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Zero Emissions SOLAR AUTOMOBILES AUTHOR: VIGNESH.P INTRODUCTION: During the 1990s, regulations requiring an approach to "zero emissions" from vehicles increased interest in new battery technology. Battery systems that offer higher energy density became the subject of joint research by federal and auto industry scientists. Solar cars were first built by universities and manufacturers. The sun energy collector areas proved to be too large for consumer cars, however that is changing. Development continues on solar cell design and car power supply requirements such as heater or air-conditioning fans. A solar vehicle is an electric vehicle powered by solar electricity. This is obtained from solar panels on the surface (generally, the top or window) of the vehicle or using a solar jacket in electric bicycles. Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert the sun's energy directly into electrical energy. Solar vehicles are not sold as practical day-to-day transportation devices at present, but are primarily demonstration vehicles and engineering exercises, often sponsored by government agencies. However, indirectly solar-charged vehicles are widespread and solar boats are available commercially. Solar car To understand the future of solar cars let's first take a short journey into the past. The first solar car was invented by William G. Cobb of General Motors in 1955 and it was a tiny little version SOLAR AUTOMOBILES AUTHOR: VIGNESH.P of an automobile at that. Since this time solar cars have not developed as quickly as other kinds of automobiles. For instance, hydrogen fuel cell cars were introduced in the mid 1960's and now some of these H2 cars are in limited production status. For the solar car it's been a more grueling race to the mainstream. Venues such as the World Solar Challenge or the North American Solar Challenge have been testing these vehicles for endurance and speed but they are still not up to par with consumer standards. The Venturi Astrolab solar-electric hybrid vehicle was introduced back in 2006, as the first commercially available photovoltaic car that could travel around 74 mph with a range of about 68 miles (pictured). As you can see most of the top of the vehicle is covered with solar cells. But, Venturi Astrolab will end up in a museum, perhaps in France or Smithsonian if they will have it. Future solar cars will not have to have wall-to-wall solar panels in order to work (they won't be well-to-wheel cars either as are fossil fuel burners). No, the solar cars of the future will have small solar panels on the hood, roof and trunk area. Because of nanotechnology and breakthroughs in solar and energy storage technology, photovoltaic will be miniaturized without giving up power.Now, in the future just as right now, solar panels won't work well at night. This is why breakthroughs in either battery technology or fuel cell technology will also need to happen concurrently in order to store the photovoltaic energy accumulated in the day to be used for night cruising. Exciting technology is happening right now with zinc that may just replace platinum in fuel cells and lithium in batteries. Future solar cars will have downsized solar panels as well as downsized storage devices plus plenty of legroom. Gone will be the days of name-calling over those who drive SUVs versus those who drive subcompact cars for the good of the environment. All sizes, shapes and configurations of solar cars will be available in the future. In fact, when ground-bound solar cars are being perfected, prototype solar flying cars will be being tested. Light solar-powered aircraft will also not be far off. Solar-powered fishing boats and other small craft will also grace the waters This section has been split to Solar car. This section may need to be cleaned up or summarized SOLAR AUTOMOBILES AUTHOR: VIGNESH.P Ned, constructed in 1999 by the South Australian Solar Car Consortium, can speed up to 120km/h. Solar cars combine technology typically used in the aerospace, bicycle, alternative energy and automotive industries. The design of a solar vehicle is severely limited by the amount of energy input into the car. Most solar cars have been built for the purpose of solar car races. Exceptions include solar-powered cars and utility vehicles. Solar cars are often fitted with gauges as seen in conventional cars. In order to keep the car running smoothly, the driver must keep an eye on these gauges to spot possible problems. Cars without gauges almost always feature wireless telemetry, which allows the driver's team to monitor the car's energy consumption, solar energy capture and other parameters and free the driver to concentrate on driving. The photovoltaic module is rated at 215 watts at AM 1.5. The module is connected to a DC-DC converter