New Solar Cell - Printed out of a Printer?

Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets.

"Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations," said lead researcher and author Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and acting chair of NJIT's Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences.

"We foresee a great deal of interest in our work because solar cells can be inexpensively printed or simply painted on exterior building walls and/or roof tops. Imagine some day driving in your hybrid car with a solar panel painted on the roof, which is producing electricity to drive the engine. The opportunities are endless. "

The solar cell Mitra helped develop uses carbon nanotubes, which are 50,000 times smaller than a human hair.

One nanotube can conduct a current better than any conventional wire.

Mitra and his research team took the carbon nanotubes and combined them with fullerenes, which trap electrons, to form snake-like structures.

From a Blog:: global warming

Taking nature’s cue for cheaper solar power

Solar cell technology developed by the University’s Nanomaterials Research Centre will enable New Zealanders to generate electricity from sunlight at a tenth of the cost of current silicon-based photo-electric solar cells.

Dr Wayne Campbell and researchers in the centre have developed a range of coloured dyes for use in dye-sensitised solar cells.

The synthetic dyes are made from simple organic compounds closely related to those found in nature. The green dye Dr Campbell (pictured) is holding is synthetic chlorophyll derived from the light-harvesting pigment plants use for photosynthesis.

Other dyes being tested in the cells are based on haemoglobin, the compound that give blood its colour.

Dr Campbell says that unlike the silicon-based solar cells currently on the market, the 10x10cm green demonstration cells generate enough electricity to run a small fan in low-light conditions – making them ideal for cloudy weather. The dyes can also be incorporated into tinted windows that trap to generate electricity.

He says the green solar cells are more environmentally friendly than silicon-based cells as they are made from titanium dioxide – a plentiful, renewable and non-toxic white mineral obtained from New Zealand’s black sand. Titanium dioxide is already used in consumer products such as toothpaste, white paints and cosmetics.

“The refining of pure silicon, although a very abundant mineral, is energy-hungry and very expensive. And whereas silicon cells need direct sunlight to operate efficiently, these cells will work efficiently in low diffuse light conditions,” Dr Campbell says.

“The expected cost is one tenth of the price of a silicon-based solar panel, making them more attractive and accessible to home-owners.”

The Centre’s new director, Professor Ashton Partridge, says they now have the most efficient porphyrin dye in the world and aim to optimise and improve the cell construction and performance before developing the cells commercially.

“The next step is to take these dyes and incorporate them into roofing materials or wall panels. We have had many expressions of interest from New Zealand companies,” Professor Partridge says.

He says the ultimate aim of using nanotechnology to develop a better solar cell is to convert as much sunlight to electricity as possible.

“The energy that reaches earth from sunlight in one hour is more than that used by all human activities in one year”.

The solar cells are the product of more than 10 years research funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.

From :: Massey University Press Release

Veg or Non-veg, let your fingerprints speak

Is it possible to know a person very well?

It is difficult to know a person very well in a short time. But with the advance in technology, it is possible to know determine whether the person is a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian, a smoker or a non-smoker, uses drugs, handles explosives, chemicals etc. and some other aspects too. These things can be found out with the help of the new fingerprinting technique.

Image copyrighted to www.cartoonstock.com

According to an article published in ‘Analytical Chemistry Journal’ this is possible with the help of a gel tape. Gelatin, Infra red rays and other materials help the x-ray and scan process. Fingerprints contain minimal amount of amino acid, which with the use of the new technique helps determine the above mentioned details, says a physical chemistry expert from Imperial College, London.

फिर टेक्नोलॉजी ..........................................

