Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2010
Volume 55, Number 1
Saturday–Tuesday, February 13–16, 2010; Washington, DC
Session G10: Energy Research & Applications: from Processes to Promulgation |
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Sponsoring Units: GERA Chair: Jill Dahlburg, Naval Research Laboratory Room: Maryland B |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 8:30AM - 8:42AM |
G10.00001: A solar process to end anthropogenic global warming; STEP (Solar Thermal Electrochemical Photo) generation of energetic molecules Stuart Licht An alternate process to convert solar energy is derived which captures sunlight with conversion efficiency greater than that of photovoltaics. In this STEP process, rather than electrical generation, solar energy directly provides the chemical products needed by society. This original process is derived for the solar generation of energetically rich chemicals, including chlorine, metals, hydrogen and to proactively convert anthropogenic carbon dioxide generated in burning fossil fuels. The STEP process distinguishes radiation that is energy sufficient to drive photovoltaic charge transfer, and applies all excess energy to heat and decrease the energy of enodothermic electrolysis reactions. Energy sufficient, visible, sunlight drives photovoltaic charge transfer, and available heat, infrared sunlight, and excess visible sunlight, heats, and decreases the energy of, an electrolysis reaction. For example, from the STEP conversion theory, sunlight will recycle and remove carbon dioxide at 50{\%} solar efficiency. Details at: ``STEP generation of energetic molecules,'' J. Phys. Chem., C, 113, 16283 (2009). [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 8:42AM - 8:54AM |
G10.00002: Solar energy-driven electrosynthetic reduction as an efficient, sustainable method of storing energy and decreasing the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide Hina Ayub, Susanta Ghosh, Jason Ganley, Stuart Licht Carbon Dioxide is the most abundant greenhouse gas, contributing to the global warming of our planet. To address this challenge, we propose to harness solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into useful energetic carbon products. What makes this process difficult is the nature of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is inherently very stable and noncombustible; this thermodynamic stability creates a very high activation energy that is challenging to meet. We overcome this challenge with a hybrid solar process that takes advantage of both the visible and thermal portions of solar energy to reach the necessary electrochemical reduction potential. With this hybrid process, known as STEP (Solar Thermal Electrochemical Photo), we can raise solar energy efficiency higher than achieved by even the most efficient solar photovoltaics and electrochemically form useful carbon products which trap and store energy. Fundamental details at: J. Phys. Chem., C, 113, 16283 (2009). [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 8:54AM - 9:06AM |
G10.00003: Fundamental Theory of Nanogenerator James Chen, James Lee Developing novel technologies for nano-devices is crucial for applications in biomedical sensing, environmental monitoring and personal electronics. Miniaturization of self-powering devices is the key challenge both experimentally and theoretically. Various approaches have been developed for harvesting energy from the environment based on thermoelectricity and piezoelectricity. Innovative nanotechnologies have been developed for converting mechanical energy into electric energy experimentally. It is noticed that theoretically, at nano scale, the physical phenomena can not be explained by classical continuum physics; instead one should resort to atomistic descriptions. An Atom-Embedded Continuum Theory has been developed for calculating piezoelectric and thermoelectric potential distribution. This theory is an alternative to molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in studying statistical and finite temperature properties of materials. Atomistic representations of fundamental physical quantities are defined; balance laws are formulated. Examples are presented to show the polarization distribution in a nanowire made of Barium Titanate by (1) mechanical loading and (2) temperature gradient. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:06AM - 9:18AM |
G10.00004: The Effects of Aggregation on the Thermal Conductivity of Gold Nanoparticle Suspensions Rebecca Christianson, Erika Swartz, Jessica Townsend, Thomas Kodger, David Weitz, Thomas McKrell, Jacopo Buongiorno During the last ten years, the search for improved thermal transport fluids has led to the study of the thermal properties of suspensions of nanoparticles. Particularly in the literature on metallic nanoparticle suspensions, there has been a wide range of results reported, with some authors reporting enormously high enhancements to the thermal conductivity for extremely low particle concentrations. This has been hypothesized to be due to instability of the suspensions, with the formation of fractal aggregates resulting in effectively higher volume fractions with conduction pathways along the backbones of the aggregates. A few well-developed theoretical studies have been published to explain this effect. In this work, we report the results of an experimental study of the thermal conductivity of suspensions of fractal aggregates. We compare our results both to the literature results showing high enhancements for metallic nanoparticle systems, and to the theoretical works for thermal conductivity of fractal aggregates. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:18AM - 9:30AM |