and peak power tracker. The output of the converter is directly connected to the primary motive NiMh battery SOLAR AUTOMOBILES AUTHOR: VIGNESH.P Solar cars depend on PV cells to produce electricity. Unlike solar thermal energy which converts solar energy to heat for either household purposes, industrial purposes or to be converted to electricity, PV cells directly convert sunlight into electricity. When sunlight (photons) strike PV cells, they excite electrons and allow them to flow, creating an electrical current. PV cells are made of semiconductor materials such as silicon and alloys of indium, gallium and nitrogen. Silicon is the most common material used and has an efficiency rate of 15-20%. Of late, several consulting companies, such as Phoenix Snider Power, have started offering technical and financial services to institutes and teams developing solar cars worldwide. The primary reason why a practical direct solar car hasn't been invented yet is loss of efficiency in the cells themselves. The current State of the Art advanced solar cells convert >30% of the energy they receive into electricity to drive the wheels. This means that for the same performance, you need twice more collecting area, or conversely, a third as much total vehicle weight. This limits solar cars to a single seat, with no cargo capacity, and space age composite bodies to save weight. This, in turn, limits cars to solar challenge racers for demonstration, because the only ones who can afford them are teams with college, or corporate funding. Until there are more efficient collectors, they will not be practical, or affordable daily drivers. Single-track vehicles A solar bicycle or tricycle has the advantage of very low weight and can use the riders foot power to supplement the power generated by the solar panel roof. In this way, a comparatively simple and inexpensive vehicle can be driven without the use of any fossil fuels. Solar photovoltaics helped power India's first Quadricycle developed since 1996 in Gujarat state's SURAT city. The first solar "cars" were actually tricycles or quadricycles built with bicycle technology. These were called solarmobiles at the first solar race, the Tour de Sol in Switzerland in 1985 with 72 participants, half using exclusively solar power and half solar-human-powered hybrids. A few true solar bicycles were built, either with a large solar roof, a small rear panel, or a trailer with a solar panel. Later more practical solar bicycles were built with foldable panels to be set up only during parking. Even later the panels were left at home, feeding into the electric mains, and the bicycles charged from the mains. Today highly developed electric bicycles are available and these use so little power that it costs little to buy the equivalent amount of solar electricity. The "solar" has evolved from actual hardware to an indirect accounting system. The same system also works for electric motorcycles, which were also first developed for the Tour de Sol. This is rapidly becoming an era of solar production. With today's high performance solar cells, a front and rear PV panel on this solar bike can give sufficient assistance, where the range is not limited by batteries. Auto rickshaws powered by solar power and zooming about on Indian streets are not a far fetched dream. Auto rickshaws are a symbol of Indian transport and having them go SOLAR AUTOMOBILES AUTHOR: VIGNESH.P green is indeed a laudable effort. Known as Soleckshaws, these human electric hybrid rickshaws come to the rescue of the Delhi 2010 Commenwealth Games that will be held this October and can carry 2 passengers at a speed of 9 mph for 25 miles on a single charge. When drained, the empty cells will be replaced with charged up cells at dedicated stations. The electric modification will also help curb the spread of tuberculosis among rickshaw pullers who are stricken by this disease due to hard work and malnutrition. Solar ships Solar powered boats have mainly been limited to rivers and canals, but in 2007 an experimental 14m catamaran, the Sun21 sailed the Atlantic from Seville to Miami, and from there to New York. Japan's biggest shipping line Nippon Yusen KK and Nippon Oil Corporation said solar panels capable of generating 40 kilowatts of electricity would be placed on top of a 60,213 ton car carrier ship to be used by Toyota Motor Corporation. Tûranor Planet Solar is the biggest solar ship. It is planned to be the first ship using only solar power to circumnavigate the globe. Solar airplanes A solar-powered aircraft in Switzerland completed a 26-hour test flight starting at 7 a.m. on 8 July 2010 which ended at 9 a.m. the next day. The plane was flown to a height of nearly 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) by Andre Borsch berg.
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