Solar energy is considered as the ultimate source of energy. In the last few years due to technology and abundant production of silicon, solar technology has become very commercially viable and it is rapidly approaching grid parity. Effect of this could be seen in transportation also. Numerous solar vehicles have been tried or announced. SomeContinue reading “Solar: Is it an option for aircrafts and shipping”
Author Archives: Anand Sivaram (आनन्दः )
Greatest power plants of the night sky
I was looking at the statistics of power consumption of the world. From all forms of energy sources we are currently using around 15TW of power. Whereas, solar energy reaching our Earth is 6000 times more than our energy consumption. Sun radiates energy in all directions and only a very tiny portion of that reachesContinue reading “Greatest power plants of the night sky”
Compressed Air Energy Storage, Entropy and Efficiency
The basic operating principle behind Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) is extremely simple. Energy is supplied to compress air, and when energy is required this compressed air is allowed to expand through some expansion turbines. But, as and when we approach this simple theory, it starts becoming more complex because of the thermodynamics involved. AirContinue reading “Compressed Air Energy Storage, Entropy and Efficiency”
Network File Transfer using Netcat
Netcat can be of great help in trasferring files across network, that too in a really scalable pipeline. For bear minimum usage of file transfer, only tar and netcat utilities are required. I tried different options and found the following superset pipeline. sender:$ tar cf – some_directory | gzip -9 | \ pv | gpgContinue reading “Network File Transfer using Netcat”
Nuclear vs. Renewables. A Carbon free competition
Before we start, let us do a small exercise. Just go back one decade, to around 2002. That was the time when people started noticing more about Global Warming and Climate Change. If someone considers about getting rid of fossil fuels at that time he or she had a very limited options which were costContinue reading “Nuclear vs. Renewables. A Carbon free competition”
Light Pollution: Can it be reduced
Astronomy is a wonderful field. From History it could be easily seen that Astronomy is the cradle of both Physics and Mathematics. Most of the early phisicists and mathematicians were astronomers too. All astronomical observations from prehistorical times to 1609 were exclusively using naked eye. Those early astronomers had no access to telescopes or camerasContinue reading “Light Pollution: Can it be reduced”
World Energy Consumption: A Cold war comparison
World Energy Consumption: 2250 Tsar Bombs or 18800 WW2 I like history. Recently I was reading about the 50th anniversary of Tsar Bomba, tested on 1961 October 30 by Soviet Union. Tsar Bomba is the single most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever used. It has a power of 50 to 57 megatons of TNT (210 PJ)Continue reading “World Energy Consumption: A Cold war comparison”
Mahatma Gandhi: A champion of sustainability through localization
Why we require localized food and energy production Yet another Gandhi Jayanti has come. In the wake of sustainability and issues like global warming, teachings of Mahatma Gandhi is becoming more and more important. Some of the Inspirational words of Mahatma Gandhi on Grama Swaraj (Village Self Governance), Sustainability etc. “The true India is toContinue reading “Mahatma Gandhi: A champion of sustainability through localization”
Lead Acid is the cheapest battery: *Conditions Apply
Lead Acid battery is touted as the cheapest battery available. In fact, Lead Acid is the family name for a collection of closely related battery types, from simple vented/flooded to advaned Valve Regulated ones. Depending upon the type of usage, there are shallow and deep cycle batteries. Typical examples of shallow cycle batteries are theContinue reading “Lead Acid is the cheapest battery: *Conditions Apply”
Analysing Specific Capacity and Energy Density of some popular batteries
In my last article, I was concentrating more about the Specific Capacity of different cathode materials. But this is only one part of the story when a complete cell is concerned. To find the Specific Capacity of a particular battery chemistry the whole chemical reaction has to be analyzed. Essentially the method used here isContinue reading “Analysing Specific Capacity and Energy Density of some popular batteries”
Saurorja 