Although much has been said and written about the advantages of Solar Panels, there are also a few disadvantages to their name, which we are about to go through in detail.

Everyone knows that the slightest amount of shade, even that caused temporarily by tree branches or birds, for example can interrupt the flow in sunlight, thus causing an interruption in the heating process.

To remain reliable and consistent the photons released by the sunrays have to be steady and unblocked by shade to perform as designed. If not then this will result in a drop in power which will further result in lack of heat necessary to power up water heaters and other appliances relying on the Solar Panels.

When Sourcing Solar Panels

When sourcing for Solar Panels, you will notice that the prices are still quite high and many people are not willing to wait up to 3-5 years to eventually see a return in their investment. Rebates have also been reduced in some countries, with the result that profits will only be seen after longer periods than originally estimated.

One has to bear in mind that one solar panel is relatively small and generates only a small amount of power when fired up by the sun. To see increased benefits, one would have to invest in at least a handful of panels, which will raise the costs considerably.

There is also the issue of having to adjust the panels in such a way as to continually obtain the best results from the direction of the sunlight. Most of these are mechanically operated but some would have to be adjusted manually to try and obtain maximum efficiency.

Mirrors could be a solution as they would reflect the sunlight into a generator but, again the cost of this practice would be unaffordable to most.

Solar Panel Maintenance

Maintenance of Solar Panels could also lead to extra costs, due mainly to the continuous exposure of UV rays and other forms of solar radiation onto the panels themselves. This leads to gradual deterioration of the material and the need to maintain.

When it comes to Solar Panels for use in the automobile industry the disadvantages increase due to the sheer amount of panels needed to be able to generate power derived from the sun, again raising costs. These would need to be charged frequently and prevent long-distance driving from becoming enjoyable or affordable in the long run.

This article is about “The Disadvantages of Solar Panels” and was written by Enviko Solar Panels

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And for a baby diaper or a plastic beverage container, the time required is 450 years. Throw out a glass bottle, and it will still be there a million years from now.

Have you heard that a billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the United States?

And when it comes to PVC (Polyvinyl chloride, the third most widely used plastic), United States citizens throw away over 7 billion pounds of it every year—the recycling rate for PVC is just 1%.

Throwing away materials that can be recycled just doesn’t make sense. It harms the environment and costs a ton of money. The state of California figures it spends about 25 million dollars per year disposing of plastic bags alone. That is just one state and one product. Imagine how much money we waste as a nation—or a planet—on hauling items to a landfill that could have been recycled.

It is important that we all pitch in to help take care of the resources we have been allocated.

It may seem like an impossible task, but every one of us can do something about the pollution and waste that builds up every time we open a can of soda or read a newspaper. You can’t walk through life without taking from the environment, no one can. If we don’t show some concern for the generations that will follow us, though, there may not be enough left to go around.

If you aren’t doing your part to recycle, think about the benefits. Then reconsider. If you don’t know how to recycle or aren’t yet convinced it is a good idea, take a look at the information on the Waste and Recyling page on the non-profit Clean Air Coucil website.

Here are just a few good reasons to practice recycling:

• Recycling protects and expands American manufacturing jobs
• Recycling reduces the need for landfills and incineration
• Recycling prevents pollution caused by the manufacturing of products from virgin materials
• Recycling saves energy
• Recycling decreases emissions of greenhouse gases
• Recycling conserves our supply of natural resources

The fact is, we need to recycle. And we need to get on board with recycling today more than ever before. We can’t afford to ignore the facts any longer.

Recycling turns materials that are considered waste into valuable resources. Start spreading the word!  Get your friends and family to join in. Your actions really can make a difference in this world. And your children’s children will benefit from your foresight.

Lane Goodberry focuses on health, entrepreneurship and the environment.

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In 1939, the first commercial airline was born when the first Dh 106 Comet took its first flight.

Benjamin Franklin is known as the Father of Electricity, but the man who coined the term “electricus” in 1570 was named William Gilbert. However, it wasn’t until the late 1800s that electricity began to be widely used in private households.

