Kozminski Techblog

Renewable energy sources are definitely the future of the energy market. Maybe not alone because what would happen if there was no wind or plenty of cloudy days. Nevertheless, plenty of countries starts to build more and more solar panels or wind turbines. Parts of this technology are even available for causal bread eaters, such as solar panels. Recently people started building them on top of their roofs. Unfortunately, this solution is not perfect. It works quite well for small households but is not able to support the whole city. The solution to such a problem would be solar panels deployable at every surface.

          A team of scientists from the University of Alberta tried to develop new technology in the energy industry, spray-on solar panels. They are made from nanoparticles, consisting of two elements; zinc and phosphorous, that are able to absorb light and conduct electricity. Such a solution allows to dissolve it and form a liquid that is able to be sprayed-on or roll-to-roll printed.

          What can people get out of this? First of all, it is much more affordable, one of the most expensive components, silicone, can be replaced with much cheaper plastic. On top of that costs of installation are way smaller. Besides the more approachable price, this solution has a number of other benefits. It can be used more often than normal solar panels. For example, electric cars could be coated with such “paint” which would make them much more energy-efficient as they would charge more during the ride. The same thing goes with our smartphones, no more need for power banks, or at least not that often.

          In conclusion, renewable energy sources are the future of humanity to stop climate change. However, it is still very expensive and not that efficient. The solutions to this problem would be deployable on every surface solar panel that we could coat our cars, smartphones and plenty of other things. It is worth both for our wallets and nature.

bibliography:

https://justenergy.com/blog/need-energy-spray-it-on-with-new-spray-on-solar-technology/ accessed 20.01.2022 14:00

With the evolution of technology by the leading huge companies, tech enthusiasts came up with the idea of open-source projects. This leads to the question of what is such a concept. It means that everyone can do whatever they want with it; use, modify, study and distribute for every purpose possible. It relies on an open-source license.  One of the most know ideas based on such a license is the Android. The most common operating system for smartphones is actually completely free to use and edit. However, here I am not going to be talking about software but rather hardware; the idea of Openbike.

A polish engineer decided to build his own e-bike because he considered commercial ones to be too expensive. He designed almost every part from scratch and made all the measurements public so that everyone can print it in the 3D printer and assemble it on their own. On top of that, the author aimed to make it possible for whoever wants to get involved, hence you can build the whole bike using simple tools. The only part that is required to buy is the wheel from the Xiaomi e-scooter. This is how the final product looks like;

As an engineer, the author main focus was to make it functional and affordable (the parts for the bike you can buy for approximately 1000-1200 PLN). However, as he himself admits, it does not look very appealing. Here is the greatest advantage of the open-source project. He hopes for the community to make it look better, improve some parts, come up with something that he could not do on his own.  

Concepts like Openbike show how much potential the idea of open source projects have. We have already seen how strong communities can be in building software e.g. Android, Linux. Now it opens for material things as well. Moreover, people from a much wider group of professions can get involved as not only programmers are needed, but also for example engineers, designers etc. At some point, it may lead to plenty of sophisticated devices becoming as easy to assemble as desks from Ikea. Of course, with the appropriate manual.

If anyone is curious enough, here I will link the websites with the parts and manuals to assemble such bike:

https://www.thingiverse.com/openbike/collections

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5006236/files

Bibliography:

• picture 1, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRQCWMiBReE&t=367s Kuba Klawiter 2021
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgFT8rUb48E&t Open Bike 2021

Have you ever struggled while doing math equations and you just could not find a solution? I guess you have, it is normal during our learning process. After a couple of tries, you still cannot do that. What do you do? You reach for the calculator. It will obviously give you a correct solution, however, it will not help you much in learning how to solve similar equations. Here comes Photomath with its solution.

Photomath is a calculator app available on both Android and IOS. It is free to use, although it encourages people to buy the Photomath Plus version. As helpful as it is, without buying it you will still be fine. What makes Photomath stand out from other calculator apps? It not only provides you with a solution but also shows the steps on how it is done. That makes you learn much faster. Each and every step is precisely explained which allows you to compare your way of solving with the apps way. Mistakes become much more visible. Besides showing steps on how to solve an equation it has a feature that allows you to scan your equation with your camera into your phone. A huge time-saver, especially with more sophisticated math.    

Unfortunately, Photomath as everything has its flaws. People have been complaining that it makes math too easy and many kids are tempted to just use it instead of trying on their own. Teachers and parents are worried that children are abusing the app and skipping the learning part.    

In conclusion, the app Photomath is an incredible and very innovative learning tool. It helps people to find their mistakes easier, and hence learn much quicker. Although it is also very easy to cheat using this app, and that worries many adults. Nevertheless, it comes not from such a solution but rather from the approach to learning and honesty.          

