Overview on Solar Energy

I usually opine about my social and political views, but I feel that I am have not written at all about my broad expertise in scientific and technological issues such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, semiconductors, oil exploration etc. Since there is a lot of talk about alternative renewable energy sources, I decided to write a blog on solar energy.

Solar energy basically means converting the radiant energy from sun into a form that could be utilized by humans. The concept of using the energy from sun is nothing new in Indian culture. In ancient times, differential heating by sun was used to create a natural draft, much like operating a fan without utilizing electricity. We use sunlight to dry clothes, a much more efficient way than dryers used in USA. Taking a walk in sun is considered beneficial for health because ultraviolet rays from sun kill microbes and tiny organisms, and also because our skin generates vitamin D on exposure to ultraviolet rays. Plants use the same solar energy to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide to glucose and other biological molecules, and thus sustain the food cycle of the entire universe. The total solar energy that is incident on earth’s surface in one hour is equivalent to one year of energy consumption in the world. So imagine the possibilities if one can even convert a miniscule portion of this energy into something useful.

The advantages of renewable energy sources like solar are clear. Install the solar panels once, and get electricity from it for life. Compare this with coal-driven generation which requires continuous use of a non-renewable material. Also, burning of coal creates pollution in the atmosphere, and is considered a major reason for acid rains, smog, and global warming. Despite the benefits, the major impediment for large scale deployment of solar panels is cost. Based on current cost of coal and solar panels, it takes around 20-30 years to recoup original investment in solar plants. Of course, as technology advances and manufacturing increases, the cost of solar panels would come down and performance would increase, as has been observed with other technologies like computer chips. Combine the lower cost of solar panels with the fact that the price of coal would slowly go up, it is expected that in 10 years solar power will achieve “grid-parity” with coal, or, put in a simpler way, solar power would cost the same as coal power. Also, many governments, especially European nations like Germany and Spain, provide substantial subsidies for solar installations. Germany already generates more than 15% of its energy from solar and other renewable energy sources.

There are two ways solar energy can be utilized. The first way is the passive use of solar energy, which means on-the-spot use of solar energy. Many of us might have encountered passive solar devices such as roof-top solar water heaters, solar cooker, and solar energy based water filters.

The second way of utilizing solar energy is the active way, where like a coal power plant, solar energy is converted into electricity and distributed via electricity grids. Though there are many experimental ways to generate electricity from sun, the most popular of them is photovoltaics. Photovoltaics involves direct generation of electricity by using a semiconductor. The most prevalent form of semiconductor used is silicon and is the same material from which computer chips are made out of!! Major drawback with silicon panels is cost, though recent advances have considerably reduced the thickness of silicon panels that can be used, thus saving on costs. Major players in the market are SunPower Corp, and Chinese solar companies like SunTech Power, Trina Solar, and Yingli Green Energy among others. As an alternative to silicon panels, thin film technology has also gained momentum in the last few years, where the focus is to deposit an extremely thin film of a semiconductor material on a low cost plastic substrate. Though majority of the thin film technology is still in research and development stage, they are considered the future because of their potential to substantially reduce the cost of solar panels. Companies like First Solar are already shipping solar panels manufactured with a thin film of cadmium telluride as the semiconductor material. Other promising materials such as CIGS (cadmium indium germanium selenide), amorphous silicon etc are also being considered by companies such as Evergreen Solar, Day Star Technologies, and many other startups.

Hope is that solar power would one day be our main source of energy. Imagine driving a car covered with solar panels that generates energy as you drive. Or a house covered with solar panels that generates all the power needed in the house. President Obama has promised to invest $150 billion every year in research and development of renewable energy sources, and a significant amount would go to solar sector. More than USA, the applicability of solar technology in India is higher, as the sun is much brighter in places like Thar desert of Rajasthan.

