Solar panels convert light from the Sun into electricity. It’s likely there are a number of them on your roof or a roof near you. Are there enough roofs or other unused surface area to power your city? Your state? Country? World? Or would land area have to diverted from other purposes?
The US Department of Energy calculated, in 2009, that by 2030, world energy consumption in all forms would be 678 quadrillion BTU1 (715 exaJoules2,3).
So, what area of solar panels is required to produce that amount of energy from sunlight?
3 “exaJoule”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule#Exajoule/ 2009 International Energy Agency IEA updated estimates implementation of demand-side efficiency measures worldwide long-range estimates overestimated US Department of Energy Energy Information Administration world consumption of energy all formsbarrels of petroleum cubic meters natural gas watts of hydro power projected 678 quadrillion BTU 715 exajoules 2030 44% increase over 2008 levels 1980 were 283 quadrillion BTU 500 quadrillion BTU 2009 surface area infrastructural investment amount of power using only solar panels create fuel vehicles equipment electricity generated create hydrogen big number 678,000,000,000,000,000 BTU kWh Btu kWh kiloWatt hours 198,721,800,000,000 kWh 199,721 tWh average household uses approximately 18,000 kWh per year 1/11 billion of the total world usage capacity .2 kW per SM square metre meter of land efficiency of 20% 1000 watts 1 kW 1 kiloWatt capacity square meter capacity kW multiply number of hours square meters photovoltaic panel outputting 0.2kW capacity kilowatts x hours kWh 70% average sunshine days per year world Africa Arabian peninsula 250 sun days per year 8 hours of daylight average 2,000 hours per year direct sunlight multiply each square meter by 2,000 yearly kWh capacity per square meter of 400 kWh global yearly demand kWh per square meter 198,721,800,000,000 / 400 496,804,500,000 square meters 496,805 square kilometers 191,817 square miles area required to power the world with solar panels roughly equal to the area of Spain 5,000 super-site installations around the world average 25 per country measure less than 10km a side UAE United Arab Emirates plans construct 1,500MW capacity 2020 area 3 km per side power itself as a nation completely solar energy USA United Nations 170,000 square kilometers of forest destroyed each year constructed solar farms 1.2 million square kilometers farmland in China area of solar farm required power world in 2030 compare to Saharan Desert Saharan Desert 9,064,958 square kilometers 18 times the total required area to fuel the world another measure unpopulated area of the Sahara desert over 9 million km² square kilometres covered with solar panels provide 630 terawatts total power Earth’s current energy consumption rate 13.5 TW at any given moment including oil gas coal nuclear hydroelectric measure multiplier area needed very conservative compare highways area of US interstate highway system constructed 35 years 94,000 square kilometers US consumes 20% of the world’s energy area of USA highway run the world nation required infrastructure golf courses typical golf course covers square kilometer worst case scenario projections 2030 growth BTU load sources of clean energy wave energy
world wave energy potential 2,100,000,000,000 kWh 2,100 tWh required load wind 5 MW turbine 17 gWh per year turbines manufacturing machine installation turbine existing hydroelectric environment construct dams rivers design new large-scale hydro effect ecosystems watersheds existing river well-planned run-of-the-river projects hydroelectric power accounted for 6% of the energy production in the world technologies improving efficiencies technology will continue to get better and better /
This is the first wave electric power generation plant connected to a grid anywhere in the world. Other things that set it apart are that it is all below water (providing a degree of protection from storms & invisible from the shore) & incorporation of a reverse osmosis desalination plant.
Energy generated by the acton of waves on the bouys is brought ashore as high pressure water. There, a hydro-electric turbine converts the energy to electricity.
Compared most other sources of renewable energy, wave energy has the advantage of being available 24 hours per day.