Bibliography:

https://photomath.com/ last access 13.12.2021 10:30 PM

Trains are a very common public transport in the vast majority of countries nowadays. They have been carrying people for ages, starting at the begging of the 19th century. There was no game-changers in the train industry since the introduction of electric engines. Apart from one idea; Maglev trains. Maglev is an abbreviation of two words, magnetic and levitating. Yes, such constructions are actually hovering above the ground. It is due to the magnetic force between the special tracks and trains. The concept sounds very futuristic but it is actually relatively old. The first patents, as well as prototypes, became real in the 1960s in the USA and Japan. How come that in 50-60 years of research Maglev trains are hardly anywhere?

The benefits

Let me begin with the positive side of Maglev trains which has tempted people to start developing them. One of the most annoying things about prevailing trains is the noise. Wheels constantly hitting the tracks. Magnetically levitated trains solve this problem entirely as they are above the ground. There is almost neither sounds nor vibrations with this technology. On top of that, it reduces the number of mechanical failures and bad weather-related issues. What is more? The incredible speed that it can reach. The speed record done by this train is 603 km/h. It is mind-blowing. Unfortunately, there is also another side to the coin.

The downsides

Everything has both pros and cons, Maglev trains are not any different. The crucial part of every single thing is the cost. In this case, it is extremely high. It is caused by the fact that in order to make these trains operate one needs a whole new infrastructure. It requires a new set of “tracks” power supplies and substations. Due to the innovative technology, nothing from the previous system can be used. The second greatest issue holding such projects back is energy consumption. “The maglev constitutes not only an extraordinarily costly but also an abnormally energy-wasting project, consuming in operation between four and five times as much power as the Tokaido Shinkansen,” (Hidekazu Aoki, 2018)

Conclusion

The idea for Maglev trains sounds very futuristic and tempting at first. Lack of noise and vibrations and very high speeds, on top of that it levitates. However, while exploiting the topic deeper we come across huge push away factors. It is extremely expensive as it requires not only different kinds of trains but also a whole new infrastructure. On top of that, it consumes massive amounts of energy. That is why it has failed so far and we probably need to wait quite some time for it to become more affordable.

Bibliography:

https://www.railway-technology.com/features/will-maglev-ever-become-mainstream/    last access 25.11.2021 1:00 AM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev#First_maglev_patent      last access 25.11.2021 1:00 AM

Nuclear energy by many associated with Chernobyl or Fukushima does not sound like a safe low emission energy source. However, let me start by debunking this myth by explaining two major incidents leading to such beliefs. In the Fukushima “nuclear disaster” the reactor has neither harmed nor killed anybody. All the deaths and tragedies were caused by the Tsunami. Two factory workers have drowned on its premises but it was not connected to nuclear power. Currently, it is much safer to live in the area of Fukushima than in e.g. Tokyo where polluted air has much worse effects on humans’ life. When it comes to Chernobyl it was indeed a failure of the nuclear reactor, but modern nuclear energy plants are nothing alike. In nowadays nuclear reactor chances of such events occurring almost do not exist. I hope that dispels one’s radiophobia.

The current low emission energy such as wind turbines, solar panels, biomass burning cannot be described as flawless. Firstly it requires a lot of space, planting energy plants, building wind turbines, and placing solar panels do not have a high energy density, which is why we need a lot of them. The additional issue concerning space is that local communities do not want them in their neighborhood. They prefer the plain look of nature. Moreover, by doing so we put more pressure and cause a bigger impact on nature because it needs to provide us energy.

The biggest advantage of nuclear power is undeniably its energy density. Atoms are a few million times denser than the most common biomass; wood. Just to prove a “nuclear energy plant located on a couple of hectares is capable of producing more energy than 2/3 of wind turbines in Denmark” (Błażowski, 2021). This country is known for having one of the greatest percentages of energy produced by wind turbines; “47%” (Wikipedia, 2021).  When it comes to nuclear waste which is a matter that probably worries many people. It is located in save glass containers in environments that were and will be stable for millions of years. On top of that, there is not much stuff to store e.g. “All the fuel needed to supply all nuclear plants in Switzerland is located in half of the industrial warehouse. It is nothing compared to the heaps of coal” (Błażowski, 2021)

In conclusion, low emission energy sources which are relying on nature; wind turbines solar panels, or biomass are not as good as they seem to be. They put additional pressure on the environment and use plenty of space. The question needs to be asked: Do we want to live in a world surrounded by massive fields visible almost everywhere of wind turbines and solar panels? On the other hand, we have a solution that allows us to produce big quantities of clear decarbonized energy in relatively extremely small plants and with very little/almost no waste.

Bibliography:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Denmark     last access 10:00 PM 08.11.2021
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjoEFvvHRCU&t=2085s       last access 10:00 PM 08.11.2021
• https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/wind-solar-renewable-energy-needs/    last access 7:00 PM 06.11.2021 (graphic 1)