Alternative Sources of Energy

Courtesy: Borregosolar

Please do not give me those nasty looks!!!

I am well aware that this post is remotely related to the traditional blogging stuff and more related to academics, a nightmare to many of us. The main motive of posting such issue is mainly to draw the attention of as many people as possible towards other alternative sources of energy. With time we are gradually loosing our valuable resources. It is a fact and no need to mention why we are loosing the resources which may lead to adverse fuel crisis in the near future, probably after 50 years only.

The byproducts of petroleum giving rise to Global warming and adverse weather conditions. Large efforts have been made by various organizations to reduce the same. 'An Inconvenient Truth’, academy award winning documentary has shown the global warming issue in a unique way. The documentary has been presented by the X vice president of United States of America, Al Gore. To talk about the other alternative sources of energy-the next generation need, the first thing comes in our mind is the solar energy. Despite of huge amount of research still solar cells has to cover long path before it reaches each and every household. To be very specific good amount of research is going on solar cells in MRC (Microelectronics Research Center) and Ames lab in Iowa State University. Professor Rana Biswas and Professor Dalal to name few are looking into our future needs and working extensively to cut short the price of the solar cells. To achieve this goal they have adopted a simple way making chips smaller with same efficiency which would obviously result to cost reduction.

Not only cost reduction, solar cells need a thorough research backup before we come with a product in the market. If you follow this link on current advancements on solar cells reported by The Hindu we find things are still at their initial stages. Though this report was quoted in 2003 and definitely by 2007 it has achieved great heights. The other major leap in semiconductor industry took place when multicrystalline Si chips found its place in electronic goods. It reduced the price of the electronic gadgets considerably. Before multicrystalline Si, single crystal Si was in use which in itself too costly to prepare. These are few major contributions from the research world to the commercial community which brought machines nearer to the common man. I remember computers were considered as the luxury items 10 years back and now it has turned out to be a basic need. Thanks to technology and mass production :). Just imagine every home well equipped with solar panels and solar household items similar to the computer growth. It would be another giant leap in the mankind, making our planet better place to live.

When half of the world dwells in dark rest half basks in sunlight. Do I make any sense? These products are reliable on weather conditions. Nevertheless everything has its own advantages and drawbacks. Technology cut offs these drawbacks and make things acceptable....isn’t it? It is true that solar energy concept still has to cover great heights and has potential future but definitely it will be the prime source of energy for us. We can’t overlook the limited strength of our earth, heading towards space and then solar energy will be our cherished possession in space.

Do I sound like~The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?