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Dear
Subscriber,
This
month we are glad to present another breakthrough.
This time it is in the realm of theoretical
physics but directly affects how Casimir forces
will be viewed from now on. The derivation
of "Spherical Casimir
Pistons" (story #2) is best understood by
the original work of Dr. Jordan Maclay who
provides the historical, oscillating cantilever
illustration for this article (www.quantumfields.com/bortman.htm)
with his vision that it may be the basis for
creating the smallest, self-powered motor in the
world. In 2000, Prof. Maclay proposed to NASA that
micron-sized surfaces might be custom designed to
create either a push or a pull based on geometry,
for "energy unlimited" (see COFE3 DVD). NASA
awarded him the first zero-point energy
grant in the US for the study. Now, a
decade later, we find JS Dowker from the UK
proving pistons can exist on a micron scale. To be
honest, the "piston" oscillator is a popular area
of study in the Casimir domain. In 2009, 108
scientists from more than 25 nations gathered to
present papers on the Casimir forces, some of
which were presented in a separate workshop on
Casimir force pistons:(www.casimirnetwork.net/IMG/pdf/FinalReport2511.pdf
). Another source of info is from MIT, which just
released a comprehensive study on
Applications of Casimir pistons in
2010 :(http://www.dspace.mit.edu/openaccess-disseminate/1721.1/56726
).
To move onto more mundane future
energy, it is gratifying to see story #1 review
the latest IPCC finding that
there is hope for 80% of the world's energy to
come from renewables. Story #3 is also very
hopeful since flywheels have been known to be a
better energy storage medium than batteries (at
least 20% better) and a better boost of power (at
least 100% better). Also, with magnetic bearings
and operating in a vacuum, the flywheel can
outlast the application, such as a car. Now
automakers like Volvo and Jaguar
are finally getting the message. Along similar
lines, we give KLM and Lufthansa
a hearty congratulations for going green in the
air (story #4), where pollution counts the most
and has impact even the weather. Of course, it is
great to keep tabs on wind power, which is now
reaching for the 10 MW turbines
with the help of the US DOE (story #5). A
development of the direct-drive or gearless
turbine looks like it will be the next
breakthrough in that industry, which will allow
higher speeds and power output.
If
you like having the best future energy
developments delivered to your inbox, please visit
our website to see how you can help us, either by
donation, membership, or purchases. We are an
all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated
to scientific integrity in the energy arena. Thank
you for your interest and support!
Thomas Valone,
PhD,
PE
Editor
www.IntegrityResearchInstitute.org
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1)
COFE5 joins SPESIF Again for Energy
Breakthrough Conference
Symposium |
Washington
DC - Integrity Research Institute's Conference on
Future Energy (COFE5) , is again teaming up with
the prestigious Institute for Advanced Studies in
the Space, Propulsion and Energy Sciences
(IASSPES) from Madison AL to host a joint
conference under the umbrella of Space, Propulsion
& Energy Sciences International Forum (SPESIF)
to be held in 2012 again at the University of
Maryland. SPESIF peer review papers will now be
published by Elsevier Science for publication in
Physics Procedia. Other exciting symposia
that also are a part of SPESIF each year include
the Symposium On New Frontiers In The Space
Propulsion Sciences, the Symposium On
High-Frequency Gravitational Waves, a Symposium on
Astrosociology, and the Meeting On Future
Directions In Space Science And Technology.
 Conference on Future
Energy Theme and Objective
The push
for future sources of new energy is a long-term
program and several Conferences on Future Energy
(COFE) have been held in the past, with past
Conference Proceedings available (http://www.integrityresearchinstitute.org/cofe.html).
However, much of these new ideas, technologies,
and concepts have already been developed.
Therefore COFE has the objective of being a venue
to expose these worthwhile ideas while maintaining
a flow of innovative theories and concepts and
keeping the doors open for advances in more
non-conventional approaches that could yield
tremendous technological and economic dividends in
both investment dollars and potential applications
for future generations. The future energy umbrella
includes energy, force production and
bioenergetics.
