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AbruptSLR

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Graphene and Renewable Power
« on: November 11, 2015, 08:23:01 PM »
The linked SkS article discusses the promising future (2030?) of graphene & renewable electric power (including PV, Batteries and Electric Motors):

https://www.skepticalscience.com/Graphene-SkS.html

Extract: "Commercialisation of graphene technology has begun and is continuing to make advances which are likely to see the electric motor (95% efficient) replace the internal combustion engine (20% efficient) and fossil fuelled power stations in the 2020’s. These disruptions could be largely completed by 2030 followed by clean electrification of the most demanding of industries and equipment.

The fundamental reason why graphene technology will succeed is displacing fossil fuels, where other technologies have failed, is because of the extraordinary properties of graphene and its composites. These make it comparatively efficient in the generation and storage of electricity and, for many other applications, it is a cheaper and more versatile material."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2015, 08:30:06 PM »
The linked article discusses how graphene could be used to make lighter/safer cars using composites:

http://www.automotiveworld.com/analysis/automotive-grade-graphene-clock-ticking/

Extract: " “We are expecting huge success for graphene as a main player on developing composites for automotive applications,” he told Megatrends. “Our goal is to combine these novel materials concepts with the latest safety design approaches through the development and optimisation of advanced ultra-light graphene-based polymer materials, efficient fabrication and manufacturing processes, and life-cycle analysis to reduce the environmental impact of future vehicles.”"
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2015, 04:41:28 AM »
The linked article(s) discuss how graphene can contribute to the coming world of abundant data by improving the performance of electronics:

http://powerelectronics.com/passive-components/graphene-key-high-density-energy-efficient-memory-chips-stanford-engineers-say

Extract: "The memory chips in phones, laptops, and other electronic devices need to be small, fast, and draw as little power as possible. For years, silicon chips have delivered on that promise. But to dramatically extend the battery life of mobile gadgets, and to create data centers that use far less energy, engineers are developing memory chips based on new nanomaterials with capabilities that silicon can’t match.

In three recent experiments, Stanford engineers demonstrated post-silicon materials and technologies that store more data per square inch and use a fraction of the energy of today’s memory chips.

The unifying thread in all three experiments is graphene, an extraordinary material isolated a decade ago but which had, until now, relatively few practical applications in electronics.

For papers on the three recent experiments see:

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150925/ncomms9407/full/ncomms9407.html

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02661

http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/107/12/10.1063/1.4931491
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #3 on: November 12, 2015, 04:44:43 AM »
The linked article discusses how graphene oxide can be used to make self-folding paper that can be used to make future unique types of sensors and robots:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/graphene-origami/

Extract: "A team of researchers from Donghua University in China created a new graphene oxide-based paper that self-folds into a box and inches around like an autonomous origami robot. In an article published in the journal Science Advances, the team describes the graphene paper they used and how they enabled it to self-fold into specific shapes."
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mati

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2015, 03:03:21 PM »
Commercial production of graphene based ultra capacitors is having some success, although manufacturing problems still exist

http://www.skeletontech.com/

with ultra-capacitors based on graphene used to replace starting batteries for trucks and to provide acceleration boosts from electricity gathered via regenerative braking

http://newmaterialsnews.com/graphene-news/skeleton-launches-graphene-based-ultracapacitor-product-for-trucks
and so it goes

AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2015, 05:00:14 PM »
Normally I do not focus on technological approaches to help address climate change, but I have singled out graphene technology as it seems to have reached critical mass and will soon be producing a wide variety of commercial products as illustrated by the discussion in the linked Cambridge University news article(s):


http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/3rd-cir-graphene-business-conference-masterclass-enjoyed-by-4388/

Extract: "Last week (5-6 November), Cambridge Investment Research (CIR) and Cambridge Graphene Centre (CGC) staged an exhibition of graphene technology and a dinner at Madingley Hall. CGC hosted the 3rd CIR Graphene Business Conference for 100 in its new building.
There were 20 talks, with an address from former University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Lord Broers and talks from industrialists Airbus, BP and Tata Steel and growth players Haydale and Cambridge-based Flexenable.
The two days were billed as the Cambridge Graphene Technology Days 2015 (with an ongoing hashtag of CGD15), with no fewer than six events taking place over the two days."


See also:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Technology-day-marks-opening-Cambridge-University/story-28141767-detail/story.html

http://www.graphene.cam.ac.uk/
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #6 on: November 12, 2015, 05:10:03 PM »
The linked reference (see image associated with the abstract) discusses research indicating that graphene can be made to mimic synaptic activity in the brain; which should accelerate the development of human-like AI; which hopefully could be used to fight climate change (or could increase existential risk depending on how it is used):

He Tian, Wentian Mi, Xue-Feng Wang, Haiming Zhao, Qian-Yi Xie, Cheng Li, Yu-Xing Li, Yi Yang, and Tian-Ling Ren (2015), "Graphene Dynamic Synapse with Modulatable Plasticity", Nano Lett., DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03283


http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b03283


Abstract: "The synaptic activities in the nervous system is the basis of memory and learning behaviors, and the concept of biological synapse has also spurred the development of neuromorphic engineering. In recent years, the hardware implementation of the biological synapse has been achieved based on CMOS circuits, resistive switching memory, and field effect transistors with ionic dielectrics. However, the artificial synapse with regulatable plasticity has never been realized of the device level. Here, an artificial dynamic synapse based on twisted bilayer graphene is demonstrated with tunable plasticity. Due to the ambipolar conductance of graphene, both behaviors of the excitatory synapse and the inhibitory synapse could be realized in a single device. Moreover, the synaptic plasticity could also be modulated by tuning the carrier density of graphene. Because the artificial synapse here could be regulated and inverted via changing the bottom gate voltage, the whole process of synapse development could be imitated. Hence, this work would offer a broad new vista for the 2D material electronics and guide the innovation of neuro-electronics fundamentally."


