Techn.Englisch
Technisches Englisch
luk5/2010, 1 Seite
Fremdsprache F a c h w i s s e n L e r n f e l d e r 6 - 1 3 LERNEN KÖNNEN 5/10 Light-absorbing materials cut solar power cost Scientists are researching new ways of harnessing the sun's rays that could eventually make it cheaper for people to use solar energy to power their homes. The experts at Durham University are developing light-absorbing materials for use in the production of thin-layer solar photovoltaic (PV) cells that are used to convert light energy into electricity. The four-year project involves experiments on a range of different materials that would be less expensive and more sustainable to use in the manufacturing of solar panels. Thicker silicon-based cells and compounds containing indium, a rare and expensive metal, are more commonly used to make solar panels today. The research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Supergen Initiative, focuses on developing thin-layer PV cells using materials such as copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride. Currently the project is entering a new phase for the development of cheaper and more sustainable variants of these materials. The Durham team is also working on manipulating the growth of the materials so they form a continuous structure, which is essential for conducting the energy trapped by solar panels before it is turned into usable electricity. This will help improve the efficiency of the thin-layer PV cells. It is hoped that the development of more affordable thin-film PV cells could lead to a reduction in the cost of solar panels for the domestic market and an increase in the use of solar power. The thin-layer PV cells would be used to make solar panels that could be fitted to roofs to help power homes, with any surplus electricity being fed back to the national electricity grid. This could lead to lower fuel bills and less reliance on burning fossil fuels as a way of helping to generate electricity. Professor Ken Durose, director of the Durham Centre for Renewable Energy, who is leading the research, says: „One of the main issues in solar energy is the cost of materials and we recognise that the cost of solar cells is slowing down their uptake. If solar panels were cheap enough so you could buy a system off the shelf that provided even a fraction of your power needs, you would do it. But that product is not there at the moment. The key indicator of cost-effectiveness is how many pounds do you have to spend to get a watt of power out? If you can make solar panels more cheaply, then you will have a winning product.“ To aid its research, the university has taken delivery of a EUR 2.5 million (£1.7million) suite of high-powered electron microscopes, funded by the Science Research Investment Fund, which have nano-scale resolution that enables scientists to see the effects that currently limit the performance of solar cells. By courtesy of Engineer Live affordable bezahlbar, finanziell tragbar aid helfen, unterstützen; Unterstützung boil kochen cheap(er) billig(er), günstig(er) compound Gemisch, Zusammensetzung conduct leiten contain beinhalten, enthalten continuous durchgängig convert umwandeln copper indium diselenide Kupfer-Indium-Diselenide currently gegenwärtig, aktuell, zur Zeit develop entwickeln domestic market Binnen-, Inlandsmarkt elecricity grid Stromeinspeisungsnetz, Stromversorgungsnetz enable ermöglichen, in die Lage versetzen essential wesentlich, entscheidend eventual/ly schließlich, endlich (nicht: eventuell) feed, fed, fed back zurückspeisen fit to anbauen, anbringen an fossil fuels fossile Brennstoffe fraction Bruch, Bruchteil, Anteil fuel bills Heizkostenrechnungen funded by finanziert von, durch growth Wachstum harness nutzbar machen improve verbessern increase Anstieg; (vb) ansteigen involve einbinden, umfassen, einbeziehen issue Thema, Anliegen lead to führen zu nano-scale resolution Auflösung im Nanobereich off the shelf Standard-, serienmäßig performance Leistung power (vb) mit Energie versorgen provide liefern, verfügbar machen rack Streckbank range Auswahl, Bereich, Reihe rare rar, selten recognise (an)erkennen reliance Verlass, Verlässlichkeit; hier: Abhängigkeit research forschen; Forschung roof Dach scientist Wissenschafter solar panel Sonnenkollektor, Solarbatterie suite Reihe, Folge, Serie sun`s rays Sonnenstrahlen surplus Überschuss, Überfluss sustainable nachhaltig, zukunftsfähig take delivery übernehmen, abnehmen thick(er) dick(er) thin-layer Dünnschicht; dünnschichtig torture quälen trap einfangen uptake Aufnahme, Annahme, Einsatz usable nutzbar, brauchbar P. Zillmer Elektrotechniker sollten englischsprachige Dokumentationen und Pläne lesen können. In Kooperation mit www.engineering-report.de erleichtert diese Seite den Zugang zur englischen Sprache und vermittelt elektrotechnische Fachausdrücke. „How shall I torture you today? Put you on the rack? Boil you in oil? Make you call a technical support line?“ Technisches Englisch
Autor
- P. Zillmer
Downloads
Laden Sie diesen Artikel herunterTop Fachartikel
In den letzten 7 Tagen:
Sie haben eine Fachfrage?