Alternative energy. What are your thoughts?

[Sternwallow]

Livingstrong wrote

If I lived close to you I would drive, ride a bike or what ever so you wouldn't have to feel that way and I would get the groceries for ya. I know you are a strong person Stern, but being sick sucks, no matter how tough we are sometimes being ill just....sucks. :heart:

That's a lovely offer. I need a couple sheets of plywood and five buckets of driveway sealer. Thanks. :D

[Sternwallow]

ubs wrote

Me too.

The bad part about fuel getting super expensive will be the decrease in food output. That's going to make our travel worries look very small.

I wonder when the break-even point will be reached, when the cost to transport a load of gas exceeds the amount of gas in a load.

[ubs]

Sternwallow wrote

I wonder when the break-even point will be reached, when the cost to transport a load of gas exceeds the amount of gas in a load.

Wow, Sternwallow. What a great question. I tried to find a break down of cost components for gasoline and there doesn't seem to be a lot out there. I'm sure big oil isn't overly anxious to share that information.

[Sternwallow]

ubs wrote

Wow, Sternwallow. What a great question. I tried to find a break down of cost components for gasoline and there doesn't seem to be a lot out there. I'm sure big oil isn't overly anxious to share that information.

All the best questions seem to be ones I can't answer. :cry::cry:

[Sternwallow]

From ABC news: "...tanker truck full of gas. That's 12000 gallons of gas worth about $36000"

On reflection, the transportation cost of gasoline, between 9% and 12% of the pump price, would just raise the pump price accordingly. So, if it costs 27cents per gallon to haul $3 worth and then the transport cost went to $3, the PPG would simply adjust up to $33,33 and the whole load would be worth $400,000.00

Sternwallow wrote

That's a lovely offer. I need a couple sheets of plywood and five buckets of driveway sealer. Thanks. :D

:bird:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

I invented a car in my sleep that uses magnets as a source of propulsion. I took my friend's ADHD medicine earlier that day...

[Choobus]

myst7426 wrote

I invented a car in my sleep that uses magnets as a source of propulsion.

congratulations. Now you can dream about all the money you're going to make.

"The symptoms of ADD or ADHD manifest itself in undue passivity or inattentiveness, or uncontrollable, aggressive hyperactivity."


LOL

myst7426 wrote

I invented a car in my sleep that uses magnets as a source of propulsion. I took my friend's ADHD medicine earlier that day...

S.T.O.N.E.D.

I'm watching an "alternative energy" show on the Science channel now, and they're discussing a technology that's new to me. Apparently you can dope plastics with fullerenes ("buckyballs") and get a more efficient photovoltaic effect than you can with silicon cells. The estimate on the show is ten cents per kilowatt once commercial production is underway. Different chemistries are sensitive to different wavelengths. They can be created as pigments, and sprayed on a substrate in multiple layers.

They also discussed geothermal power, but noted that one downside is that the drilling seemed to contribute to an increase in seismic activity.

[ghoulslime]

The sun is pouring energy out like a benevolent Pakastani gas station attendant gone mad! All we have to do is gather it up and use it!

Besides the Semiconductor industry, I also work in solar cell production. As I type this out, there is still a twinge of pain from seperated ribs got from crawling around inside of a wetbench last week to help repair solar cell texturing equipment. The technology is getting better and cheaper all of the time. Conversion ratios are around 21 percent right now. The Chinese government rocks! They are putting some serious investment into this crucial technology.

The next generation solar cell technology will probably abandon silicon wafers as an infrastructure and use multilayered film for collection and conversion. The day when house roofs and walls are covered with solar tiles is not far away. It is my dream to drive a car which is powered entirely by the solar collectors and converters embedded into the paint.

We are clever monkeys!

ghoulslime wrote

The Chinese government rocks! They are putting some serious investment into this crucial technology.

Chinese censorship on the internet is a myth.

I love Big Brother!

[nkb]

GS,
Since you're in the business, maybe you can lend some insight.

I've been toying with the idea of getting solar cells on my house, for all the obvious reasons.
While looking around on the web, I noticed that most companies offer solar roof shingles, along with the old-style panels. How efficient are those (or is that what you're talking about)?

None of the websites gave me a clear understanding of what the cost and efficiency for these shingles was.

I wish I had known about these a few years ago, when I had all my shingles replaced due to hail damage. I probably would have ponied up the extra money to get solar.

[ghoulslime]

whoneedscience wrote

Chinese censorship on the internet is a myth.

I love Big Brother!

Yeah, I was wondering what the fuck last week. Out of curiosity I tried to access a porno site from Shanghai. http://www.link-o-rama.com I was amazed to see that it loaded just fine. Hmmm… Did a Google search on “Tibet”…there it all was! OK. While I guess that some of the domestic chatter on Tiananmen Square and such uncomfortable topics might be silenced to a certain extent, most of everything else seemed to be at my fingertips.

While the Chinese government certainly has their hang ups, at least they are headed in the right direction. The US government needs to have scary boogie men to keep the sheeple in their pens. I find it amusing that they try to paint China as the bad guys. While the US government spends our precious tax dollars to steal oil for its criminal leaders and to keep the profits flowing into the military industrial complex, China is working furiously on alternative energy, AIDS vaccines, city infrastructures, industrial development, and…yes…environmental issues.

But FOX news tells me I should fear God and the Chinese.

I got hugs from at least 30 people when I left Shanghai on Monday. Some of them had tears in their eyes. Americans can suck my ass.