The Panasonic World Solar Challenge, an event held from October 21-28, 2007, consisted of an invitation to design, build and drive a biofriendly vehicle across the vast Australian continent, using only sunlight as fuel. The winning team from Delft Technical University in the Netherlands crossed the 3000 km trajectory from Darwin in the North to Adelaide in the South at an average speed of over 90 km/h. (1)
It was the 20th anniversary of this event and the fourth year in row that the Dutch team has won the race. A similar event, called the North American Solar Challenge is scheduled for 2008, where solar vehicles will “rayce†the 2400 miles from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta in Canada.
These often futuristic-looking vehicles are not designed as production vehicles and are mostly developed by engineering schools and corporations like GM, Ford and Honda.
Solar vehicles are simple in principle. Sunlight strikes the solar (photovoltaic) cells on the car’s surface, which generates electricity to power the electric motors that turn the vehicle’s wheels. Surplus electrical energy is stored in rechargeable batteries, to be used when less sunlight is available or when extra power is needed, such as to climb hills.
The challenges in designing and building cars that operate on energy from the sun alone are considerable. Since these vehicles use solar power only, efficient design is vital. Weight is kept to a minimum, as are friction and aerodynamic drag. This makes them fragile and lacking in driver comfort. Their future viability depends to a large degree on the cost and efficiency of the solar cells that power them.
Promising developments are occurring in solar cell technology, such as spray-on solar cells that capture infrared energy. There is even the possibility of full-spectrum solar cells that could deliver up to 70% efficiency. This is about twice as efficient as the best photovoltaic cells available today. (2)
Meanwhile, motor vehicles with internal combustion engines are still the norm and technologies that make better use of them will improve the environment, lessen dependence on fossil fuels and limit costs. Biofriendly Corporation is a company whose Green Plus® liquid fuel catalyst causes a more complete burn resulting in reduced harmful emissions, increased torque and improved fuel economy.
References:
(1) http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/dutch-win-solar-car-race/2007/10/25/1192941227965.html
(2) http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/MSD-full-spectrum-solar-cell.html
It was the 20th anniversary of this event and the fourth year in row that the Dutch team has won the race. A similar event, called the North American Solar Challenge is scheduled for 2008, where solar vehicles will “rayce†the 2400 miles from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta in Canada.
These often futuristic-looking vehicles are not designed as production vehicles and are mostly developed by engineering schools and corporations like GM, Ford and Honda.
Solar vehicles are simple in principle. Sunlight strikes the solar (photovoltaic) cells on the car’s surface, which generates electricity to power the electric motors that turn the vehicle’s wheels. Surplus electrical energy is stored in rechargeable batteries, to be used when less sunlight is available or when extra power is needed, such as to climb hills.
The challenges in designing and building cars that operate on energy from the sun alone are considerable. Since these vehicles use solar power only, efficient design is vital. Weight is kept to a minimum, as are friction and aerodynamic drag. This makes them fragile and lacking in driver comfort. Their future viability depends to a large degree on the cost and efficiency of the solar cells that power them.
Promising developments are occurring in solar cell technology, such as spray-on solar cells that capture infrared energy. There is even the possibility of full-spectrum solar cells that could deliver up to 70% efficiency. This is about twice as efficient as the best photovoltaic cells available today. (2)
Meanwhile, motor vehicles with internal combustion engines are still the norm and technologies that make better use of them will improve the environment, lessen dependence on fossil fuels and limit costs. Biofriendly Corporation is a company whose Green Plus® liquid fuel catalyst causes a more complete burn resulting in reduced harmful emissions, increased torque and improved fuel economy.
References:
(1) http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/dutch-win-solar-car-race/2007/10/25/1192941227965.html
(2) http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/MSD-full-spectrum-solar-cell.html
About the Author
Author, Peter Verhoeff, contributes articles on environmental issues for Biofriendly Corporation. More information on these and other topics can be found on the Biofriendly site.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น