Chaos in Maine

Whether I follow chaos, or chaos follows me is a matter of debate between myself, my family, and my friends. Friends have nicknamed me “Tedhu” because of my complete incapability to do stuff the right way; some call me “King of chaos”. I agree that things start-off chaotic with me, but in the end it is all well done. The chaotic temperament of my life is best exemplified in my two vacations to Maine, one last year, and the other this year.

Last year, I went to Maine for an overnight camping plus rafting trip with my friend Vivek. After driving five hours to Maine, we reached the camping office at 6 pm, only to find that the real site for rafting was a different river located some four hours away. Vivek as usual was stunned. I don’t blame him. Anyone will be stunned on knowing that they have gone to a completely wrong location for rafting, and that too 250 miles away. But we still had to reach the camping site before night, so that we can camp and be ready for the rafting early morning next day. So, I drove my car at some crazy speed for four hours on a one-way street in some forsaken part of the world that did not have a single house or store. My friends consider my normal driving a little adventurous; my four hour drive that night was probably more adventurous then the rafting trip the next morning. There is another story about me trying to teach Vivek how to lit a campfire, but that’s for some other time. But all in all, the entire rafting trip was awesome.

The second instance was my trip to Bar Harbor in Maine with Swati. After driving for five hours from Boston, we reached Bar Harbor. I had booked a cottage for two nights. Upon reaching there, I was told that my reservation request was rejected and I was emailed to that effect. I had indeed received an email two days back, but I thought that the email confirmed rather than rejecting my booking!!! And then, I was informed that this being a long weekend, all the motels and cottages in the entire Bar Harbor areas was full. The receptionist still called a friend to enquire about an empty room, and guess what, there was a vacancy right on the neighboring property. The rent there was cheaper, and the cottage was SO beautiful. In many ways, the undulating open land reminded my of my childhood vacations in Rajasthan. More about it later, but the entire journey with Swati was awesome.

So the message is this. Go out, explore, and enjoy. Chaos will happen, but ultimately things are set right. And when one sees how chaos is defeated, faith develops.

This Independence Day

I started writing this blog during India's Independence Day, but have been a little lazy completing it. So today, I thought I will complete and post this blog.

Every Independence Day is special to me. It is a time when a sense of pride and joy fills my heart. On this day, I remember our ancient culture, our achievements in science, medicine, spirituality, and philosophy. I remember the subjugation of our culture by foreign rulers for hundreds of years, but our culture and our spirit proved indomitable. I remember our freedom struggle, and brave people sacrificing everything for a cause they believed in.

But this independence day was different. I did not feel any pride or happiness; rather a mist of despondence was in the air. This independence day I evaluated what I have really achieved, and an inexplicable feeling arose in me that was a combination of self-pity and worthlessness. I found that I might have the good luck of being educated with an IIT degree and a PhD. But I cannot bring education to even a single child among millions of Indians for whom education might mean to path to freedom. I might be working with top-notch scientists, working on technological issues that will lead to next-generation TV's and computer monitors which will be enjoyed by millions of people in rich countries. But what I cannot do is to solve a seemingly simple problem of removing arsenic from drinking water of millions of Indians. I will probably buy a luxurious car to get a hot chic (though I have never done that; its just a fantasy :( ), but I wont donate a single ruppee when I see a poor child in India desperately in need of food or clothing; I just pass by without paying any attention. I will waste all my weekend talking about politics and gossipping with friends, but what I wont do is anything meaningul for not-so-blessed sections of the soceity. I will work on alternative technologies for generating energy, but wont do a single thing when I see all the heap of garbage and plastic lying on the streets on Kolkata.

I feel I have somewhere left my soul. No, wait. I am convinced. I have indeed lost my soul. I have lost the compassion that I used to have when I see a poor child on the streets looking at me with his/her innocent eyes. I pity my inability to act . And I am sure that I am not alone. There are others who feel like me. But guys, dont worry. The Independence Day will pass. And so will our feelings. And we will again be back to our normal lives - compalaining, fantasizing, gossiping, and criticizing. And feeling smug that somehow we are so important in this creation.