कहावत को चरितार्थ किया इन्होने

जहाँ चाह वहाँ राह। इस कहावत को ओरिसा के ग्रामीणों ने चरितार्थ किया है। दरअसल यहाँ के दस गाँव बाढ़ कि वजह से एक द्वीप बन गए हैं। दुनिया से सम्पर्क खो चुके हैं। प्रशासन के असफल हो जाने के बाद, गांववालों ने नदी पर लकड़ी का एक पुल बनाकर वह सम्पर्क फिर से जोड़ दिया। जून के महिने मे, बाढ़ की वजह से, बालासोर जिले के एक गाँव को जोड़ने वाला एकमात्र सड़क टूट गयी। जिला प्रशासन से लगातार अनुरोध के बावजूद जब कुछ नही हुआ तो ग्रामीणों ने यह ज़िम्मेदारी अपने कांधे पे ले ली।

आपस मे पैसा एकत्रित करके जलाका नदी पे पुल बनाने का काम शुरू किया इन लोगों ने । गाँव वालों का कहना है की इस पुल को बनाने मे उन्हें तकरीबन १० हज़ार रुपये खर्चने पडे। उल्लेखनीय बात यह है की पिछले कुछ दिनों से ओरिस्सा के तटीय इलाखे तेज़ हवा और भारी बारिश की वजह से भयावह स्थिती मे हैं।

फिर इस किस्से मे टेक्नोलॉजी ने क्या गुल खिलाया? ..............................

टेक्नोलॉजी क्यों?

कभी दिमाग में बात आती है, यह टेक्नोलॉजी का इतना जो बोलबाला है क्या ऐसे ही है? जहाँ देखो टेक्नोलॉजी, टेक्नोलॉजी, टेक्नोलॉजी। सुनके कभी दिमाग खपता है तो कभी चकाचौंध होता है।

इतनी पहुंच शायद ही किसी ki हो। हर जगह, किसी ना किसी रुप में, किसी ना किसी प्रकार से, टेक्नोलॉजी अपना गुल खिला ही देती है। आख़िर इसमे ऐसी क्या खास बात है?

किसी भी नुक्कड़ पे देखो या किसी गली में, किसी चौराहे पे या इमारतों पे, टेक्नोलॉजी कि कोई ना कोई चाप ज़रूर मिलेगी।

NEMS - Nanoelectromechanical Systems

NEMS or nanoelectromechanical systems are similar to MEMS but smaller. They hold promise to improve abilities to measure small displacements and forces at a molecular scale, and are related to nanotechnology.


There are two approaches most researchers accept as standard paths to NEMS. The top-down approach can be summarized as "a set of tools designed to build a smaller set of tools". For example, a millimeter sized factory that builds micrometer sized factories which in turn can build nanometer sized devices. The other approach is the bottom-up approach, and can be thought of as putting together single atoms or molecules until a desired level of complexity and functionality has been achieved in a device. Such an approach may utilize molecular self-assembly or mimic molecular biology systems.


A combination of these approaches may also be used, in which nanoscale molecules are integrated into a top-down framework. One such example is the carbon nanotube nanomotor.

Excerpts frpm Wikipedia

MEMS - Microelectromechanical Systems

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through microfabrication technology. While the electronics are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) process sequences (e.g., CMOS, Bipolar, or BICMOS processes), the micromechanical components are fabricated using compatible "micromachining" processes that selectively etch away parts of the silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and electromechanical devices.

Microelectronic integrated circuits can be thought of as the "brains" of a system and MEMS augments this decision-making capability with "eyes" and "arms", to allow microsystems to sense and control the environment. Sensors gather information from the environment through measuring mechanical, thermal, biological, chemical, optical, and magnetic phenomena. The electronics then process the information derived from the sensors and through some decision making capability direct the actuators to respond by moving, positioning, regulating, pumping, and filtering, thereby controlling the environment for some desired outcome or purpose.

Excerpts from a community on MEMS

Technology Pages

Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. In human society, it is a consequence of science and engineering, although several technological advances predate the two concepts. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek "technologia", "τεχνολογία" — "techne", "τέχνη" ("craft") and "logia", "λογία" ("saying").[1] However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology".

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Click on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology for more information

टेक्नोलॉजी और हमारे बडे सपने

हर एक इन्सान के दिमाग में कुछ ना कुछ ऐसी ideas आती हैं कि सुनने वाला घबरा कर कहता है, "यह तुम्हे ही मुबारक।"

TechInfin ऐसी जगह है जहाँ हर इन्सान को अपने ख्वाबों को साकार करने का ज़रिया मिलेगा। सपने तो हम सब देखते हैं लेकिन उनका क्या करते हैं यह हर एक का अलग अंदाज़ होता है।