New Ways to Catch Rays
- By Evan Schwartz
- Posted 04.24.07
- NOVA
With evidence mounting that the global warming trend is accelerating, finding solutions to our dependence on fossil fuels for our growing energy needs is becoming increasingly urgent. A significant part of the solution may well lie in solar energy. Today, a host of scientists and entrepreneurs are busy developing new means of harnessing the abundant, renewable, and entirely free energy of the sun. In this slide show, take a look at six of the hottest new solar technologies.
This feature originally appeared on the site for the NOVA program Saved By the Sun.
Credits
Images
- (crane over troughs)
- © NOVA/WGBH Educational Foundation
- (trough with sun, subway station)
- Courtesy of SCHOTT
- (Stirling dish, artist's rendering)
Courtesy Stirling Energy Systems, Inc.
- (thin-film house)
- Courtesy of United Solar Ovonic
- (Clark solar array)
- Courtesy National Renewable Energy Laboratory/photo by Kim Adams
- (solar-painted house graphic)
- © Gina Miller/www.nanogirl.com
- (bioreactor, algae tubes)
- Courtesy of GreenFuel Technologies Corp.
Related Links
-
Saved By the Sun
Is it time to take solar energy seriously?
-
Power Surge
Are we finally on the brink of a clean energy revolution?
-
The Big Energy Gamble
Can California's ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gases actually succeed?
-
The Sun Lab
Research solar storms using images from NASA telescopes; share your work; and find out about careers in science.
-
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Go inside a photovoltaic cell and see how solar panels work to convert sunlight into electricity.
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