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Almost everyone has a cell phone these days. Even though AT&T first developed the concept in 1971, cell phones weren’t widely used before the mid-1990s. The first SMS was sent in 1993. Cell phones in use today do everything from take photographs, serve as alarm clocks and provide basic internet browsing.

From: Best Colleges Online

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Plastic bags have long been known to cause detrimental effects on our surrounding environment . To start with some plastic bags take over 100 years to break down. That is a LONG time and something need to be done to help reduce the amount of plastic bag consumption around the globe.

Carrier bags that are particularly detrimental to our surroundings are bags which end up in our seas, interfering with ocean wildlife.

The United Nations Environment Program has gone on the record to state in 2006 there were forty six thousand pieces of plastic every square mile of ocean.  They have also estimated that the floating pile of plastic and bottles floating in our oceans is almost the same size as the United States of America! This is an enormous floating rubbish dump so swift action is need if we as a species are to clean up our act.

Ban the bag:

With this in mind it has come as a pleasant surprise that an entire village in Devon is on the verge of banning plastic bags in their entirety after seeing firsthand the number of plastic bags strewn about in their local community.

It all depends on whether a new initiative is pushed through or not, but it has been met with glee by some residents in the village of Lingfield, Devon, which most of the larger shops already planning to back the proposal.

The Chairman of the local council, Chris D’Avray said: “We used to continually find plastic bags littered all over the place, we have now had enough and would like them to be removed from the village. – Eco bags have to be the way forward”.

If the proposal is pushed through then the entire town will be switching to eco bags which are considered more environmentally friendly.  But it is not a new idea. Some areas of the United Kingdom banned plastic bags a long while back and have stated they do not intend to switch back.

This village will be the tip of the iceberg as local councils have also started to charge for carrier bags. The fine for non-compliance if you are a retailer is £5,000!

Eco bags as an alternative to plastic bags:

A quick back-of-a-napkin calculation works out that at 5p a carrier bag (in charges), an eco bag would pay for itself after roughly, 400 bags of shopping, (for a £20 eco bag).

With a large family, 20 bags of shopping per week and eco bag would pay for itself in 20 weeks. So this should be something to bear in mind for the future.

Verdict:

Whilst using eco bags are not going to single handedly save the world, but it is a small contribution and has to be far better than the alternative of using our ocean as a landfill. Coupled with the fact that an eco bag, (if the above figures are to be trusted!), will; pay for itself after 3 – 6 months. Finally the look cool / chic and are THE in fashion-accessory at this moment in time.

Andy runs the popular site amspac.co.uk which stocks a wide range of eco bags and accessories.

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It reuses materials that still hold high value, helps reduce air pollution, assists in reducing our dependence on oil, water and other natural resources, and cuts back on the amount of waste we send to landfills.

There are many convenient drop off recycling locations, curb side collection spots and even buy back programs. One of the easiest items to recycle are plastic bags, and every bag recycled can make a big difference, especially if you live near a large body of water.

Initial Melting

When plastic bags are recycled, the plant will melt and then cool a large portion of the plastic bags down which will make hard plastic. There are a lot of bags that are melted at one time to make the product. Once the plastic is ready to go, it will be cut up in pieces and washed to make sure that it is clean. The plastic will be then taken to a second melting device, which melts the plastic with greater precision and molds it into a long and thin shape. Once this process takes place, the plastic will be cut down in to bead like size.

Bead Form

These recycled beads may be mixed with other virgin type material to make new plastic bags or to even create other new products. The other virgin beads may be a different dyed color and a heavier grade of plastic to work with. It will then go into another device which will add some air pressure which will decide the size and the thickness of the plastic bag. Once this is done, it will be time for the plastic bags to cool off and then it will be wound up into a huge roll. The bags will then be made at a certain width and will be sealed off with a hot metal wire so that the bag will seal itself. The bags are then ready to be used and shipped out to the consumers.

Other Recyclable Materials

There are many other items that are recyclable such as glass, metal, paper, plastic and electronics. Many of these items sit around the home and can be recycled and not thrown away in the garbage. There are many programs and communities that are stepping up to recycle to help the environment. You can always check your local newspapers or nearby agencies to find out who does recycling in your area.

