost efficient. Here’s an example in which LabVIEW provides data acquisition and machine control.
Ocean power captures energy from the waves as they come ashore. Here’s one example of capturing energy from a wave of water by placing a chamber in a structure along the shore. As the water enters the chamber, it forces air through a compressor generating power.
Ethanol is processed corn which burns cleanly. In this article the authors created a model measuring net energy usage for ethanol and comparing it to fossil fuels. The article verifies the efficiency of ethanol over gasoline. An emerging technology, called cellulosic technology improves the process by using bacteria to convert the fiber content of plants (cellulose) into starches that can be fermented by other bacteria to produce ethanol. Virtual instrumentation brings advanced sensors and graphical software to the measurement of ethanol and control to the process of manufacturing it.
Biofuels use plants to create fuel. A variation of ethanol is biodiesel which uses plant matter, roots, stems, leaves and all as a biomass material. It is cheaper and easier to make than ethanol because it doesn’t require the process of distillation that ethanol requires. In this application a university team measured engine performance running biodiesel fuel by using virtual instrumentation.
Technology continues to improve the viability of alternative energies and virtual instrumentation supports these technologies.
Best regards,
Hall T.
posted by Hall T. Martin at 10:04 AM
1 Comments:
In the world of video gaming, not all games are the same quality. There are high end games available that carry an equally high price tag and there are bargain basement games that would put even small children to sleep. Use the advice in this article to separate the wheat from the chaff in the video game world.
Buying the best wii for your gaming preferences can be touch. Think about what you like in a gaming system and find the xbox that best suits your needs. Research the gaming systems on the Internet. Check out reviews from other gamers, too. Before purchasing a wii, educate yourself.
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The PS2 is 12 years old and kind of outdated, but the one thing it has going for it is that it is very cheap. The games for this system are about half the prices of Xbox and PS3 games. There are also many more games available.
Check the Internet for recommendations and tricks for you favorite games. When you get stuck somewhere in a game, it can frustrate you and maybe even make you give up. Consulting a walkthrough or asking other gamers on a message board is the surest way to conquer that tough level and start enjoying the game again.
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Computer Games were there in the past, they're here in the present, and they will be there in the future. It is unbelievable to see their evolution. It is astounding to think of what the future may hold. So much fun to thing about it and imagine all the possibilities of future games.
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