Sylmar, CA —Flying high above the earth are thousands of satellites providing the necessities of daily communication. With the proliferation of cell phones and the Internet, onboard power requirements have become even more demanding. "We have now created space solar cells with an efficiency up to 29%," says David Lillington, acting President of Spectrolab, a division of Hughes Electronics. "By increasing the absorption from single junction to multi-junction arrays we have been able to dramatically increase the [energy] absorption rates."
Standard solar cell technology relies on a single junction. But since the mid 1990s, Spectrolab has created solar cells with multiple junctions. "By growing 16 layers of gallium arsenide on germanium we have been able to create a triple junction cell with much higher efficiencies," says Lillington up from the current 15%. "By improving on these processes, we expect efficiencies up to 50% in about 10 years from now."
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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