This article was submitted by PM Environmental, offering Phase I Environmental Site Assessment services.

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If so, then you are going to need to make sure that you are taking the time to learn everything you can about the hydroponics growing systems and how they differ than just placing your plants in pots filled with soil. You probably are already aware that the plants that are grown with the use of hydroponics growing systems become healthier, more vibrant plants, but you are going to want to know why.

This way, as you conduct various experiments, you will be able to make changes that are most appropriate.

First, you have to remember that the food that the plant needs is in the water, not in the soil. Therefore, the soil really is not needed. However, you are going to need some sort of growing media such as peat moss, gravel, sand or vermiculite. The vermiculite is a popular choice because it is able to retain a good bit of water, which means that the plant is going to get all of the nutrients that it needs. Some growers will actually use a mix of half vermiculite and half perlite in order to get what they feel is the best result. Whether or not you are going to prefer this method is probably unknown to you at this point. However, you want to make sure that you are feeling free enough to do a little experimenting on your own. This way, you will be able to eventually find what you believe to be the best for the plants you are trying to grow with the particular type of hydroponics growing systems you are using.

When it comes to selecting the perfect hydroponics growing systems, you are going to have to experiment there a little as well. There are a few different options out there so you are going to have to make sure that you are doing your best to get a good idea as to how they each work. If at all possible, you are going to want to try them all out. This is the best way to make sure that you are getting yourself set up with the best hydroponics growing systems possible.

While all of the hydroponics growing systems work on the same principle, you will find that how they go about getting the results will vary slightly. For example, the deep-water culture hydroponics growing systems will have about two inches of nutrient water that is moved by an air pump to produce bubbles. The plants sit on top of the container, allowing the roots to touch the nutrient soil. The roots refrain from drowning thanks to the air bubbles.

Then you have the Aerophonics method, which is another of the available hydroponics growing systems. This is a larger container that has the plants sitting through the top, with the roots hanging below. The roots never touch the body of nutrient water below but through the use of a pump and spray system; the roots are sprayed with enough of the nutrient water to give the desired results.

As you can see, there are many options out there and the ones mentioned above are only a small sampling of them. Do your homework and you will eventually find the hydroponics growing systems that you prefer above all else.

Alexandru Chiuariu, Web Content Copywriter for Our Crazy Deals, provides web copy and articles on the company’s hydroponics growing systems and special Megagarden hydroponics system offers.

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1. First of all the cardboard is flattened and cleaned to make sure they’re not contaminated with food stains, staples, plastics, glue etc. Milk cartons and juice containers are usually coated to make them leak proof and need to be kept separate.
2. At the recycling plant, the carboard is sorted and then put in a large vat filled with water and chemicals called the pulper. Here the cardboard is chopped up and heated to dissolve the cellulose fibers. As the cellulose breaks down, the cardboard forms a mushy pulp.
3. The pulp is then mixed with new wood shavings to give it strength and durability. A paper can only be recycled seven times before the cellulose loses its texture. That is why new wood shavings are always added to each recycling process.
4. The pulp is then sent to the screeners. Here it is pushed through screens that have holes of different sizes in them to make the pulp more refined and smooth. This process also removes any plastic of gum residue left over from adhesive tapes etc.
5. Paper can only be recycled seven times before the cellulose loses its texture. That is why new wood shavings are added to give the paper strength.
6. After the pulp goes through this process several times, it is sent for de-inking. Here the pulp is again put in a vat filled with water and chemicals to remove the ink. This process is called the washing stage.
7. For stubborn ink, the pulp is then sent to the floatation stage. Here air and chemicals called surfactants are added to the flotation tank. The ink particles stick to the surface of air bubbles and float as scum on the top of the mixture. It is removed and then the pulp mixture is sent to the rollers.
8. The pulp mixture is pressed with the paper rollers until all the water and chemicals has seeped out. Then it is dried and rolled into sheets of paper. Since this is cardboard paper, no bleaching takes place at this stage.
9. The recycled cardboard paper is turned into new cardboard boxes, paper bags, paperboard etc. And the best part is that it takes 99% less water and 50% less energy to create these materials.

