Science
Science related items
Technology has been developed in Australia that makes solar panels four times more efficient in converting the sun’s rays into electricity and at a third the price.
A company called Technique Solar will commercial produce the new panels there were originally developed at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
The new panels that can produce 1kW of power use acrylic lenses to focus the sun’s rays on photovoltaic cells, and the panel also tracks the sun as it moves across the sky.
Car parts firm Magna Cosma International which more than 200 plants in 50 countries is set to make prototypes and could if negotiations are successful be the global manufacturer of the panels under licence.
In the latest Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) project contact with a school in Australia it was suggested that aliens would be most welcome visitors.
A BBC technology news report paint a dire picture of failing Global Positioning System (GPS) or satellite-navigation devices as a result of high level solar radiation.
Two new receivers are soon to be tested from the International Space Station to help keep track of large ships at sea.
The ARISS contact between the Sherbrooke Community College at Sassafras about 40km east of Melbourne Australia and the International Space Station (ISS) has received favourable comments from NASA.
The mantis shrimp from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may provide guidance for the next generation of DVD players and other photonic applications.
A lightweight, rechargeable battery using paper, algae and salt has been developed by researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden.
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station or ARISS school project continues to be popular.
Russia’s Sarychev Peak volcano erupted on 12 June for the first time in 20 years just as the International Space Station flew directly overhead.
Renewed focus is being paid to the energy consumption of home entertainment, laptop computers, mobile phones and the plethora of other gadgets in our daily lives.