G10.00005: A study on the interaction between hydrogen and Pd/SiO$_{2}$/Si M. Zhao, S. Nagata, T. Shikama, A. Inouye, S. Yamamoto, M. Yoshikawa The surface electrical resistance of Pd/SiO$_{2}$/Si and Pd/Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ were monitored by a two-probe technique during the H$_{2}$ exposure to clarify the interaction of H$_{2}$ and ultra thin Pd film($<$2nm). In this work, the Pd/SiO$_{2}$/Si structure has a sensitivity of 30 to 1{\%} H$_{2}$/Ar presence within 1.4 s at RT, where the sensitivity was defined as the ratio of the surface resistance change to the original resistance, ($R-R_{0})$/$R_{0}$. However, the sensitivity of ultra thin Pd film observed in Pd/Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ was less than 2. Compared to Pd/Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$, the non-linear relationship of $I-V$ of Pd/SiO$_{2}$/Si reveals a possible Schottky barrier and that electrons actually go through the Si substrate. When the thickness of Pd film in Pd/SiO$_{2}$/Si is decreased to less than 2 nm, Si substrate will demonstrate a large change of the charge concentration during the interaction between the Pd film and H$_{2}$. This change amplified displays the change of the work function of Pd films and together with an already accelerated response due to a thinner Pd film, Pd/SiO$_{2}$/Si provides an excellent H$_{2}$ detecting capability. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:30AM - 9:42AM |
G10.00006: Overview of pressure exchange process and effects of entropy rise Kartik Bulusu, Charles A. Garris Jr. Our research group has been working on developing devices (Garris' patents\footnote{Patent numbers 5647221, 6138456, 6434943}) that exploit interface pressure forces between two or more fluids, that in the laboratory frame of reference are in non-steady mode. An analogy of such devices can be drawn from conventional turbomachines that operate on interface pressure forces between a solid and a working fluid. It has been of interest more recently to discuss the efficiency of pressure exchange type of devices vis-\`{a}-vis conventional devices, which led our focus on to entropy rise. Schlieren technique is used to understand and characterize entropy generating flow structure since the Garris' pressure exchange devices operate in the supersonic flow regime. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:42AM - 9:54AM |
G10.00007: Conserving Energy in Residential Construction in Hot, Humid Climates Norman M. Witriol Reducing the need for energy is more cost-effective than installing renewable energy generation capacity. In this presentation I will discuss how, using basic physics principles, cost-effective measures can improve the performance (energy efficiency and durability of the structure) as well as the health, and comfort of the occupants, in buildings in hot, humid, climates. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 9:54AM - 10:06AM |
G10.00008: Stimulating Renewable Energy Education in the U.S. and Globally Robert Ehrlich I review the current status of college-level renewable energy education in the U.S., why physicists are uniquely positioned to contribute to this effort, obstacles that such programs face, and one approach being taken by the speaker for eliminating one of those obstacles. The obstacle is the lack of knowledge on the part of many faculty new to the renewable energy area of appropriate educational resources that can support programs and courses. The solution is a social-educational networking web site www.rev-up.org that is also a compendium of resources in many different categories that can be sorted to yield information well-suited to user's specific needs. The web site is unique in the renewable energy education arena in that users can edit and review all content, upload images and videos, search for resources, get advice from experts, share ideas with others, and suggest changes in site. These features ensure that it remains up-to-date, and reliable. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, February 14, 2010 10:06AM - 10:18AM |
G10.00009: Teaching Energy to a General Audience Alison Baski, Sally Hunnicutt A new, interdisciplinary course entitled ``Energy!'' has been developed by faculty in the physics and chemistry departments to meet the university's science and technology general education requirement. This course now enrolls over 400 students each semester in a single lecture where faculty from both departments co-teach throughout the term. Topics include the fundamentals of energy, fossil fuels, global climate change, nuclear energy, and renewable energy sources. The students represent an impressive range of majors (science, engineering, business, humanities, etc.) and comprise freshmen to seniors. To effectively teach this diverse audience and increase classroom engagement, in-class ``clickers'' are used with guided questions to teach concepts, which are then explicitly reinforced with online LON-CAPA\footnote{Free open-source distributed learning content management and assessment system (www.lon-capa.org)} homework. This online system enables immediate feedback in a structured manner, where students can practice randomized versions of problems for homework, quizzes, and exams. The course is already in high demand after only two semesters, in part because it is particularly relevant to students given the challenging energy and climate issues facing the nation and world. [Preview Abstract] |
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