This article was written with help from the DS Smith Recycling website. It’s always important to recycle your used carboard boxes! You don’t need to keep them for a rainy day – Viking Direct sell storage boxes made from recycled cardboard. Have you any recycling tips? Share them with us in the comments below!

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Older students might want to experiment with comparing the efficiencies of different types of bulbs, to show how much more light can be produced with less energy by low-energy bulbs than by standard filament bulbs.

Magnified Light

For this experiment, you’ll need:

• A magnifying glass
• Direct sunlight
• 2 ceramic bowls
• 2 ice cubes

Place each ice cube in a separate ceramic bowl, and place the bowls outside, somewhere in the way of direct sunlight, clear of shade. Take the magnifying glass and hold it above one of the bowls, so that the sunlight is caught in the lens; direct the beam of light magnified from the glass towards one of your ice cubes. The other ice cube is a ‘control’ cube – this means it’s there to show how quickly an ice cube would melt normally. If you hold the beam of light steadily against one of the ice cubes for a short period of time, it should prove to melt much quicker than the other cube.

This project isn’t just about the effects of a magnifying lens on sunlight; it can be used to demonstrate the power that sunlight holds, with closing comments indicating the potential of solar and geothermal energies. It’s actually possible to burn letters into a chunk of wood using this technique, which means it’s also important to be cautious with the magnifying glass, and, as always, to avoid looking directly at the sun.

A Comparison of Incandescent Lamps and LED Lamps

For this experiment, you will need:

• A 60 watt incandescent bulb and socket
• LED bulbs of varying wattages, with socket
• Electric cables
• 3-pin plugs
• A lux meter
• A ruler

First, it’s necessary to set the experiment up by wiring the bulbs up to the lamp sockets and testing that they work properly. Then, place the lux meter 100mm (or 10cm) from the incandescent lamp, and turn on the lamp. The lux meter will display the luminous intensity (brightness) of the lamp; record this measurement, and then measure the luminous intensity of the various LED lamps in the same way, making sure that the lux meter is exactly 10cm away from all of the bulbs. Record the results as before.

You should be able to display with this test that LED bulbs with much lower wattages share the same brightness of standard 60 watt bulbs; most results should show that around 7.5-9 watt LED bulbs will match a 60 watt incandescent bulb. This means that when people install energy-saving bulbs in their homes, they will spend much less on energy bills to provide the same (or higher) levels of light in a room.

A slight alteration to this experiment can be done to further show that LED lights display superior efficiency even to CFLs, also known as Compact Fluorescent Lamps. CFLs are another form of energy-saving bulb which is found in most standard lamps and ceiling lights, whereas LED lights replace the older halogen downlighters of the kind you might have in a kitchen or bathroom. For this experiment, the method is similar, but the incandescent bulb should be replaced with a CFL.

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Unfortunately, if you have not submitted your project yet, you will have to wait until next year, as this year’s deadline for submissions was April 1st and judges are already in the process of narrowing down the massive pool of entrants to a field of 90 semi-finalists (due to be announced in early May).

The field will then be further narrowed to 15 finalists in early June, at which time a $50000 “Science In Action” award will be given by Scientific American to the young scientist who’s project the judges deem most practically able to positively impact a group or community’s environmental, social, or medical needs.

Finally, in July, the winners will be announced in each of the three age group categories (13-14, 15-16, and 17-18), and the life changing prizes¬––including National Geographic expeditions, $50000 educational scholarships, and highly sought-after internships at leading science and technology firms––will be awarded.

Google and its various partners in hosting the science fair (Lego, Scientific American, CERN, and National Geographic) have gathered together an impressive collection of distinguished judges––including one Nobel Prize recipient––for the occasion, whose specialties range from fusion energy to obstetrics to biomolecular research.

This, of course, means that the contestants’ projects will be evaluated by some of the best scientific minds in the world, and that the winners will no doubt have made important contributions to the scientific community. Last year’s grand prize winner, for example, discovered a method for enhancing ovarian cancer treatments in patients with chemotherapy resistances.

