New technologies will be needed for photovoltaics to become cheap.
Fact 1: The primary ingredient of most solar panels is purified sand. Fact 2: Enough sunlight hits the Earth in an hour to provide all of humanity’s energy needs for a year. So why isn’t solar power cheap and abundant?
For starters, building a device capable of turning incoming photons into electricity isn’t cheap. Add in installation and the cost of a solar system can still be more than US$10 per watt of electricity produced. That’s much higher than the cost per watt from burning coal or natural gas.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
It’s going to take further technological breakthroughs to make photovoltaics cheaper.
New developments could include growing pure silicon wafers rather than sawing them from long ingots; or even fundamental shifts in the physics employed, like using so-called black silicon or quantum dots.
Of course, if all energy sources paid their full price, solar would be more competitive. After all, making solar panels doesn’t result in nearly as much mercury, CO2 and other pollution as spewed by coal-fired power plants. If the health and environmental costs of coal or natural gas were included in their prices, suddenly solar might look a whole lot cheaper.
(Courtesy of Liberty Times)
為了讓光能發電變便宜,新科技得派上用場。
事實一:大部分太陽能面板的基本成分是淨化後的砂子。事實二:太陽光照射在地球一小時的能量,足以提供人類一年的能源需求。如此說來,為什麼太陽能不能既便宜又豐沛?
對入門者來說,建造一個可以將光能轉為電能的裝置並不便宜。增添安置一套太陽能發電系統,其每瓦特發電費用仍超過十美元。這比燃煤或天然氣每瓦特發電成本還高出許多。
太陽能發電還需要更進一步的科技突破,讓它更便宜。
新的發展可能包括使用更純化的矽薄片,而不是將它鋸成長條的鑄塊。或者是物理學應用的重大改變,像是使用所謂的黑矽或是量子點。
當然,如果各種能量來源完全償付它的成本價格,太陽能會更具競爭力。畢竟,製造太陽能面板,不會像其他燃煤發電廠排放出那麼多水銀、二氧化碳和其他汙染物。如果燃煤或天然氣發電能計入健康和環境成本,太陽能馬上就看起來便宜許多。
(自由時報提供/翻譯:李信漢)
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc. B: That’s just outrageous! A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty. B: The buyers and sellers should both be punished heavily. A: But the porn sellers’ Web sites are mostly overseas, so they are hard to catch. A: 此外警方也在黃子佼的硬碟裡,查到7部他買的未成年色情片。 B: 真是令人火大! A: 他的前女友小S等人,還呼籲修法,加重相關的罰則。 B: 購買者和販賣者雙方都該重罰。 A: 不過色情網站大多設在海外要抓也不容易吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Jumping rope has long been considered an excellent form of exercise. It not only burns calories but also improves cardiovascular health and __1__ core muscles. Anyone who has used a traditional jump rope, though, knows that it requires a certain level of skill and coordination. However, with the development of the cordless jump rope, this is __2__ the case. The cordless jump rope is an innovation in the fitness industry that has gained popularity in recent years. As its name suggests, it doesn’t have a cord connecting the two handles. Instead, each handle features a short cord with a
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once