See also:
http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=41831.php

Extract: "Imitating synapses of the human brain with graphene could lead to smarter electronics. (Nanowerk News) Making a computer that learns and remembers like a human brain is a daunting challenge. The complex organ has 86 billion neurons and trillions of connections — or synapses — that can grow stronger or weaker over time. But now scientists report in ACS’ journal Nano Letters ("Graphene Dynamic Synapse with Modulatable Plasticity") the development of a first-of-its-kind synthetic synapse that mimics the plasticity of the real thing, bringing us one step closer to human-like artificial intelligence."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2015, 07:28:23 PM »
Until the full promise of graphene materials is realized, the linked research shows that graphene-based materials could significantly improve the performance of lithium ion batteries in the near-term:

http://www.independentnews.com/science_and_technology/findings-could-mean-lithium-ion-batteries-operate-longer-and-faster/article_16e7208c-88ea-11e5-adb3-eb0922dcd2cd.html

Extract: "The growing demand for energy storage emphasizes the urgent need for higher-performance batteries. Several key characteristics of lithium ion battery performance -- capacity, voltage and energy density -- are ultimately determined by the binding between lithium ions and the electrode material. Subtle changes in the structure, chemistry and shape of an electrode can significantly affect how strongly lithium ions bond to it.
Through experiments and calculations, the Livermore team discovered that hydrogen-treated graphene nanofoam electrodes in the LIBs show higher capacity and faster transport.
“These findings provide qualitative insights in helping the design of graphene-based materials for high-power electrodes,” said Morris Wang, an LLNL materials scientist and co-author of a paper appearing in Nov. 5 edition of Nature Scientific Reports.
Lithium ion batteries are growing in popularity for electric vehicle and aerospace applications. For example, lithium ion batteries are becoming a common replacement for the lead acid batteries that have been used historically for golf carts and utility vehicles. Instead of heavy lead plates and acid electrolytes, the trend is to use lightweight lithium ion battery packs that can provide the same voltage as lead-acid batteries without requiring modification of the vehicle's drive system.
Commercial applications of graphene materials for energy storage devices, including lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors, hinge on the ability to produce these materials in large quantities and at low cost. However, the chemical synthesis methods frequently used leave behind significant amounts of atomic hydrogen, whose effect on the electrochemical performance of graphene derivatives is difficult to determine.
Livermore scientists did just that. Their experiments and multiscale calculations reveal that deliberate low-temperature treatment of defect-rich graphene with hydrogen can actually improve rate capacity. Hydrogen interacts with the defects in the graphene and opens small gaps to facilitate easier lithium penetration, which improves the transport. Additional reversible capacity is provided by enhanced lithium binding near edges, where hydrogen is most likely to bind."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2015, 11:14:34 PM »
The first linked article discusses several different advances in electronics associated with grapheme:

http://www.vcpost.com/articles/104485/20151108/super-conductor-graphene-brings-new-wave-energy-efficient-electronics-development.htm

Extract: "Graphene, one of the atomic forms of carbon, has been widely used to increase flexibility, transparency, and conductivity of electronics application and has begun to reach other application areas."

The second lined article discusses how graphene can be used to boost the efficiency of desalination:

http://news.mit.edu/2015/desalination-gets-graphene-boost-jeffrey-grossman-1102

Extract: "At the Grossman Group, which explores the development of new materials to address clean energy and water problems, a possible solution may be at hand. Grossman’s lab has demonstrated strong results showing that new filters made from graphene could greatly improve the energy efficiency of desalination plants while potentially reducing other costs as well."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #9 on: November 16, 2015, 01:19:15 AM »
Manoj Bhargava is currently developing technology to use graphene cables to conduct geothermal energy from the mantle to the surface where it would be used to generate usable sustainable energy:

http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/could-a-new-approach-to-thermal-conductivity-revolutionise-geothermal/

Extract: "... he describes his approach to tapping into geothermal.  “Rather than using steam—mixed with chemicals—to bring the heat to the surface, he would instead pull it up with a graphene cord. He notes graphene, stronger than steel, is an incredible conductor of heat.”

...

Essentially this form of carbon provides great thermal conductivity, the “measure of the ability of a material to allow the flow of heat from its warmer surface through the material to its colder surface, determined as the heat energy transferred per unit of time and per unit of surface area divided by the temperature gradient, which is the temperature difference divided by the distance …”"

See also:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/10/151006-energy-drink-billionaire-wants-to-power-homes-with-bikes/

Extract: " Rather than using steam—mixed with chemicals—to bring the heat to the surface, he would instead pull it up with a graphene cord. He notes graphene, stronger than steel, is an incredible conductor of heat.

“You don’t need to burn anything…Once you bring [heat] up, you don’t change any of the infrastructure,” he says, explaining that utilities could simply distribute it instead of coal, oil, or natural gas.

“That’s going to be, in my mind, the final answer,” he says, estimating this type of geothermal could replace 85 percent of today’s fossil fuels. He says maps show half of the world has plentiful underground heat, and since graphene cables could run horizontally, they could route it to the other half as well."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

SteveMDFP

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2015, 01:26:45 AM »
. . .
“You don’t need to burn anything…Once you bring [heat] up, you don’t change any of the infrastructure,” he says, explaining that utilities could simply distribute it instead of coal, oil, or natural gas.

“That’s going to be, in my mind, the final answer,” he says, estimating this type of geothermal could replace 85 percent of today’s fossil fuels. He says maps show half of the world has plentiful underground heat, and since graphene cables could run horizontally, they could route it to the other half as well."