One ostensibly incongruous aspect of this year’s science fair, though, is its partnership with Lego, a company primarily known for making children’s toys. This, however, should come as no great surprise given Lego’s project in recent years of revamping its public image, and expanding its line to include ‘Mindstorms,’ a robotics line with far reaching applications that include everything from playful educational implements for youngsters to inexpensive research and development aids for advanced scientific laboratories like the Cambridge University Department of Engineering lab, shown in the embedded video below.

The Google Science Fair is a truly unique event with countless positive societal repercussions. Though it has taken some justified criticism lately for its function as an advertising and marketing mechanism, it is indisputably nonetheless a valuable tool for gathering together youthful innovative ideas from around the world, for encouraging young people to pursue scientific inquiry, and for its entrants’ contributions to the scientific community at large. Not to mention what it does to promote the futures of its four well-deserving winners.

Best of luck to all of this year’s contestants!

This look at this year’s contest was written by www.legolandholidays.co.uk, the official short break provider for Legoland in the UK. Make sure not to miss the 2013 deadlines!

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Well, dyes known as food colourings serve the same job as paint – to make the candy brightly colored – whilst still being edible.

The packet will list the dyes used in the ingredients but which colors are used for which candy?

Does the same color theory you use for mixing colors with paints hold true for food coloring?

This science fair experiement will answer those questions in a dramatic and colorful way.

What you will need:

- Packet of hard shelled candy (eg M&Ms or Skittles)
- Bleached coffee filter paper (eg white, not brown)
- Toothpicks
- Tray or shallow oven dish
- A pencil (do not use a pen)
- aluminium foil
- Salt
- Measuring jug
- Water

Objective
The objective of this project is to use paper chromatography to analyze the dyes used in different colored candies.

Method

1. a) Cut the Coffee filter paper into a large square.
b) Mark siz dots on the paper using the pencil, at least 0.5cm appart and all exactely 1cm from the bottom of the paper.
c) Label each dot for a different colour of candy.

2. a) Cut the aluminium foil into small squares, about 3cm square and fold up the corners on each slightly to make small cups.
b) Put a small drop of water in each cup and then place a different colored candy in each cup so it is in the water.
c) Wait a few minutes for the colored dye on the candy to dissolve into the water and then remove the candies.

3. a) Take a toothpick, dip it in the colored water and then touch it to the dot on the coffee filter that corresponds to the same color.
b) Use a different toothpick for each color to avoid cross-contaminating the dyes.
c) Re-apply the color three or four times, waiting for the dots to dry each time, to ensure there is a good amount of the dye on the filter paper.

4. a) Add about 1g of salt to 1 liter of water and mix together.
b) Pour into the tray.
c) Dip the bottom of the filter paper into the water without submerging the colored dots.

Watch as the salt water solution is drawn up the paper through the colored dots. Until it is almost all the way to the top.

Results and Observations
As the salt water solution rises up the paper passed the dots, it draws the dyes up the paper with it. Some of the dyes are more soluble than others, and will travel further up the paper. As some of the colors are made up of more than one colored dye, this means that the different colors get deposited on the paper at different heights, leaving seperate bands of color up the paper. This means you can easily identify which colors were mixed to get the different colored candies.

Which colors are used to make the different colors of candy?
Is it the same colors you would mix together if you wanted to make those colors of paint?
Repeat the experiment using different brands of sweets – do they all use the same colored dyes for the different colors of sweets?

Explanation
This method is known as paper chromatography. Chromatography is a wide body of techniques used to seperate mixtures so that the individual chemicals they are composed of can be identified. Different chromatography techniques are used in a wide range of disciplines from forensics to food research to environmental monitoring. Can you think of any specific situations where Chromatography would be useful?

About Peak Scientific
Peak Scientific Ltd. manufacture gas generators for use in commercial and university laboratories. Their range of nitrogen gas generators are specifically designed for LC/MS (Liquid Chromatography / Gas Spectrometry) implementations.

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