Carnegie Wave Energy web site http://carnegiewave.com// world first grid connected grid-connected wave power station switched on in Australia also supplies zero emission zero-emission desalinated water activated coast Western Australia WA testing demonstrations Australian company Carnegie Wave Energy switched on pilot project begun feeding wave-generated electricity into local WA grid first array wave power generators connected electricity grid Australia worldwide Ivor Frischknecht CEO Australian Renewable Energy Agency provided $13 million $32 million project company’s technology named CETO Greek goddess of the sea converts ocean swell zero-emission renewable power zero-emission desalinated freshwater company system different from other wave energy devices operates under water safer from large storms corrosion invisible from the shore round submerged buoys tethered seabed pump units installed depth between 25 50 metres waves crashing buoys drive pumps push pressurised seawater through pipeline beneath ocean floor onshore hydroelectric power station high-pressure water drives turbine generates electricity high-pressure water supply reverse osmosis desalination plant replacing reducing reliance greenhouse gas-emitting electrically-driven pumps required plants Sophie Vorath RenewEconomy project sell power Australian Department of Defence supply Australia’s largest naval base HMAS Stirling Garden Island sell fresh water base Carnegie’s newly commissioned desalination plant fully integrated into the project project’s three buoys installed installation second buoy during testing phase first 240kW peak capacity CETO 5 wave unit operated successfully more than 2,000 hours Frischknecht statement larger CETO 6 units being developed four times power generating capacity Carnegie chief executive Michael Ottaviano The West Australian project much bigger versions capable of powering towns challenge scale cost make the technology bigger make our projects bigger that’s what get your costs down economy of scale wave resources Western Australia best in the world theoretically resources hit our coastline power the state /
Thanks to Phil, Peter & John for help with testing./ Search Google Bubble Level nifty feature love about Google answer your search results displayed at a glance convert from one measure to another search results display summary answer links expanded answer Google search double up as a tool need a bubble level screenshot above searching for “bubble level” Google result actual working bubble level displayed search results not all phones are supported could potentially be your browser settings works on iOS devices Android only thing unfamiliar bubble level spirit level tools use to determine ground is level surface used by landscape photographers ensure that their cameras are level tripod placed on an uneven surface handy hang paintings photos on the wall make sure that it isn’t crooked replace actual bubble/spirit levels in a pinch don’t want to go out and buy one specifically should be able to get the job done /
Shutterbug: “it slid snugly into the front pocket of my skinny jeans” Credit: Shutterbug
You may remember previous mention of development of the Light L16 camera, which uses 16 cameras with phone-size sensors to produce 40+ Megapixel images at focal lengths of 35-150 mm.1
More information is now available, including:
Co-operative arrangement with Foxconn to develop the technology for smartphones. This is expected to be the wide-angle variant, with around 18-80mm zoom,1 mentioned in my previous article.
Light is accepting deposits to reserve a camera for delivery in late 2016.
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1 full-frame 35mm equivalent/ focus zoom move mirrors calibrate multiple lenses unique Light L16 four spiders 16 cameras arranged haphazard fashion tiny mirrors thin sheet glass shoot pictures bizarre multi-camera Light executives fully operational version camera develop developing development software editing tools custom circuitry put camera in the hands of the masses performs as advertised sample gallery images taken L16 impressive revolutionary new type professional-level camera high-resolution images adjust depth of field your pictures after take shot excels low light nothing bigger smartphone sensor expensive plastic lens embedded phone-like face no moving parts optical zoom range 35mm 150mm front L16 flat multiple lenses embedded behind transparent glass pane panel optical porthole feeds light separate 13-megapixel sensor camera capture images three discrete focal lengths five sensors five 35mm lenses point straight out 11 cameras lens arrangement Light team folded optics like periscopes sensors tucked behind five 70mm lenses six 150mm lenses perpendicular