Interesting idea for transporting heat.  The graphene cables could simultaneously transfer electrical power along with heat.  It conducts as well as copper, apparently.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2015, 04:45:08 AM »
The linked reference present findings indicating that graphene could pave the way for using optical circuits to miniaturize electronics and to accelerate the internet:

T. J. Constant,   S. M. Hornett,   D. E. Chang & E. Hendry (2015), "All-optical generation of surface plasmons in graphene", Nature Physics, doi:10.1038/nphys3545

http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys3545.html

Abstract: "Surface plasmons in graphene offer a compelling route to many useful photonic technologies. As a plasmonic material, graphene offers several intriguing properties, such as excellent electro-optic tunability, crystalline stability, large optical nonlinearities and extremely high electromagnetic field concentration. As such, recent demonstrations of surface plasmon excitation in graphene using near-field scattering of infrared light have received intense interest. Here we present an all-optical plasmon coupling scheme which takes advantage of the intrinsic nonlinear optical response of graphene. Free-space, visible light pulses are used to generate surface plasmons in a planar graphene sheet using difference frequency wave mixing to match both the wavevector and energy of the surface wave. By carefully controlling the phase matching conditions, we show that one can excite surface plasmons with a defined wavevector and direction across a large frequency range, with an estimated photon efficiency in our experiments approaching 10−5."

See also:
http://phys.org/news/2015-11-technique-graphene-surface-pulses-laser.html

Extract: "Pioneering new research by the University of Exeter could pave the way for miniaturised optical circuits and increased internet speeds, by helping accelerate the 'graphene revolution'."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #12 on: November 17, 2015, 04:53:54 AM »
The linked reference indicates that graphene's two-dimensional cousin molybdenum disulfide, is most likely very well suited for desalination of sea water:

Mohammad Heiranian, Amir Barati Farimani & Narayana R. Aluru (2015), "Water desalination with a single-layer MoS2 nanopore", Nature Communications 6, Article number: 8616 doi:10.1038/ncomms9616

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151014/ncomms9616/full/ncomms9616.html

Abstract: "Efficient desalination of water continues to be a problem facing the society. Advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of a variety of nanoporous membranes for water purification. Here we show, by performing molecular dynamics simulations, that a nanopore in a single-layer molybdenum disulfide can effectively reject ions and allow transport of water at a high rate. More than 88% of ions are rejected by membranes having pore areas ranging from 20 to 60 Å2. Water flux is found to be two to five orders of magnitude greater than that of other known nanoporous membranes. Pore chemistry is shown to play a significant role in modulating the water flux. Pores with only molybdenum atoms on their edges lead to higher fluxes, which are ~70% greater than that of graphene nanopores. These observations are explained by permeation coefficients, energy barriers, water density and velocity distributions in the pores."

See also:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/materials/molybdenum-dilsufide-outperforms-graphene-in-water-desalination

Extract: "In research published in the journal Nature Communications,  the Illinois scientists modeled various thin-film membrane materials and found that MoS2 was the most efficient, filtering up to 70 percent more water than graphene membranes."
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mati

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2015, 11:30:26 PM »
AHA
Molybdium Disulphide
or
MolySlip which i used to put into my engine oil back in the day.
http://www.molyslip.com/products/oilfuel-supplements/molyslipe-wear-reducing-oil-supplement/
It made a huge difference in the ease of starting when -30 C and no plug ins.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdenum_disulfide
Interesting history...
http://www.liqui-moly.co.za/site/about/history/

and so it goes

Neven

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2015, 01:28:58 AM »
Is that the same stuff I use to grease my (car) locks? Amazing...
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2015, 08:28:26 PM »

Per the linked article, scientists at Glasgow University have developed a process for making graphene one times more cheaply than before:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14040634.Glasgow_scientists_in_breakthrough_discovery_to_cheaply_produce_wonder_material_graphene/?ref=rss

Extract: "It has been hailed as a wonder material set to revolutionise everyday life, but graphene has always been considered too expensive for mass production – until now.

Scientists at Glasgow University have made a breakthrough discovery, allowing graphene to be produced one hundred times more cheaply than before, opening it up to an array of new applications."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #16 on: November 19, 2015, 03:27:02 AM »
Per the linked article metal nitrides and graphene have been used to develop a superior supercapacitor:

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-graphene-metal-nitrides-stability-energy.html

Extract: "Supercapacitors can be charged and discharged tens of thousands of times, but their relatively low energy density compared to conventional batteries limits their application for energy storage. Now, A*STAR researchers have developed an 'asymmetric' supercapacitor based on metal nitrides and graphene that could be a viable energy storage solution."

See:
Changrong Zhu et al. All Metal Nitrides Solid-State Asymmetric Supercapacitors, Advanced Materials (2015). DOI: 10.1002/adma.201501838
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #17 on: November 20, 2015, 12:11:35 AM »
The linked article reports on a recent breakthrough for batteries using graphene that would (among other things) improve cellphones, superfast computing and advanced prosthetics:

http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/future-tech/graphene-breakthrough-is-a-step-closer-to-a-phone-battery-that-lasts-for-a-week-1309253

Extract: "Graphene is typically made via a process called 'chemical vapour deposition', which combines gases in a reaction chamber to result in a film of graphene being deposited on a surface known as a substrate.
The Glasgow boffins, led by Dr Ravinder Dahiya, apparently used a similar process to create graphene on the surface of commercially available copper foils (which are relatively cheap, and often used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for gadgets)."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #18 on: November 20, 2015, 07:41:14 PM »
The linked reference(s) indicate that progress is being made in the economic production of large sheets of high-quality graphene:

Yubin Chen, Jingyu Sun, Junfeng Gao, Feng Du, Qi Han, Yufeng Nie, Zhaolong Chen, Alicja Bachmatiuk, Manish Kr. Priydarshi, Donglin Ma, Xiuju Song, Xiaosong Wu, Chunyang Xiong, Mark H. Rümmeli, Feng Ding, Yanfeng Zhang & Zhongfan Liu (2015), "Growing Uniform Graphene Disks and Films on Molten Glass for Heating Devices and Cell Culture", Advanced Materials, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201504229

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201504229/abstract

Abstract: "The direct growth of uniform graphene disks and their continuous film is achieved by exploiting the molten state of glass. The use of molten glass enables highly uniform nucleation and an enhanced growth rate (tenfold) of graphene, as compared to those scenarios on commonly used insulating solids. The obtained graphene glasses show promising application potentials in daily-life scenarios such as smart heating devices and biocompatible cell culture mediums."

See also:
John Plummer (2015), "Molten bed", Nature Materials, Volume: 14, Page: 1186, doi:10.1038/nmat4502

http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v14/n12/full/nmat4502.html

Extract: "A critical challenge in realizing the applications potential held by graphene is the ability to synthesize large-area and high-quality sheets. Chemical vapour deposition is an attractive approach for this, and relies on the use of a typically crystalline metallic substrate."

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AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #19 on: December 31, 2015, 12:38:52 AM »
The linked article discusses research indicating that graphene can be used to make flexible, low-cost, high-performance solar cells:

http://www.natureasia.com/en/nmiddleeast/article/10.1038/nmiddleeast.2015.251

Extract: "Scientists create a new kind of organic–inorganic hybrid solar cell that exhibits much higher power conversion efficiency compared to the more expensive, silicon-based commercial ones.
They could potentially be useful for making next-generation flexible, low-cost and high-performance solar devices, they say.
The researchers from Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Hong Kong added various concentrations of graphene quantum dots to solutions of poly (3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). They then deposited the mixed solutions on silicon substrate to create the hybrid cells.
The solar cells showed enhanced short-circuit current density and fill factor, measures of quality for solar cells.
An active region in the solar cells, which contains graphene quantum dots that convert ultraviolet light to visible light, contributed to a power conversion efficiency of 13.22% — the highest power conversion efficiency so far achieved. 
Ultraviolet light is usually wasted because it cannot penetrate deeper into solar cells. By converting ultraviolet light to visible light, the solar cells could harness additional solar light, the researchers say."

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #20 on: December 31, 2015, 03:09:28 PM »
Quote
The linked article discusses research indicating that graphene can be used to make flexible, low-cost, high-performance solar cells

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  There will be so much change in the way we use renewables over the coming years.  Energy prices will continue to drop in coming years......not from the drop in the price of oil and gas....but from the drop in price of USING RENEWABLES.  They will continue to drive fossil fuels out of business.  The by product....will be a healthier planet....but the driver will be supply/demand and price.

The French energy company Total saw this coming......others haven't. 
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

TerryM

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #21 on: January 01, 2016, 04:07:11 AM »
Do we really have the time & resources to develop new technologies?
Terry

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #22 on: January 01, 2016, 05:12:29 AM »
no
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #23 on: January 01, 2016, 09:47:16 AM »
Do we really have the time & resources to develop new technologies?
Terry

This question would have more meaning if politicians & policymakers had the guts to take responsible action like enacting progressively increasing carbon fees and dividend plans now (which were pointed excluded from CoP21); in an effort to more appropriately reduce the coming climate change impacts.  Thus in the absence of such responsible policy we are left will adapting to the coming impacts until new technologies are developed for the remaining population (that survive the coming impacts).
ASLR
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #24 on: January 01, 2016, 01:14:59 PM »
Do we really have the time & resources to develop new technologies?
Terry

What does an answer of no imply? If it implies that all (not just some) researchers should cease their research activities and retrain to do what, renewables installers maybe?

Then I suggest the answer is not no.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2016, 01:23:34 PM by crandles »

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #25 on: January 01, 2016, 03:31:29 PM »
Quote
Do we really have the time & resources to develop new technologies?
Terry

We clearly DON'T know the answer to that question.  So until we KNOW that it won't do any good....to me, the clear answer is to continue with looking for new and better technologies.

No doubt....we will "overshoot" on the temperature we will end up at.  At least...that is my belief based on FACTS SO FAR....and on progress (or lack of progress) so far.

Thing is...I am NOT a "quitter"....so I'm not about to throw in the towel.  In fact....I am DOUBLING DOWN on getting involved at a local level....and making politicians (and some others....like a fake news channel.....or fake meteorologist).

BIG THINGS ALWAYS START OUT SMALL.  ALWAYS.  And it will take a LOT of effort...by a LOT of people (like you) to continue to turn the tide.  And it will not be easy...and it will be frustrating at times.....but it NEEDS TO BE DONE.

Right now....we have 10 months before our election.  I'm just getting warmed up....and I am ready for a 10 month marathon.  And after that marathon.....I know I will have run OTHER marathons.  The ship is turning.....not fast enough yet....but it IS turning.
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #26 on: January 05, 2016, 05:29:42 PM »
The "new technologies" I question are those which will take decades to bring to fruition, with little or no CO2 reduction in the intervening period. It maybe that a clean safe energy source is on the drawing boards now, but if it takes a > 50 years to bring on line, and if in 50 years the infrastructure to utilize it has already been destroyed, then why would we want to spend finite capital developing it?
If the Hyperloop is constructed and works as promised, but LA and San Francisco are already sinking beneath rising seas, then who will be left to use the system? Would the resources have been better utilized to build sea walls, raise harbor infrastructure or any of the other fixes that are far less glamorous, but offer some chance of retaining what has already been built?
If some $Billions can be spent on developing graphene, would the money be better spent providing free E-Bikes for some millions of urban commuters, purchasing and closing coal mines, or other solutions that require capital, but that can be implemented now, and offer almost immediate CO2 reduction.
Terry

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #27 on: January 08, 2016, 04:45:01 PM »
Terry, may I bring to your attention that San Francisco and LA are nearly unaffected by sea level rise? (different story in Oakland/Palo Alto).

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #28 on: January 16, 2016, 12:04:18 AM »
There are so many new developments related to graphene published in 2016, that I just picked the following four interesting ones and provide links below:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/optoelectronics/graphene-flakes-make-laser-neurochip-superfastb

Extract: "Tiny flakes of graphene may hold the key to building computer chips that can process information similar to the way the human brain does—only far faster—potentially leading to everything from better image recognition to control systems for hypersonic aircraft.
Researchers are developing so-called neuromorphic chips consisting of networks of transistors that interact the way neurons do, allowing them to process analog input, such as visual information, more quickly and accurately than traditional chips can.
One way of building such transistors is to construct them of lasers that rely on an encoding approach called “spiking.” Depending on the input, the laser will either provide a brief spike in its output of photons or not respond at all. Instead of using the on or off state of the transistor to represent the 1s and 0s of digital data, these neural transistors rely on the time intervals between spikes."


http://phys.org/news/2016-01-nist-simulates-fast-accurate-dna.html

Extract: " Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have simulated a new concept for rapid, accurate gene sequencing by pulling a DNA molecule through a tiny, chemically activated hole in graphene—an ultrathin sheet of carbon atoms—and detecting changes in electrical current."


http://phys.org/news/2016-01-revolutionary-graphene-elastomer-sensitivity-human.html

Extract: "Graphene-based cellular elastomer, or G-elastomer, is highly sensitive to pressure and vibrations. Unlike other viscoelastic substances such as polyurethane foam or rubber, G-elastomer bounces back extremely quickly under pressure, despite its exceptionally soft nature. This unique, dynamic response has never been found in existing soft materials, and has excited and intrigued researchers Professor Dan Li and Dr Ling Qiu from the Monash Centre for Atomically Thin Materials (MCATM).
According to Dr Qiu, "This graphene elastomer is a flexible, ultra-light material which can detect pressures and vibrations across a broad bandwidth of frequencies. It far exceeds the response range of our skin, and it also has a very fast response time, much faster than conventional polymer elastomer."



https://www.theengineer.co.uk/graphene-brings-tuneable-properties-to-terahertz-devices/

Extract: "Researchers at Manchester University have found that graphene can be used to control the frequency of terahertz lasers, a development that may lead to safer alternatives to X-rays."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #29 on: January 21, 2016, 09:25:51 PM »
Here are two of many recent advances in graphene technology:

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-on-chip-nano-optics-graphene-nano-opto-mechanics.html

Extract: "Active in situ control of light at the nanoscale remains a challenge in modern physics and in nanophotonics in particular. A promising approach is to take advantage of the technological maturity of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and combine the technology with on-chip optics, but the integration of such small devices with optical fields remains difficult."


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/people/2016/01/178_196046.html

Extract: "Korean mechanical engineering expert Kim Taek-soo and his research team have developed a technology that can fix flaws in graphene production, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said Thursday.

The KAIST professor said the new technology is expected to facilitate the use of graphene, which is considered a next-generation nanomaterial. Graphene is expected to revolutionize a wide variety of products, from flexible displays and batteries to wearable devices and even condoms."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #30 on: January 29, 2016, 07:57:59 PM »
The linked article discusses how graphene can safely interface with living neurons in the brain, which is valuable in the short-term for medical treatments & in the long-term for AI interface:

http://phys.org/news/2016-01-graphene-shown-safely-interact-neurons.html

Extract: "Researchers have successfully demonstrated how it is possible to interface graphene - a two-dimensional form of carbon - with neurons, or nerve cells, while maintaining the integrity of these vital cells. The work may be used to build graphene-based electrodes that can safely be implanted in the brain, offering promise for the restoration of sensory functions for amputee or paralysed patients, or for individuals with motor disorders such as epilepsy or Parkinson's disease."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #31 on: February 22, 2016, 02:38:34 AM »
The linked (open access) reference discusses new technology states: "The ability to achieve strong and persistent graphene n-doping on low-cost, industry-standard materials paves the way toward an entirely new class of graphene-based devices such as photodetectors, photovoltaics, sensors, batteries, and supercapacitors."

D. M. N. M. Dissanayake, A. Ashraf, D. Dwyer, K. Kisslinger, L. Zhang, Y. Pang, H. Efstathiadis & M. D. Eisaman (2016), "Spontaneous and strong multi-layer graphene n-doping on soda-lime glass and its application in graphene-semiconductor junctions", Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 21070, doi:10.1038/srep21070

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep21070


Abstract: "Scalable and low-cost doping of graphene could improve technologies in a wide range of fields such as microelectronics, optoelectronics, and energy storage. While achieving strong p-doping is relatively straightforward, non-electrostatic approaches to n-dope graphene, such as chemical doping, have yielded electron densities of 9.5 × 1012 e/cm2 or below. Furthermore, chemical doping is susceptible to degradation and can adversely affect intrinsic graphene’s properties. Here we demonstrate strong (1.33 × 1013 e/cm2), robust, and spontaneous graphene n-doping on a soda-lime-glass substrate via surface-transfer doping from Na without any external chemical, high-temperature, or vacuum processes. Remarkably, the n-doping reaches 2.11 × 1013 e/cm2 when graphene is transferred onto a p-type copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) semiconductor that itself has been deposited onto soda-lime-glass, via surface-transfer doping from Na atoms that diffuse to the CIGS surface. Using this effect, we demonstrate an n-graphene/p-semiconductor Schottky junction with ideality factor of 1.21 and strong photo-response. The ability to achieve strong and persistent graphene n-doping on low-cost, industry-standard materials paves the way toward an entirely new class of graphene-based devices such as photodetectors, photovoltaics, sensors, batteries, and supercapacitors."

See also:

http://www.gizmag.com/graphene-doping-mass-production/41829/

Extract: "We've heard plenty on the wonderful properties of graphene, but the supermaterial par excellence still hasn't found its way to commercial products because it is too delicate for real-world conditions. Now, in a lucky and perhaps game-changing discovery, scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have found that placing graphene on top of common industrial-grade glass is a cheap and effective way of making it resilient and tunable, paving the way for the production of graphene-based electronics on a large scale."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #32 on: February 28, 2016, 06:21:19 PM »
The linked reference indicates that the superlubricity of graphene can significantly reduce friction in machinery:

Shigeki Kawai, Andrea Benassi, Enrico Gnecco, Hajo Söde, Rémy Pawlak, Xinliang Feng, Klaus Müllen, Daniele Passerone, Carlo A. Pignedoli, Pascal Ruffieux, Roman Fasel & Ernst Meyer (26 Feb 2016), "Superlubricity of graphene nanoribbons on gold surfaces" Science, Vol. 351, Issue 6276, pp. 957-961, DOI: 10.1126/science.aad3569

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6276/957

Abstract: "The state of vanishing friction known as superlubricity has important applications for energy saving and increasing the lifetime of devices. Superlubricity, as detected with atomic force microscopy, appears when sliding large graphite flakes or gold nanoclusters across surfaces, for example. However, the origin of the behavior is poorly understood because of the lack of a controllable nanocontact. We demonstrated the superlubricity of graphene nanoribbons when sliding on gold with a joint experimental and computational approach. The atomically well-defined contact allows us to trace the origin of superlubricity, unraveling the role played by ribbon size and elasticity, as well as by surface reconstruction. Our results pave the way to the scale-up of superlubricity and thus to the realization of frictionless coatings."


See also:
http://phys.org/news/2016-02-graphene-smoothly-gold.html
Extract: "Graphene, a modified form of carbon, offers versatile potential for use in coating machine components and in the field of electronic switches.  An international team of researchers led by physicists at the University of Basel have been studying the lubricity of this material on the nanometer scale. Since it produces almost no friction at all, it could drastically reduce energy loss in machines when used as a coating, as the researchers report in the journal Science."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #33 on: March 08, 2016, 12:39:53 AM »
The linked article discusses how a modified 3-D printer can be used a moderately low temperatures to produce three dimensional graphene oxide structures that could soon lead to commercially viable graphene electronics, medical devices and other industrial apparatus:

http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=53087

Extract: "A study published Feb. 10 in the journal Small describes how the team used a modified 3-D printer and frozen water to create lattice-shaped cubes and a three-dimensional truss with overhangs using graphene oxide. The structures could be an important step toward making graphene commercially viable in electronics, medical diagnostic devices and other industries.

"Graphene is notoriously difficult to manipulate, but the structures we built show that it's possible to control its shape in three-dimensional forms," said Chi Zhou, assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and a corresponding author of the study.

Zhou is a member of the Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotic Technologies (SMART), a UB Community of Excellence launched in 2015; he also is a member of UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics.

In their experiments, the research team mixed the graphene oxide with water. They then printed the lattice framework on a surface of -25°C. The graphene is sandwiched between the layers of frozen ice, which act as a structural support."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #34 on: March 28, 2016, 10:01:34 PM »
The linked research on crumpled graphene demonstrates numerous attractive properties; which among other applications, could lead to wearable multifunctional electronic apparel:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/materials/crumpling-graphene-repeatedly-adds-a-new-wrinkle

Extract: "As some of the previous research in crumpling graphene has indicated, a wrinkled version of graphene may be attractive for wearable electronic applications because of its flexibility. This latest work is no exception and has added the property of water-resistance to its quiver of capabilities.
“After crumpling and wrinkling, the graphene oxide is highly stretchable and flexible without breaking, is superhydrophobic and can retain good electrical conductivity,” said Wong. “Such functionality could be useful for wearable multifunctional devices that can sense and respond to external stimuli, such as chemical detection.”
Also, the researchers found that the repeated crumpling of graphene to the point where it was reduced to 1/40th its original size had promising properties for energy storage.
“Ideally, electrochemical electrodes should display high surface areas, but also permit efficient electrolyte transport to the liquid/solid interface,” said Wong. “Our repeated crumpling permits large areas of graphene oxide to be contained within a much smaller area after three-time compression, which enhances electrochemical current densities by 2000 percent.”
What may be most attractive about this graphene is that producing it is fairly scalable."


See also:
http://gizmodo.com/crumpled-graphene-can-be-even-better-than-the-flat-stuf-1766586597

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #35 on: March 28, 2016, 10:57:36 PM »
Do we really have the time & resources to develop new technologies?
Terry

The technology we have now will allow us to get off fossil fuels by 2050.  Sooner if we decide to work harder. 

The smart move would be to accelerate our installation of the best technologies we have now, continue to research new technologies, and switch to the new if we develop better solutions.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs were a perfectly usable  solution to the amount of electricity we were wasting on incandescent bulbs.  Then we developed affordable LEDs and we are rapidly switching away from CLFs.

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #36 on: December 27, 2016, 12:33:45 AM »
The linked article is entitled: "Graphene may power ultra-fast, next-gen electronics".

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/graphene-may-power-ultra-fast-next-gen-electronics/articleshow/56184556.cms

Extract: "Graphene - often touted as the 'wonder material' - can transmit extremely high currents, making it a potential building block for next-generation ultra-fast electronics, scientists say.

Researchers from Technische Universitat Wien (TU Wien) in Austria showed that the electrons in graphene are extremely mobile and react very quickly."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #37 on: November 08, 2017, 08:48:39 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Graphene-Based Composite Material Could Lead to Ultra-Low-Power Transistors"

https://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?newsID=35920

Extract: "An international team of researchers has used a graphene-based composite material and found a new route to ultra-low-power transistors.

Since transistors are squeezed into more smaller areas inside computer chips, the semiconductor industry struggles to control overheating in devices.

Now, the University of York and Roma Tre University researchers believe that the solution to this problem lies in composite materials developed from monolayers of the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) and graphene. They found that these materials could be employed to attain good electrical control over the electron’s spin, its tiny compass needle."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #38 on: November 28, 2017, 12:50:40 AM »
Hopefully, something practical will come out of this research:

Title: "Physicists Just Found a Loophole in Graphene That Could Unlock Clean, Limitless Energy"

https://futurism.com/physicists-found-loophole-graphene-unlock-clean-limitless-energy/

Extract: "By Thibado’s calculations, a single ten micron by ten micron piece of graphene could produce ten microwatts of power.

It mightn’t sound impressive, but given you could fit more than 20,000 of these squares on the head of a pin, a small amount of graphene at room temperature could feasibly power something small like a wrist watch indefinitely.

Better yet, it could power bioimplants that don’t need cumbersome batteries."

See also:
https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.126801
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #39 on: November 28, 2017, 07:27:37 PM »
Amazing!  A perpetual motion machine?
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #40 on: November 28, 2017, 08:43:03 PM »
Amazing!  A perpetual motion machine?

No (this is not perpetual motion), the Brownian motion that is used to generate electricity is driven by absorbing heat from the environment around the graphene power source.  That is why the article cites uses like bioimplants where the body provides a lot of ambient heat around the graphene power source.

Edit: sidd is correct that this is an example of quantum information science's Maxwell's demon, as if you search the "Adapting to the Anthropocene" thread you will find examines of microscopic refrigerators used to extract heat energy in a laboratory seating.

Edit 2: I repost the following from the "Adapting to the Anthropocene" thread:

To illustrate the connection between Maxwell's Demon and quantum entanglement, I provide the following two linked references:

Experimental entanglement-enhanced work extraction based on a Maxwell's demon
Authors: Mario A. Ciampini, Luca Mancino, Adeline Orieux, Caterina Vigliar, Paolo Mataloni, Mauro Paternostro, Marco Barbieri
(Submitted on 25 Jan 2016)

http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06796

Abstract: "The relation between the theory of entanglement and thermodynamics is very tight: a thermodynamic theory of quantum entanglement, as well as the establishment of rigorous formal connections between the laws of thermodynamics and the phenomenology of entanglement are currently open areas of investigation. In this quest, an interesting problem is embodied by the role played by entanglement in processes of work extraction from a working medium embodied by quantum information carriers. In this work, we experimentally address the question "Is there any intrinsic advantage for work extraction given by the use of an entangled working medium?". By addressing work-extraction protocols based on a mechanism intimately linked to the paradigm of Maxwell's daemon, and implementing suitably designed multi-photon optical interferometers, we demonstrate experimentally the intrinsic advantages for such tasks provided by bipartite and genuine multipartite entanglement. We highlight the unique nature of such tests by comparing their performance to standard tests for the inseparability of multi-photon state resources. Our work contributes strongly to the ongoing efforts in establishing photonic systems as a platform for experiments for information thermodynamics."

&

Maxwell's demon based on a single qubit
J. P. Pekola, D. S. Golubev, and D. V. Averin
Phys. Rev. B 93, 024501 – Published 5 January 2016

http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.024501

Abstract: "We propose and analyze Maxwell's demon based on a single qubit with avoided level crossing. Its operation cycle consists of adiabatic drive to the point of minimum energy separation, measurement of the qubit state, and conditional feedback. We show that the heat extracted from the bath at temperature T  can ideally approach the Landauer limit of k B Tln2  per cycle even in the quantum regime. Practical demon efficiency is limited by the interplay of Landau-Zener transitions and coupling to the bath. We suggest that an experimental demonstration of the demon is fully feasible using one of the standard superconducting qubits."
« Last Edit: November 28, 2017, 09:06:32 PM by AbruptSLR »
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #41 on: November 28, 2017, 08:49:03 PM »
No, not a perpetual motion machine. If you think about this as a version of maxwell's demon the reason becomes clear. The graphene 10 uW root mean square power from deformations induced by thermal fluctuation of graphene at temperature Tsource is harvested by electrodes. If we use this power to drive an external load, all the usual thermodynamic arguments apply. Specifically, the load is at some temperature Tsink, and has thermal fluctuation of its own of the order kB*Tsink which will feed power back into the graphene ... so the apparatus relies on the temperature difference Tsource-Tsink and the carnot efficiency is the usual thing.

It is a thermoelectric effect.

sidd

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #42 on: November 28, 2017, 09:57:17 PM »
I appreciate the physicists who have figured out what and how such processes 'keep on giving'. 

I remember watching an air bubble in liquid in a tiny vug within a thin section  (30 µm = 1/1000th of an inch thick) of a rock another student was studying.  The bubble 'perpetually' oscillated, obviously drawing the energy to do so from 'the environment', and probably had been doing so for 100,000 years, or some-such 'long' period of time.
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #43 on: November 29, 2017, 06:10:58 AM »
What the bubble was doing is oscillating in response to vibrations in the liquid coupled to vibrations in the surrounding rock, and it was feeding back exactly as much energy as it was harvesting. If you tried to extract work from the thing, you would need a sink at lower temperature.

