1. Printing: This poster is 48” wide by 36” high. It’s designed to be printed on a large-format printer. Customizing the Content: The placeholders in this poster are formatted for you. Type in the placeholders to add text, or click an icon to add a table, chart, SmartArt graphic, picture or multimedia file. To add or remove bullet points from text, click the Bullets button on the Home tab. If you need more placeholders for titles, content or body text, make a copy of what you need and drag it into place. PowerPoint’s Smart Guides will help you align it with everything else. Want to use your own pictures instead of ours? No problem! Just click a picture, press the Delete key, then click the icon to add your picture. Ian Callahan, Troy Emswiler Introduction Electrical energy has been the backbone of society for many years. In the past, fossils fuels have been the primary suppliers of electrical energy. Fossil fuels suffer from being non-renewable. Electrical energy needs to be derived from a sustainable source. Solar Power Solar power is harvested from the sun through the use of solar panels. Solar panels are constructed to harvest the sun’s radiation and convert it into electrical energy. Chemistry of a Solar Panel The solar panel is used to convert radiation from the sun into usable electrical energy. Solar panels are comprised of miniscule, silicon-based solar cells. Silicon by itself is not a good conductor of electricity. Because of this, the silicon is chemically-altered to make a positive-type and negative-type silicon. The two types of silicon create an electric field within the cell. When heat, in the form of sunlight, makes contact with the panel, the electrons in the cell gain energy and begin to rush from the positive-type to the negative-type silicon, creating a current, generating power. The power is regulated with a charge controller. The power can then be used for a variety of applications, including lighting, heating, and air conditioning. Benefits/Drawbacks of Solar Power Benefits Solar power is derived from the sustainable source that is the sun. Once solar panels are built, they can convert the sun’s radiation into electrical energy for as long as need. Solar panels are durable and designed to last a long duration when exposed to weather elements. Drawbacks Most solar panels naturally have an efficiency of ~20%. Solar panels cannot track the sun’s movements. Solar panels are only effective on roofs facing the equator. Cloud coverage prevents sunlight from making contact with the panels. Solar panels become less effective at higher air temperatures. Solar panels are extremely expensive. The “Perfect Mirror” “Perfect Mirror” Applications Sun tracking mirrors, called heliostats, can be arranged in a field to redirect sunlight to a central tower receiver, essentially a large solar panel. Heliostats and a Central Tower Receiver Individual concave mirrors are placed with a single solar panel mounted at the focal point of the mirror. Sunlight that makes contact with the mirror is directed into the solar panel. Individual Mirrors with Solar Panels Mirrors can redirect sunlight to a pipe, containing a heat absorbent medium. This heat absorbent medium carries the energy to water in a boiler heat exchanger, producing steam. This steam drives a turbine, producing electrical energy. Parabolic Trough Power Plant “Perfect Mirror” Potential Problems The Decision Fossil fuels will eventually be depleted. The world needs to turn away from utilizing fossil fuels for electrical energy and begin looking towards sustainable resources. Solar power is electrical energy harvested from the sun, a sustainable source. Solar power does have its drawbacks. Incorporating the “perfect mirror” with solar power can solve problems that arise from solar power. Potential problems that may result from the “perfect mirror” already have solutions. In all, the “perfect mirror” is a possibility for addressing the problem of solar panel inefficiencies, and it should be investigated and developed further. The Innovation The “perfect mirror” was developed by team of M.I.T. researchers. It is constructed with nine alternating layers of polystyrene, a type of plastic, and tellurium, a metalloid. The “perfect mirror” can reflect almost any type of wave with little to no distortion of the wave. The “Perfect Mirror” and Solar Power Due to the drawbacks of solar power, researchers have been investigating using the “perfect mirror” in conjunction with solar panels. Any sunlight that makes contact with the mirrors is redirected straight into the solar panel. Potential ProblemSolution Transportation The mirrors can be constructed out of flexible petals, which allow for easy transportation and replacement. Warping Due to Force of Gravity A specific mounting bracket can be utilized to support the mirrors to minimize the effects of gravity. Weather Elements Holes can be drilled into the mirror to allow for drainage of water. The energy from the solar panel can be used to melt snow if accumulated. Flexible Petals Mounting Bracket A Large Field of Individual Mirrors with Solar Panels Concentrating Sunlight Through the Use of Refined, Parabolic Mirrors