front camera little robotic mirrors visible through front L16 deflect photons right angles toward sensors long-zoom lens barrels positioned sideways ample room pack more lens elements in each barrel Light co-founder CEO Dave Grannan extra room makes huge difference camera’s optical oomph big heavy lenses conventional camera 15 glass elements flourite element some exotic material spherical elements slight asphere aspherical very expensive process glass lens molded-plastic technology cellphones been perfected lenses so good diffraction limited aspherical on each surface five both sides 10 aspherical surfaces incremental cost aspherical zero plastic mold punch them out glass very expensive five barrel Android iPhone at volume costs dollar camera need 16 sensors 16 multi-element lenses 11 mirrors take photograph holy grail Light L16 slim compact camera performs like bulky DSLR without expensive interchangeable lenses large sensor success camera’s internal infrastructure change the way smartphones take pictures today’s smartphone cameras already excellent small sensors poor performance low light pleasantly shallow depth of field bokeh DSLR larger-sensor camera optical-zoom lens zoom digital zoom image negatively impact detail image quality definition smartphone cameras creative solutions Nokia Lumia 1020 crammed 41 megapixels sensor crop and digitally zoom without destroying image detail. Panasonic’s Lumix CM1 larger sensor smartphone body image capabilities dedicated compact camera more megapixels small sensor better image quality large sensor optically zoom multi-camera multi-lens approach complex computational imaging Light big-sensor image quality very high resolution big-lens zoom flat-fronted futuristic brick power 16 smartphone sensors Light co-founder CEO Dr. Rajiv Laroia sensors Light camera tandem mimic benefits very large sensor sensors Light relatively cheap amount computational magic unites them all small sensors very unpredictable pixel level cramming tiny sensor full pixels size of those pixels smaller number of photons pixel level accuracy image bucket collects photons pixels sensors modern cellphone sensors 5,000 photons Laroia explains pixel sensing on/off signal sensing shades construct image sense shades photons light energy quantum mechanics level light energy statistical probabilistic small sensors record grain noise low-light settings DSLRs more detailed pictures dark larger sensors Light L16 distributed array smaller sensors spread out the work mimic much bigger pixel using multiple sensors Laroia says effective sensor area becomes lot larger noise goes down significantly dynamic range increases significantly dynamic range increases tenfold how many sensors take a photo L16 photo depending focal length cameras capturing shots stitching together create single high-resolution image 35mm widest-angle field of view five 35mm cameras fire images captured sensors slightly overlap camera stitch together seamless image lining up shots additional five-camera capture 70mm 35mm shot 150mm one quarter 70mm slightly overlapping geometry parallax mirrors deflecting photons 70mm 150mm aren’t static actuators slightly tilt adjust each photo mirrors seated front 70mm lenses quickly adjust capture image more detail 52 megapixels detail file size between 30 and 50MB 70mm pointed center image upper left quadrant 13-megapixel picture quarter scene upper right quadrant one stays middle image quality best there 13 megapixel sensors one 52-megapixel image 70mm 150mm modules camera takes 70mm photo 150mm 52 megapixels image resolution room crop digitally retain detail dynamic range crop light energy edges tradeoff 70mm 52 megapixels 40 megapixels DSLRs cameras capturing so much data different aperture values focal lengths post-shot retouching options groundbreaking time exposure set at the time take picture depth of field ISO dynamic range adjusted after the fact 11 PhDs computational optics depth map great 3D information developer write indoor mapping app leverages that information facial recognition precise information 3D-printing app non-removable battery 128GB fixed internal storage touchscreen manual controls While Light ship L16 earliest pre-orders response camera slimmer versions camera in the works smartphones smartphone Light’s imaging technology internal components can get slimmer design modified eliminate 150mm lenses 18mm focal length DSLR quality low-light performance shallow depth of field zoom /
Tesla has just released an update to version 7 software, which includes "Launch Mode", for improved acceleration off the mark. Improvements are small, & sometimes inconsistent between runs in the Drag Times article. Zero to 100 mph improves by 0.1 second. Time to 60 mph improves by only 0.04 sec.
