# Wow.. Breakthrough!



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

Check this out:
http://phys.org/news/2016-07-breakthrough-solar-cell-captures-carbon.html



> Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that cheaply and efficiently converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into usable hydrocarbon fuel, using only sunlight for energy.
> 
> Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored in heavy batteries, the new device essentially does the work of plants, converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into fuel, solving two crucial problems at once. A solar farm of such "artificial leaves" could remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and produce energy-dense fuel efficiently.


----------



## vintagecat (Jan 26, 2016)

Awesome!


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Like many of these breakthru's.....they never seem to make it to the store shelf.


----------



## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Maybe TnAndy, but I believe they said the same thing about automobiles...


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

TnAndy said:


> Like many of these breakthru's.....they never seem to make it to the store shelf.


A lot of people think that breakthroughs are somehow the victims of conspiracies to keep it from benefiting society.. This is a myth, albeit a well propagated one.

Most breakthroughs are discovered in labs and it is only later that we learn that the technology still has obstacles to being scaled up, or more frequently, in the case of nano-tech, we find that it doesn't perform as expected under real world conditions.

Many breakthroughs are put into service... its just that the general population isn't so interested in science these days and such product improvements make their way into the market quietly. 

An example of this are the Lithium batteries. A breakthrough that occurred just ~three years ago in how lithium batteries deal with anode build-up issues is now common in all lithium rechargeable batteries. In case you're not into this stuff, cordless drills last 3 to 5 times longer today than they did in 2013 and the batteries can be recharged many more times before they lose performance. Same with phone batteries.

Many breakthroughs, some of the most meaningful in fact, are in software. Computers are already capable of doing everything a human can do, and do it 10 times better and 10 times faster. The problem, is that computers are dumb and they're only capable of doing what is specifically programed. A computer can use an attached camera to record a scene.. but it has no idea what's going on in the scene.. it takes software for a computer to recognize a human face, or a tree, or that its raining. 

We have the technology to build a single robot that can do your gardening, pull the weeds, cut your grass, wash you cloths, etc. But we don't have the software available that allows the hardware to do much.. Heck, just getting them to walk is mind blowingingly difficult. 

But ya.. a lot of advancements are put into use every day that are not celebrated so we use them but don't know it.


----------



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

First read about artificial photosynthesis about 4 years ago when they had this breakthrough. The technology is still in the research lab with no timescale set to try and develop it further. 

While the technology is great I dought it will be in usable form in my lifetime. That makes it a little hard to get excited about.

But it does show the problem with today's society in advancement. Everyone wants the end product today and is too impatient to go through the steps required for development. Think of trying to put a man on the moon without first launching a rocket into space or having a man orbit the earth or orbit the moon first. Many times the end product is less meaningful than all the steps it takes to get there.

WWW


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

wy_white_wolf said:


> Many times the end product is less meaningful than all the steps it takes to get there.
> 
> WWW


That is an accurate statement for sure! And a brilliant observation that is lost on my non-scientist.

This stuff we learn developing new technologies is inevitably always applied to other technologies.

Scientific breakthroughs are happening today at a rate that is about 100 times faster than those in just 2000.. In another 15 years, it will be 1000 times faster than what we saw in 2000.


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Murby said:


> A lot of people think that breakthroughs are somehow the victims of conspiracies to keep it from benefiting society.. This is a myth, albeit a well propagated one.


I'm not one that believes in conspiracy. I was simply stating that I've seen dozens of these "break thru's" in the alt energy field, that for whatever reason, never make it to the store where I can buy them. So I don't tend to get excited as the next one hits the news, never to be heard of again.

When they have one priced and on the shelf, call me.


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

TnAndy said:


> I'm not one that believes in conspiracy. I was simply stating that I've seen dozens of these "break thru's" in the alt energy field, that for whatever reason, never make it to the store where I can buy them. So I don't tend to get excited as the next one hits the news, never to be heard of again.
> 
> When they have one priced and on the shelf, call me.


I didn't mean to imply you were some conspiracy nut! LOL.. I was just running through some of the most common reasons we don't see some of the newer technologies on the shelf.


----------



## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

vaporware untill you can buy it.


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

Gary in ohio said:


> vaporware untill you can buy it.


The vast majority of scientific breakthroughs are not the types of things that result in consumer products. 

While they eventually benefit humanity, most breakthroughs are not applied in ways that are consumer orientated.

For example:
http://theweek.com/articles/470303/bulletproof-super-material-thats-paperthin

Not much of a consumer market for a material like that. Not the greatest example, but one I could remember.


----------



## 1948CaseVAI (May 12, 2014)

It doesn't matter if the economics don't work. We have paid an unsustainable cost for ersatz energy with bad economics. Bio fuel is an example.

If they can get this cheaper than petroleum then there is a chance, if it costs more than petroleum it is finished already.


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

1948CaseVAI said:


> It doesn't matter if the economics don't work. We have paid an unsustainable cost for ersatz energy with bad economics. Bio fuel is an example.
> 
> If they can get this cheaper than petroleum then there is a chance, if it costs more than petroleum it is finished already.


In order to do that ALL costs have to be included and that includes climate change costs.


----------



## 1948CaseVAI (May 12, 2014)

fishhead said:


> In order to do that ALL costs have to be included and that includes climate change costs.


Hmmm Climate change. Now there's a chuckle! Thanks for the grins. Of course the climate is, and has always, been changing. You and I didn't cause it and neither of us can stop it, but of course those who want to make a political tool out of it find it useful.

You will never defeat economics. Did you see that a recent discovery of new shale resources in the Texas Permian Basin exceeds the level of reserves of Saudi Arabia? Enough good old fashioned petroleum to last over 100 years. Thank God for oil - the fuel that built America into the greatest country on the Earth.


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

1948CaseVAI said:


> Hmmm Climate change. Now there's a chuckle! Thanks for the grins. *Of course the climate is, and has always, been changing*.


Yes, and those changes used to be measured in tens of thousands of years.



> You and I didn't cause it and neither of us can stop it, but of course those who want to make a political tool out of it find it useful.


Another science flunky eh? 
If you're not smart enough to understand science, try religion?? 



> You will never defeat economics. Did you see that a recent discovery of new shale resources in the Texas Permian Basin exceeds the level of reserves of Saudi Arabia? Enough good old fashioned petroleum to last over 100 years. Thank God for oil - the fuel that built America into the greatest country on the Earth.


So we've gone from "God, Guns and Glory" to "God, Oil and Glory" ????

No wonder we are so messed up...


----------



## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

If we stop burning fossil fuels, where will the CO2 come from?


----------



## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Since the government funded the research with tax money, shouldn't we be given stock?


----------



## Murby (May 24, 2016)

MoonRiver said:


> If we stop burning fossil fuels, where will the CO2 come from?


The idea is to get rid of excess C02 that is produced from burning fossil fuels..


----------



## MoonRiver (Sep 2, 2007)

Murby said:


> The idea is to get rid of excess C02 that is produced from burning fossil fuels..


But if this technology works and is implemented, the article says it can replace fossil fuels! If it replaces fossil fuels, where does the CO2 come from?


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

MoonRiver said:


> If we stop burning fossil fuels, *where will the CO2 come from?*


The new fuel will still produce CO2 when burned.

It will just be recycling what is there, not destroying any.

It's still released by many natural methods also, such as plant decomposition and digestion

There is no net loss of matter nor energy.
Things just change forms.


----------

