Power of the Sun

The sun is that meets us with arrival to life, accompanies during all life and abandons us only with its end. Moreover, all this time it warms us and lights our life. Solar rays generously supply us with the power. We only need to use it reasonably. The basic complexity consists that solar energy is scattered on all shined surface, and it is not so easy to collect it from the big surfaces and to concentrate. To tell the truth, in a history is known one example of it. At siege of Romans of city of Syracuse, Archimedes, put on walls of city 500 people with the mirrors, which have directed reflected solar rays on one of the ships. And the ship has lit up. After this “miracle” called fires on the other ships, the fleet of Romans in a panic ran from a battlefield. That means to collect power of solar rays from the big area.

Today the problem of utilization of power of solar rays is solved by different ways. Most simple of them is reduced to straight firing by solar rays of vessel or a bistort with water, and to utilization of the heated up water for economic needs or for heating rooms. The modern heaters fixed on a roof at home, are capable to solve many power problems of its inhabitants. Even in wintertime when solar rays are not so “hot”, such heaters continue to serve to people successfully.

Other way is connected to utilization of the solar batteries founded on abilities of some materials, for example, of silicon, to transform solar energy to electrical power. Not so long ago such batteries still seem something exotic, they were used for supply of very “weak” devices such as watches or microcomputers. Moreover, the wings - batteries now developed on spacecrafts are in a condition to provide rather big energy demands of multi-ton space houses-laboratories. To tell the truth, first space panels had “the space price”. They are not suitable for the “earth” purposes. Nevertheless, the scientists made revolution in this sphere. So, only for the eightieth - ninetieth years of the past century cost of production of the electric power with the help of solar batteries was reduced in tens times [65]. Moreover, this process proceeds. Already today, the solar energy is capable to compete successfully to praise “atomic energy”. Thus, the solar energy does not have any of basic faults of atomic energy (danger, radioactive emissions and waste products, problems with decommission and with waste deposition). Not casually, the European Union has invoked member countries for 100-times increase of production of the solar electric power by the year 2010. This doubtless confession of expediency and a reality of wide utilization of solar energy.

Already today in Europe it is possible to see panels of the solar batteries fixed everywhere, for example, on telephone stations of an emergency communication along highways. It is interesting, that the greatest amount of such solar batteries meets just in the “most atomic” country – France. A good example!

Konstantin Ludanov [84] told in his article about one exotic, utilization of solar energy. We know from a course of physics, that at warming waters density decreases. Therefore the heated up layer of water is lifted upwards, and the low layer appears cooler. With it, we frequently face at bathing in lake or the river. The high layer of water can be warmed good by the sun, but it is necessary to dive deep into it as at once you get in cool water. Nevertheless, not in all events it happens so. In 1902 one very inquisitive person А. fon Kaletchitsky, living in Transylvania, has found, that at the bottom of small salty lake Madve the temperature of water is much higher, than on a surface. To dive in this lake was hazardous, as the temperature in depth achieved 70 degrees. The cause of so unusual phenomena has appeared that at the bottom of this pond there was a layer undissolved salt. The pond had small depth, no more than 2-3 meters. Solar rays loosely insinuated through clear water and were absorbed by the lowermost layer of water. Rise in temperature of this layer result to additional dissolution of salt that increased density of salting liquid. In these conditions, this layer of water appears more “dense”, is not lifted upwards and can be heated up by the sun even to boiling point. Such property of “the solar pond” can be utilised for receiving a thermal energy from solar rays. It is possible with the help of the heat exchanger placed at the bottom of a water reservoir, immediately to extract this energy, and to use it in any purposes. With the help of the turbine it is possible to convert this warm into the electric power. Today in the world already work, some tens of artificial “solar ponds”, the majority from which is intended for production of the electric power. In these systems, the solar pond carries out functions of source of heat, and heat-accumulator.

See, as reasonable utilization of the possibilities granted to the person can provide an inexhaustible source of receiving of power. Hardly such way of power supply can receive global diffusion, but somewhere in concrete conditions, it is capable to solve power problem. The same is possible to tell about geothermal energy sources which utilization in areas of active volcanic activity, for example, in Japan and on Kamchatka, appears very favourable.

Wind energy

And now about a wind. It accompanies us for the whole life. To tell the truth, the wind happens not always tail, quite often it is necessary to go against wind: and then we can evaluate force of this natural energy source to the full. There are many places on the Earth where winds blow resistant and hardly. There, as they say, a sin not to use this practically gratuitous energy source. The rests should be content with a certain average wind torrent. In addition, it bears with itself the huge power, given by the same Sun.

It is known, for example, that Germany falls into to number of countries with slight wind resources (average speed of the wind in Germany in centre latitudes compounds 6-7 m/s. However, already by the end of 90 years Germany has become the world leader in production of electricity from wind energy installations [85]. In 1999, half of European and one third of the world wind energy was produced in Germany. In country to this time already worked 7500 wind turbines with general capacity up to 4000 MW. It corresponded to fixed capacity of four most widespread atomic units at that time. Serious result!

It is possible to judge about rates of growth of wind energy to that only for year 2000, capacity of fixed wind turbines in the world has increased on 3,500 MW. [92].

The predominating role in this growth undoubtedly is played by Germany. If for whole 1990 in Germany was fixed 255 wind turbines with integral capacity 41 MW with average capacity – 160 kW already in 2001 and 2002 it was positioned practically 2.000 units with average capacity, accordingly, 1.280 and 1.370 kW. For 12 years the dimension of introduced annual capacity of wind turbines has increased almost in 50 times. Moreover, capacity of the unit has increased in 10 times. Convincing growth! Already in 2002, installed capacity of wind turbines in Germany became equal to installed capacity of ten atomic units on one thousand MW each. In addition, on production of electric energy in 2004, wind turbines “have overlapped” the third part of all Naps of the country. In total in country, there are 20 nuclear power units.

In table 12, the interesting data describing development of wind energy in Germany are introduced. As we see, less, than for 15 years Germany has committed the real outbreak in sphere of utilization of wind power. Today

Tab. 12

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14