http://www.dragtimes.com/blog/launch-mode-testing-on-tesla-p90d-ludicrous/ Tesla released software update new feature called Launch Mode help car accelerate as quickly as possible release notes new Launch Mode test requires car Max Battery Power Mode Tesla’s Launch Mode operates similarly other performance cars car completely stopped press firmly brake left foot press accelerator completely down right foot release accelerator press down all the way again car displays message Launch Mode Enabled 4 seconds release brake take off Launch Mode procedure feel car loading up power against brakes creaking noises release brakes and go Launch Mode resulted slightly quicker performance numbers previous software release falls short Tesla’s 10.9 1/4 mile performance specifications back to back 0-60 MPH testing with without launch mode engaged enabled best 0-60 MPH time obtained using Launch Mode runs dead even between using Launch Mode not using it wheels car lighter than stock Pulse Speed Design GmbH video below performance comparison table /
Platte, Germany – photographed with a camera phone Credit: Karsten Schoenberg/iPhone Photography School
Camera phones are well-suited to landscape photography. Your friends with SLRs & a collection of interchangeable lenses may sneer, but look at the image above. More work of Karsten Schoenberg, at:
http://iphonephotographyschool.com/karsten-schoenberg/?usrc=email/ how Karsten Schoenberg learned take superb iPhone photos nature interview Karsten Schoenberg takes beautiful iPhone photos landscapes nature Karsten’s photography entering images iPhone photo contest has a great eye interesting subjects light composition only been shooting seriously with iPhone six months interview take stunning photos with his iPhone northern Bavaria Germany iPhone photography takes great nature photos DSLR camera took some pictures iPhone during my vacation pictures were really good take more photos with my iPhone beautiful island of Ruegen in Germany I shot hundreds of pictures with my new iPhone 6 wonderful landscape photos iPhone genre of photography outside in nature northern part of Bavaria charming landscape between Fichtelgebirge and Steinwald natural parks stunning natural beauty of Germany my homeland photographs photos composition is really important landscape photography creating sense of depth scale composition tips aspiring landscape photographers taking more eye-catching pictures basic rules of composition leading lines adding interesting foreground elements rule of thirds ask yourself what’s the main subject in this scene take pictures from different positions angles find the best perspective landscapes contain extensive details simplification powerful prominent compositions type of light shoot big impact landscape photos time of day landscape photography golden hour sunrise sunset most dramatic light warm colors beautiful landscape nature photos macro photography rainy days long exposure photos rivers waterfalls most challenging aspects landscape photography creating well-exposed image detail both foreground and sky good exposure iPhone photosuse a camera app ProCamera separate focus exposure points more control setting correct exposure level difficult lighting situations sunrise 645 PRO app feature under over exposed areas get the settings exactly right student iPhone Photo Masters online training program unique tricks techniques world-class iPhone photographer what you’ve learned iPhone Photo Masters program improve my photography skills exposure composition light how to get sharper pictures how to use motion blur take more creative photos learning changed approach iPhone photography rules of composition course make pictures rather than just take them video tutorials assignments photo review sessions expert learning photo review sessions iPhone photography expert review your photos improve your iPhone photography leave your comfort zone structure of the course learn a new genre new photography skills online photography community students courses share their photos online community your photography feedback photos community successful images improve iPhone photography community different photography techniques photo apps apps taking photos native camera app ProCamera 645 PRO weather light conditions Cortex Cam low light photography Slow Shutter long exposure photos favorite apps post-processing favorite editing app Snapseed edits noise reduction Photoshop Express Enlight add mood photo VSCO beautiful filters erase an unwanted object picture TouchRetouch iPhone photography accessories tripod smartphone mount remote bluetooth shutter mobile battery charger wireless card reader back up photos SD card olloclip macro pro lens shooting close-up photos wireless off-camera flash from Nova beautiful long exposure photos of water long exposure photos tripod remote shutter best results Slow Shutter app try different settings app adjust blur strength shutter speed stand right in the middle of river be in best position take the photo landscapes /
