Open Questions: Alternative Energy Technologies
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See also: Controlled fusion
Introduction
Renewable energy technologies: wind, solar thermal, solar electric,
biomass, hydroelectric, and geothermal
Site indexes
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Open Directory Project: Hydrogen Fuel Cells
- Categorized and annotated links. A version of this
list is at
Google, with entries sorted in "page rank" order. May also be
found at
Netscape.
-
Yahoo News Full Coverage: Alternative Energy
- Links to recent news stories from various sources. Also includes
links to sites dealing with alternative energy.
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Galaxy: Fuel Cells
- Categorized site directory. Entries usually include
descriptive annotations.
-
National Hydrogen Association: Useful Links
- Links are mostly to organizations and governmental units, and
a few portals dealing with fuel cells and hydrogen.
Sites with general resources
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Fuel Cells 2000
- Good portal to anything and everything having to do with
fuel cells, including descriptions of different types of fuel
cells, explanations of how they work, and external links.
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The Fuel Cell Network
- "A UK-based network to promote and encourage the exchange
of information and ideas within the fuel cell community, both
industrial and academic." Site includes news, calendar of
events, articles, and a bibliography.
-
National Hydrogen Association
- The site aims to promote "the transition role of hydrogen
in the energy field." Site includes news, articles, documents, and
external links.
Surveys, overviews, tutorials
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Fuel cell
- Article from
Wikipedia.
-
Solar cell
- Article from
Wikipedia.
-
How Fuel Cells Work
- Informative article at
Howstuffworks.com.
-
Driving the hydrogen economy
- Summary of July 2007 article from
Physics World, by
Michael Eikerling, Alexei Kornyshev, and Anthony Kucernak.
"Fuel cells could power homes, cars and portable devices
efficiently without releasing greenhouse gases." The authors
"explain how progress in understanding the physics of fuel cells
will help make them cheaper and more efficient."
-
Hydrogen fuel far from ready for prime time
- May 2006 feature article from the San Francisco Chronicle
about several of the difficult problems that must be solved
before hydrogen can be used as fuel.
-
As solar gets smaller, its future gets brighter
- July 2005 feature article from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Discusses how nanotechnology may make generation of electricity
from solar energy more practical.
-
Carbon nanotubes boost hydrogen storage
- February 2005 article from
Nanotechweb.org, by
Liz Kalaugher.
"Researchers ... have used single-walled carbon nanotubes to
improve the hydrogen storage capabilities of catalyzed sodium
alanates. The tubes improved the sorption kinetics of the
material by a factor of four."
-
Energy challenges
- July 2002 article from
Physics World, by
Valerie Jamieson. "Environmental concerns are fuelling the search
for alternatives to oil, coal and gas."
-
The hydrogen economy blasts off
- July 2002 article from
Physics World, by
Tim Chapman. "As fuel-cell buses take to the streets in Iceland,
the idea of an economy based on hydrogen rather than fossil fuels
is being taken more seriously."
-
Fuel cells: power for the future
- Summary of August 1998 article from
Physics World, by
Gregor Hoogers.
"The internal combustion engine has dominated the transport
industry and small-scale energy generation for over 100 years.
But concerns about the environmental impact of exhaust emissions
may make car makers look to a new type of power unit: the fuel cell."
-
Bringing fuel cells down to earth
- March 24, 2000 article from Nature concerning a new
type of fuel cell that uses methane.
-
Solar Power Lightens Up with Thin-Film Technology
- April 2008 Scientific American article, subtitled
"Cheap, durable, efficient devices are needed to generate
a significant amount of electricity from the sun. So-called
thin-film photovoltaic cells may be just the ticket."
-
Solid (State) Progress
- June 2005 Scientific American In Focus article about
hydrogen-fuel storage for cars.
-
Cutting the Cord
- April 2001 Scientific American In Focus article on
photovoltaic energy production, subtitled
"For billions of years the sun has steadily provided vast amounts
of energy. Are we ready to tap into this resource?"
-
Beyond Batteries
- December 1996 Scientific American In Focus article
on the devloping technology of fuel cells and possible applications.
-
A Solar Grand Plan
Ken Zweibel; James Mason; Vasilis Fthenakis
Scientific American, December 2007
-
-
Hydrogen: The Next Generation
Jessica Gorman
Science News, October 12, 2002, pp. 235-236
- Before widespread use of fuel cells in vehicles is practical,
better methods of producing hydrogen that don't involve fossil
fuels are required.
-
Pocket Sockets
Peter Weiss
Science Week, September 7, 2002, pp. 155-156
- The first fuel cells to see widespread use may be the smallest,
which will be replacements for batteries to run portable electonic
devices like cell phones and laptop computers. They may provide
continuous power for about 10 hours, yet be lighter and smaller than
the batteries they replace.
- Fuel Cells vs. the Grid
David H. Freedman
Technology Review, January/February 2002, pp. 40-47
- Fuel cells have been known since 1839. They can be scaled in
size from a unit that can power a radio to one that can power an
office building. The main problem is that for larger applications
the cost of a unit per kilowatt of capacity is far higher than
conventional alternatives.
- Solar on the Cheap
Peter Fairley
Technology Review, January/February 2002, pp. 48-53
- Organic polymers -- plastics -- have been discovered which
can convert solar energy to electricity far more cheaply than
silicon-based devices, even of the "thin film" variety. The
problem, at present, is that such organic materials are too
fragile for practical applications.
- A Fuel Cell in Your Phone
David Voss
Technology Review, November 2001, pp. 68-75
- Large fuel cells for powering automobiles and providing
backup electricity to homes and offices have received the most
attention. But much smaller cells -- capable of replacing batteries
in cell phones and laptop computers and operating for much longer
before recharge/refuel -- may have an impact sooner.
- Fill 'er Up With Hydrogen
Peter Fairley
Technology Review, November-December 2000, pp. 54-62
- Engineers developing fuel cell technology for use in cars are
targeting 2004 for first commercial production. Many challenges
remain. The main issue is --
what will be the "fuel" in fuel cells: gasoline, methanol, or
pure hydrogen?
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Copyright © 2002 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved