PV Gap

Herbert Said:

Solar powered motor combined with capacitor?

We Answered:

The capacitor would not do anything under steady conditions but it might help stabilize the voltage if you had varying light conditions. The capacitor could provide a bit of current when the light first dims but it would quickly discharge and you would be back where you would be without it.

Marlene Said:

Cell phones in space ? to keep going for ever and ever with no end?

We Answered:

The radio waves of a cell phone radiate, so the inverse cube law applies to the signal strength. The normal range of a cell phone is generally several hundreds of meters from the nearest tower. Over a km, probably on a good day not more than a few km.

OK, so the inverse cube law for radiating signals says that if signal strength is x at 1 km, it will be x/1000 at 10 km. And x/1 million at 100 km. At 1000 km, it will be x/1billion. The moon is just short of 400,000 km (actually varies around 385 megameters), that signal would have attenuated to 1.74 x 10 to the -17 of x. And that's just the moon.

A light year is measured in TRILLIONS of miles, and you don't want to consider signal attenuation for that kind of distance. So, given that the batteries in the cell phone aren't that big or that powerful, we have the issue that even if the cell phone made it that far, the signal would be lost in the random thermal noise of outer space.

Maureen Said:

I need help identifying this wire for my science project!?

We Answered:

Just a pair of ordinary wires. RED wire usually uses to connect positive voltage whereas Black wire for negative side.

Amy Said:

Need a good research topic (scientific, preferably about Energy)?

We Answered:

Try this site:
http://befreetech.com/top_ten_inventions.htm

It's really interesting...
~D.Demure

Holly Said:

What do these parts do on a solar cell?

We Answered:

Does this mean I get an extra 10 pts?
Adhesive holds the plates together
Front contact =+ charge
Substrate =catalyst
Back plate= - charge