By Jeff McMahon, Opinion, Forbes

Originally published at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2016/03/10/argonne-scientist-urges-next-generation-solar-we-have-no-choice/#75524ebc35e3

Only next-generation solar technology can offset humanity’s use of fossil fuels, meet our energy needs, and do so with the urgency dictated by climate change, an Argonne National Laboratory scientist said in Chicago last night.

Argonne materials scientist Seth Darling told about 50 people that next generation technologies—like organic solar modules and perovskite solar voltaics—just need more research and development.

Continue reading “Argonne Scientist Urges Next Generation Solar: ‘We Have No Choice,’”

By Bill Burton, UIC News

Originally published at: https://today.uic.edu/searching-for-energy-superhighway-superconductor

Theoretical physicist Dirk Morr ponders unusual condensed matter materials which scientists hope will one day yield a high-temperature superconductor that could be used in an “energy superhighway” to transfer energy in the form of electricity over great distances without any losses.

“Power must be generated near where it’s used,” says Morr, professor of physics. But renewable sources are often remote. Wind power, for example, would be much more feasible if the electricity generated on huge “farms” could be transferred to cities without loss of energy. Unfortunately, the highest-temperature superconductor yet known works only below a chilly minus-160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Continue reading “Searching for energy superhighway superconductor”