Papers
presented at the COFE section of SPESIF should
deal with experiments, theories, and approaches
that will help man achieve both a short-term and
long-term solutions to fueless energy for
electricity generation and travel, as well as
drugless energy medicine. Short-term objectives
support the near-term environmental initiative for
humankind to live on the earth without burning
fossil fuels and off the Earth, to the Moon and
Mars. Long-term objectives will lay down the
scientific foundation necessary for future
generations to extend mankind's ability to survive
in other parts of our solar system. These
long-term objectives are more pronounced and
designed to stretch the intellectual capabilities
and imagination of mankind in advanced technical
disciplines. This will broaden our understanding
and usage of the space environment for
communications, power generation/storage, and
propulsion. Papers are invited in the following
sessions:
D01.
New Energy and Bioenergy Developments
D02.
Hydrogen and Hydroxy Generators
D03.
Alternative Electricity Generation
D04. Solar
and Space Solar Power
D05. Advanced Nuclear
Energy
D06. Bioelectromagnetics
Developments
The
"Call for Papers" has been issued for the upcoming
SPESIF-2012 joint conference of COFE and the other
above-listed symposia, with abstracts due
September 1, 2011 and draft manuscripts due a
month later. Papers and presentations are invited
in all technical areas of the SPESIF-2012,
organized by IASSPES. SPESIF-2012 will be
held February 29 - March 2, 2011, at the
University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Papers
approved by the Technical and Editorial Committees
will be publishable in an American Institute of
Physics (AIP) proceedings. Interested authors or
presenters are invited to submit abstracts for
approval by email through the technical chairs
listed within the individual descriptions with a
copy sent to the editorial chair at abstracts@ias-spes.org for
cataloging. The email submission should indicate
in the SPESIF forum, number and title of the
technical session in which they wish their
abstracts to be considered. The general deadline
for submission of abstracts for papers and
presentation is August 15, 2010. After this date,
approval will depend generally on space
availability. The abstract guidelines/template can
be found at :
http://www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF%202012/CallforPapers/2012_callforpapers.pdf
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2)
Design of a Novel Electrostatic Microenergy
Harvester
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Ambokar,
Madhumita Proquest
Dissertations And Theses
2011. Section 2502, Part
0652 128 pages; [M.S.
dissertation].United States -- Texas: The
University of Texas at Arlington; 2011.
Publication Number: AAT 1493625.
EDITOR NOTE:
Abstract (Summary)
The
batteries have been a major source of energy for
the electronic devices. However, the exhaustible
nature of the batteries has encouraged the
researchers to exploit the renewable energy
sources for powering the electronics. Over the
years, the researchers have tried to tap the stray
energy provided by the ambient sources such as
sun, wind, RF energy, vibration energy, etc. In
the work presented here, an effort has been made
to design a micro energy harvester, which would
harness electric energy from the vibrations
provided by the machine such as aircrafts, cars,
engines, etc.
A
variable capacitive device was designed such that
the capacitance of the device changes with the
change in the overlap area between the electrodes.
The electrodes of the device were modified such
that one of the electrodes was designed as a
hollow cubic structure while the other electrode
was inserted in it in the form of a stationary
cantilever beam. A train of such modules was
designed to obtain high capacitance values. Three
device models were proposed where the number and
the dimensions of cantilever beams were varied
along with the dimensions of the cubic
electrodes.
The
devices were designed for the source acceleration
of the range of 1.3-1.5g and the source frequency
of 100 Hz. The displacement and the capacitance of
the devices were determined by performing Finite
Element Analysis (FEA) using the CoventorWare(TM)
software. The capacitance values obtained from the
simulations were then used to estimate the
electrostatic energy that would be generated from
the devices. The electrostatic energy was
estimated for both charge-constrained and
voltage-constrained conversion cycles. In the case
of charge-constrained conversion cycle, the input
voltage for the devices was assumed to be 10 V. On
the other hand, in case of the voltage-constrained
conversion cycle, a continuous input voltage of
the 100 V was assumed to be supplied by an
electrets material. The power generated was
estimated by multiplying the energy with the
frequency of vibrations (100 Hz). The device model
number three named Model3_200CL203, was observed
to be the best in terms of the amount of energy
that would be generated. A volumetric power
maximum of 1810 μW/cm 3 was estimated
for a voltage-constrained conversion cycle, while
the volumetric power of 21.64 μW/cm 3
was estimated for the charge-constrained
conversion cycle.
A
fabrication process flow was also proposed. The
metal electrodes were proposed to be fabricated
using the electroplating process. A eutectic
bonding process was proposed for realizing the
hollow cubic structure. However, a few fabrication
issues, such as realization of high aspect ratios
and unreliable bonding of narrow bonding sites of
the width of 5 μm, were predicted. Hence, a few
design modifications were suggested for all the
devices so that the fabrication of the devices can
be made less challenging. The effects of design
modifications, on the displacement and capacitance
of the devices, were also studied by simulating
the modified devices in
CoventorWare(TM).
back to table of
contents
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3)
Advanced Reactor Gets Closer to
Reality |
Kevin
Bullis, Technology Review July 2011.
http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/38148/page1
Terrapower is pushing ahead
with a reactor design that uses a nearly
inexhaustible fuel source.
Terrapower,
a startup funded in part by Nathan Myhrvold and
Bill Gates, is moving closer to building a new
type of nuclear reactor called a traveling wave
reactor that runs on an abundant form of uranium.
The company sees it as a possible alternative to
fusion reactors, which are also valued for their
potential to produce power from a nearly
inexhaustible source of fuel.
Work
on Terrapower's reactor design began in 2006. Since
then, the company has changed its original design
to make the reactor look more like a conventional
one. The changes would make the reactor easier to
engineer and build. The company has also
calculated precise dimensions and performance
parameters for the reactor. Terrapower expects to
begin construction of a 500-megawatt demonstration
plant in 2016 and start it up in 2020. It's
working with a consortium of national labs,
universities, and corporations to overcome the
primary technical challenge of the new reactor:
developing new materials that can withstand use in
the reactor core for decades at a time. It has yet
to secure a site for an experimental plant-or the
funding to build it.
The
reactor is designed to be safer than conventional
nuclear reactors because it doesn't require
electricity to run cooling systems to prevent a
meltdown. But the new reactor doesn't solve what
is probably the biggest problem
facing nuclear power today: the high cost of
building them. John Gilleland, Terrapower's CEO,
says the company expects the reactors to cost
about as much to build as conventional ones, "but
the jury is still not in on that."
Conventional
reactors generate heat and electricity as a result
of the fission of a rare form of uranium-uranium
235. In a traveling wave reactor, a small amount
of uranium 235 is used to start up the reactor.
The neutrons the reactor produces then convert the
far more abundant uranium 238 into plutonium 239,
a fissile material that can generate the heat
needed for nuclear power. Uranium 238 is readily
available in part because it's a waste product of
the enrichment processes used to make conventional
nuclear fuel. It may also be affordable in the
future to extract uranium 238 from seawater if
demand for nuclear fuel is high. Terrapower says
there's enough of this fuel to supply the world
with power for a million years, even if everyone
were to use as much power as people in the United
States do.
In
the original Terrapower design, the reactor core
was filled with a large collection of uranium 238.
The process of converting it starts at one end,
producing plutonium that's immediately split to
generate heat and convert more uranium to
plutonium. The reaction moves from one end to the
other-in a "traveling wave"-until no more
reactions can occur.
In
the new design, the reactions all take place near
the reactor's center instead of starting at one
end and moving to the other. To start, uranium 235
fuel rods are arranged in the center of the
reactor. Surrounding these rods are ones made up
of uranium 238. As the nuclear reactions proceed,
the uranium 238 rods closest to the core are the
first to be converted into plutonium, which is
then used up in fission reactions that produce yet
more plutonium in nearby fuel rods. As the
innermost fuel rods are used up, they're taken out
of the center using a remote-controlled mechanical
device and moved to the periphery of the reactor.
The remaining uranium 238 rods-including those
that were close enough to the center that some of
the uranium has been converted to plutonium-are
then shuffled toward the center to take the place
of the spent fuel.
In
this system, the heat is always generated in about
the same area within the reactor core-near the
center. As a result, it's easier to engineer the
systems to extract and use the heat to generate
electricity.
One
challenge with this design is ensuring that the
steel cladding that contains the fuel in the fuel
rods can survive exposure to decades of radiation.
Current materials aren't good enough: for one
thing, they start to swell, which would close off
the spaces between the fuel rods through which
coolant is supposed to flow. To last 40 years, the
materials would need to be made two to three times
more durable, Terrapower says.
The
company is using computer models to anticipate how
currently available materials would change over
time, and is developing reactor designs that
anticipate these changes. For example, if it's
known that a material would swell in the
conditions inside the reactor, the spaces between
the fuel rods would be designed to accommodate
this swelling, says Doug Adkisson, director of
operations at Terrapower.
Terrapower
has also developed designs for a passive cooling
system. Like many other advanced reactor designs,
Terrapower's uses molten sodium metal as the
coolant. Sodium takes much longer to boil than
water, which gives plant operators more time to
respond to accidents. It would also be possible to
use natural convection and air cooling in the
event of a power outage-coolant wouldn't have to
be continuously pumped into the reactor, as was
the case at Fukushima. One danger
of using sodium, however, is that it reacts
violently when it's exposed to air or water.
Terrapower's
next steps include finalizing the design and
finding partners to build the plants. It's been in
talks with organizations in China, Russia, and
India. Gilleland says the company expects to have
an announcement about partners within the next few
months
back to table of
contents
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4) Do
EV's Creat Jobs and Improve the Economy?
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RMI,
Matt Mattila and Justin Bellew
July 2011
 While we
may be in the midst of an economic recovery, many
people are struggling due to high unemployment and
the lack of job creation. This pain is not lost on
the government, which has pushed for American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for "pick
and shovel ready" projects. One chunk of money
went to the nascent electric vehicle (EV)
industry-including companies such as American
startup Tesla and foreign companies like Nissan-
that are building manufacturing capacity in the
U.S.
These funds are intended to promote
the growth of an industry that will help the
country shift away from fossil fuels and toward a
cleaner transportation network. Will this
investment also help to create jobs? The media and
advocates on both sides of the debate have shouted
their opinions, claiming everything from "Clean
technology equals job destruction" to "EVs are a
panacea for domestic employment." The answer lies
somewhere in between.
RMI's interest in
electric vehicles extends beyond transportation.
The vision includes using them as a part of the
electric system: to store power and deliver it
back to a home or the grid during high-demand
periods. With this additional capacity, EVs can
help usher in an age of renewable energy and
buildings with net-zero energy use.
As a
way to support the EV industry, RMI and its
partners have created Project Get Ready (PGR), a
network of cities, utilities and industry players
that shares best practices related to EV
deployment. PGR regularly tracks partner cities'
activities and the lessons learned. Data includes,
among many elements, the cost and timing of
charging station installation, utility efforts to
encourage off- peak charging, and economic
development.
Rather than review what the
pundits claim about job creation versus job
losses, PGR surveyed 20 utilities, cities,
automakers and others on the frontline who deal
with EV deployment. Respondents rated their
agreement with statements on a scale from 1 to 5,
where 1 is "strongly disagree" and 5 is "strongly
agree." In response to the statement
"Vehicle electrification efforts in my area have
been responsible for creating new jobs," the
average score was 4.5, representing a very high
level of agreement that vehicle electrification is
creating new jobs.
However, the statement
"It is well-established in my community that
vehicle electrification efforts have had an impact
on jobs" scored 3.2, only slightly better than
neutral, suggesting a messaging or perception
challenge rather than an actual job creation
issue.
RMI's early findings are supported
by some industry research. The Electrification
Coalition (EC), which advocates for a large-scale
EV deployment, claims that 1.9 million additional
American jobs will be created by 2030 if we make a
significant transition from gas-powered cars to
EVs. While the EC plan is ambitious, some U.S.
companies have already added real jobs. EnerDel
added 1,400 jobs at its Indiana- based EV
lithium-ion battery plant and plans to add another
3,000 to meet growing demand. California-based
charging station manufacturers Coulomb
Technologies has grown from two to 100 jobs over
the early stages of vehicle electrification
efforts, according to a company representative.
These are sustainable jobs, not only
because they protect the environment but also
because the industry won't disappear in the near
term. To support EVs, you need additional local
electricians and other contractors to install
charging stations, jobs that cannot be sent
overseas.
While we know jobs will be
created for manufacturing, installing and
supporting EVs, other valuable economic measures
include net jobs, induced jobs and community
multipliers. Net jobs are total jobs added minus
jobs that are eliminated. Some suggest that with
EVs, utilities would need to ramp up hiring to
help accommodate this new component of the system,
while others retort that with the advent of smart
meters, many jobs, such as meter readers, will be
phased out.
The community multiplier
effect is the idea that buying products at locally
owned businesses keeps money circulating closer to
where it's spent, creating a ripple effect as
those businesses pay their employees and spend
locally. The argument here for EVs is two-fold.
First, a transition from oil to
electricity as transportation energy offers an
opportunity for domestic utilities to capture a
share of the $224 billion that Americans spend on
gasoline each year for their cars and light
trucks. A significant percentage of this is spent
on foreign oil, representing a large outflow from
the U.S. economy. By contrast, spending on
electricity would remain predominantly inside the
U.S.
Second, the cost of electricity per
mile is much lower than that of gas: A gas-powered
vehicle costs on average around 10 cents a mile to
operate (with gas at $3 per gallon), while an EV
costs only about 2.5 cents. With gas at $4 or $5
per gallon, this difference is magnified, further
contributing to the economic case for vehicle
electrification.
An important
consideration on the other side of the argument is
that this cost advantage is accessible only to
those who can afford the up-front price premium of
EVs. In the larger context, however, EVs actually
cost less. According to the Electrification
Coalition, "Cumulatively, during the 2010-2030
period, households would experience an increase of
$4.6 trillion (2008 dollars) in aggregate income,
due to cost savings on fuel, if they switched to
EVs-money that can be saved or spent on other
goods and services."
While large-scale EV
deployment is not guaranteed, many businesses and
organizations are working hard to ensure that it
becomes a reality. While it's difficult to argue
against the environmental benefits, do you think
EVs will help our economy as well?
Matt
Mattila has been project manager for RMI's Project
Get Ready. He is currently exploring opportunities
in New York City.
Justin Lowell Bellew just
completed an internship with Project Get Ready. He
is in the 2012 MBA class at the University of
Colorado at Boulder and is now working in sales at
Pangea Organics.
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5)
Venture Capitalist Back Away from Clean
Energy
|
Kevin Bullis,
Technology Review . August
2011Their shift toward
low-risk projects could strand innovative
renewable-energy technology in the lab.
 |
| Solar Cities installed the
solar panels in this house. Lately VC rather
fund companies that install the roofs
instead of the makers of solar
roofs. |
As
governments around the world are scaling back
support for renewable energy, venture capitalists
are shifting their clean technology investment
strategy. They're focusing less on high-risk
technologies and more on ideas that could have a
faster payoff but a smaller impact, such as
technologies for improving energy efficiency. The
shift is raising concerns about how innovative
energy technologies will be
commercialized.
Venture
capitalists have traditionally focused on
companies with low capital requirements that can
quickly get bought up or go public. Many Internet
startups fall into this category. But in recent
years, many venture capitalists have been enticed
to risk longer-term, high-capital energy
investments in clean energy, thanks to generous
government subsidies in renewable energy markets.
In particular, they spent hundreds of millions of
dollars on solar-cell startups that need to build
expensive equipment and factories to prove their
technologies, and can take many years to generate
a return on investment.
Now
many venture-capital firms are going back to their
roots. Dozens recently stopped making initial
investments in clean technology companies,
according to Dow Jones Venture Source. Many that
continue to invest in clean technology are
shifting to areas such as energy efficiency, which
includes low-capital projects such as software for
monitoring and reducing energy consumption,
according to an analysis by the Cleantech
Group.
The
money that still goes to the solar industry is now
directed to companies with small capital
requirements. Rooftop solar panel installers are
one example. (In June, Solar City got $280 million
from Google to fund solar installations.) There's
still some funding for solar-cell companies, such
as for 1366 Technologies and Alta Devices, that
are developing technology that the companies say
can compete with fossil fuels. But "it's a harder
place to raise funds for new ventures," says
Sheeraz Haji, CEO of Cleantech
Group.
The
shift has been propelled by a number of factors.
There are fewer good companies available. Many of
the most promising companies-those based on
technology developed over decades in labs-have
already been funded. Large investments in
conventional technologies, such as silicon solar
cells, are also driving down prices and making it
more difficult for new companies to enter the
market.
And
now government support is being cut, and some
analysts doubt that the fast growth of the clean
energy markets can be sustained. Germany, Italy,
and Spain are cutting back subsidies for renewable
energy. In the United States, funding for clean
energy from the 2009 stimulus legislation is
running out. Next month is the deadline for
projects to get funding from a loan-guarantee
program worth tens of billions of dollars. The
program is important for companies that want to
build large-scale projects using technology that
private investors would normally consider too
risky. Budget cuts in the United States could also
hurt funding for R&D and new energy
technologies.
Globally,
nearly seven-eighths of clean-energy
funding-including financing for wind farms-goes to
established technologies, says David Victor,
director of the Laboratory on International Law
and Regulation at the University of California,
San Diego. "We're on the cusp of a severe
challenge for energy innovation," he
says.
back to table of
contents |
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