Offbeat Quotes

Some offbeat quotes that I noticed in Orkut profile of my friends:

"Some men see things as they are and say why- I dream things that never were and say why not"

"People look at me and laugh. They claim I am different. I look back and laugh at them. They are all so same"

"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people:

"They say your life passes before your eyes when you die. Make sure it is worth watching !!!"

Thanks for all of you who put comments on their orkut profiles!!

Six Branches of Hindu Philosophy

As many of us know, the great religion of Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism has so many different branches and schools of thoughts that sometimes the religion seems to be a collection of different religions, encompassing everthing from polytheism, monotheism, atheism, and materialism. While such variety points to the vibrant culture and freedom of thoughts and expression that existed and still exists in today’s society, it creates confusion in the mind of many Indians and westerners that eventually turns them away from understanding the philosophical aspects of the religion. The objective of this blog is to thus summarize the philosophical attributes of Hinduism in a simplistic way. This blog is merely a superficial analysis of Hindu philosophy; I am in no way claiming to be an expert in Hindu philosophy.

The inquiring and curious nature of ancient and modern philosophers, sages and saints have produced innumerable philosophical variants, but six branches stand out in terms of their antiquity and the extent of literature each has produced:

Samkhya – Samkhya is probably the oldest school of philosophical thought credited to Kapila-muni, also called “Father of Philosophy”. It is a dualist school of thought, the two entities being purusha (mind) and prakriti (matter). Purusha is the Pure consciousness, which is unchanging and universal. Prakriti is the unconscious state. We typically identify ourself with physical events and physical body which is a form or prakriti. The objective of self is to realize that it is not bound by prakriti, but is in-fact is limitless purusha. Put in another way, the objective of self is to evolve to point when it can realize this distintction between conscious purusha and unconscious prakriti. Note that Samkhya system had no concept of a Creationist God or a Creator.

Yoga – Yoga or “Raja” Yoga was propounded by Patanjali and involves the control of mind to know the reality and achieve liberation or “Samadhi”. Samadhi is sometimes thought of as dying, but actually means existing in a super-blissful stage. Raja Yoga is also called ashtanga yoga, because of eight limbs: yama (don’ts), niyama (do’s), asanas (postures), pranayamas (breathing), pratyahara (control of senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (blissful awareness). Philosophically Raja Yoga is very close to Samkhya; difference being that Raja Yoga lays down practical tools to realize liberation. Raja Yoga also includes the concept of God.

For the next four branches, wait for the next blog.

Welcome To My World

"If there is any kind of trouble that a human being could fall into, you would probably fall into it". That's a pretty common quote from my relatives and friends about me. I am kind of a magnet for chaos and troubles. Stuff like accidents, upturned itineraries, and unexpected incidents are pretty common with me. When I was getting married, my friend Vivek, who has been close to me for the last five years, told me that Swati's luck would probably rub on to me and my chaotic history would become stabilized. My reply was that I feared the opposite and worried about my luck rubbing onto Swati. Only future would be the judge.

So Swati and myself got married and come to the land of opportunities, USA (which by the way, I love to call as United Society of Animals). Nothing went wrong with our trip and in the first few months of our existence. And I secretly wondered if Vivek was indeed right. But then the truth came out during Swati's first visit to India. Her travel itinerary was completely botched. It started when her Lufthansa flight from Boston to Frankfurt initially refused to accommodate her and a few other passengers because the flight had reached its weight limit. In my life, I have missed flight due to various possible reasons, but this was a new one to me. A flight exceeding its weight limit!!!

Anyways, she and few of her fellow passengers were only checked in five minutes before the flight actually took-off. On reaching Frankfurt, she found that her flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai was cancelled. She had to rearrange her flight to Mumbai via Abu Dhabi. When she finally reached Mumbai, she waited for two hours before she found that her baggage is still roaming in some part of Europe as the airport authorities forgot to put her baggage in the Abu Dhabi flight. When she called me from Mumbai, she sounded a little tired and hysterical. I was like “Welcome to my world”.

So much for rubbing of her luck on me!!!