In more microscopic terms, not only is the total amount of energy flux balanced, the flux into each _mode of vibration_  and each _differential solid angle in phase space_ is also balanced. This is the concept of detailed balance explained clearly, for, example, in "Physical Kinetics" in Liftshitz and Pitaevskii. Or a fairly intelligible version on wikipedia.

sidd

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #44 on: December 13, 2017, 06:37:41 PM »
Scientists have now invented tunable fabricated graphene that will facilitate developments in graphene semiconductor electronics:

Wang et al. (2017), "Observation of Dirac bands in artificial graphene in small-period nanopatterned GaAs quantum wells", Nature Nanotechnology, doi:10.1038/s41565-017-0006-x

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-017-0006-x

Abstract: "Charge carriers in graphene behave like massless Dirac fermions (MDFs) with linear energy-momentum dispersion, providing a condensed-matter platform for studying quasiparticles with relativistic-like features. Artificial graphene (AG)—a structure with an artificial honeycomb lattice—exhibits novel phenomena due to the tunable interplay between topology and quasiparticle interactions. So far, the emergence of a Dirac band structure supporting MDFs has been observed in AG using molecular, atomic and photonic systems, including those with semiconductor microcavities. Here, we report the realization of an AG that has a band structure with vanishing density of states consistent with the presence of MDFs. This observation is enabled by a very small lattice constant (a = 50 nm) of the nanofabricated AG patterns superimposed on a two-dimensional electron gas hosted by a high-quality GaAs quantum well. Resonant inelastic light-scattering spectra reveal low-lying transitions that are not present in the unpatterned GaAs quantum well. These excitations reveal the energy dependence of the joint density of states for AG band transitions. Fermi level tuning through the Dirac point results in a collapse of the density of states at low transition energy, suggesting the emergence of the MDF linear dispersion in the AG."

See also:

Title: "Scientists Create Artificial Graphene, Expanding Possible Applications of the Material"

https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/12/scientists-create-artificial-graphene-expanding-possible-applications-material

Extract: "Natural graphene only has one atomic arrangement where the positions of the atoms in the lattice are fixed.  Experiments on graphene must therefore adapt to those constraints.

However, with artificial graphene the lattice can be engineered over a wide range of spacing and configurations that will allow for more versatile properties than the natural forming graphene."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #45 on: December 19, 2017, 08:38:34 PM »
The wonders of graphene never cease.

Extract: "Graphene Transforms into Diamond-Like Material"

https://www.cemag.us/news/2017/12/graphene-transforms-diamond-material

Extract: "Imagine a material as flexible and lightweight as foil that becomes stiff and hard enough to stop a bullet on impact. In a newly published paper in Nature Nanotechnology, researchers across The City University of New York (CUNY) describe a process for creating diamene: flexible, layered sheets of graphene that temporarily become harder than diamond and impenetrable upon impact.

Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at the Graduate Center, CUNY, worked to theorize and test how two layers of graphene — each one-atom thick — could be made to transform into a diamond-like material upon impact at room temperature. The team also found the moment of conversion resulted in a sudden reduction of electric current, suggesting diamene could have interesting electronic and spintronic properties. The new findings will likely have applications in developing wear-resistant protective coatings and ultra-light bullet-proof films."
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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #46 on: March 02, 2018, 11:08:04 AM »
Hey I have heard about this idea once on Arctic circle conference in Reykjavik. Looks pretty interesting. Graphene is just so versatile material. It really never cease to amaze me.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #47 on: March 06, 2018, 12:54:14 AM »
For those who are interested:

Title: "Surprise graphene discovery could unlock secrets of superconductivity"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02773-w

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SteveMDFP

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #48 on: March 20, 2018, 07:55:03 PM »
Well, this material isn't graphene, and the power implications aren't specifically renewable, but this thread seemed more relevant to share than others.

This material does show complex quantum effects.  Perhaps more than graphene, it seems to promise possible long-distance electricity transmission without losses.  The article focuses on the potential for quantum computing, sharing this kind of potential with graphene.

It seems to be a very special alloy of iron and tin, where the atoms arrange themselves in a "kagome" pattern.  Sounds far easier to manufacture than large-scale graphene:

Physicists Discover New Quantum Electronic Material
https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2018/03/physicists-discover-new-quantum-electronic-material

"A motif of Japanese basketweaving known as the kagome pattern has preoccupied physicists for decades. Kagome baskets are typically made from strips of bamboo woven into a highly symmetrical pattern of interlaced, corner-sharing triangles.

"If a metal or other conductive material could be made to resemble such a kagome pattern at the atomic scale, with individual atoms arranged in similar triangular patterns, it should in theory exhibit exotic electronic properties. . . ."

AbruptSLR

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Re: Graphene and Renewable Power
« Reply #49 on: August 23, 2018, 10:49:20 PM »
Such research should help some types of quantum computers to be more feasible:

Title: "A novel graphene quantum dot structure takes the cake"

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-graphene-quantum-dot-cake.html

Extract: "In a marriage of quantum science and solid-state physics, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used magnetic fields to confine groups of electrons to a series of concentric rings within graphene, a single layer of tightly packed carbon atoms.

"Since we see this behavior begin at moderate fields of just about 1 Tesla, it means that these electron-electron interactions will have to be carefully accounted for when considering certain types of graphene quantum dots for quantum computation," said study co-author Christopher Gutierrez, now at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who performed the experimental work at NIST with co-authors Fereshte Ghahari and Daniel Walkup of NIST and the University of Maryland."
« Last Edit: August 23, 2018, 10:58:15 PM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson