Solar Constant

The various sources of energy can be roughly divided into renewable and non-renewable energy. The non-renewable forms of energy are the coal, petroleum, natural gas and other such fossil fuels. These have manifested after having been dried and buried under suitable temperature and pressure conditions.

The renewable forms of energy include wind energy, solar photovoltaic energy, solar thermal energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy, hydro energy etc. Wind energy uses the kinetic energy of winds and uses it to rotate a shaft that in-turn generates electricity. Photovoltaic cells directly convert solar radiation to electron movement through the depletion region of the cell. Solar thermal power plants use the thermal energy from solar radiation and use it to evaporate steam that then run turbines. Geothermal energy is used along the same lines as thermal power plants and tidal energy is used to run turbines, the same way it is done in hydro energy.

The common denominator is that these methods of large scale energy generation give the common output, electricity. This is the primary route of utilization of energy both for domestic and industrial purposes. However there is another factor that commonly goes unnoticed, the common destination does not receive energy unless the common source provides it. The common source being the sun.

The Earth is heated from the sun by unequal amounts (because of the Earth’s “tilt”) which creates a pressure difference between different areas of our planet. Due to this unequal heating, large masses of air move from one location to another and we experience them as winds. The incident rays of the sun on the PV panels provide just the right amount of energy for the excitation of electrons so as to cross the band gap to generate electricity. Solar thermal power plants reflect and concentrate the Suns rays to heat an area. Tides are another phenomenon that occur due to the gravitational effects of the moon and the sun (though primarily because of the moon in this case).

Even the fossil fuels need to be dried and be provided with suitable physical conditions to form from the slow processes that we know of. These conditions are maintained with the assistance of reactions that go on in the core of the Earth.

Though, when we compare the core temperatures of the Earth and the Sun, the Earth has been touted to have a core temperature of 6000^oC whereas the sun has an estimated temperature of about 15000000°C (don’t strain your eyes, there are 6 zeros). This clearly tells us about the amount of energy possessed by both these sources. This core temperature of the Earth provides energy to facilitate the formation of fossil fuels.  When comparing these core temperature with the surface temperature values of the sun (about 5000^oC) it becomes evident why environmentalists create such a racket about using renewable energy sources. The surface of the sun continually emits radiations throughout the solar system, a fraction of which is enough to sustain life on a planet.

The intensity of the radiation of the Sun on the Earth, at a mean distance of one Atmospheric Unit from the Sun is called the Solar Constant. The value is 1.361 kW/m² at a minimum and it strays to about 1.362 kW/m² at a maximum when calculations are carried out. This value is not a physical constant and is said to have varied by about .2% over the past 400 years. One can argue hence that it is almost a constant. With the Sun said to possess enough energy to provide energy from to the solar system for at least another 5 billion years, there is no arguing that of all the most faithful friends that we have, the sun remains the most loyal “constant”.

It is a universal fact that the entropy of the world is ever increasing so says the second law of thermodynamics. The Earth as a system, continuously gives off useful energy, because of this law of entropy generation. But it in turn keeps on receiving energy in the form of solar radiation, which largely remains ignored my mankind. With the Earths internal generation means working as fast as it can to make fossil fuels, we must quickly look for means to utilize the immense and moreover constant energy that is being given to us, from the sun. We must aim to utilise this constant solar constant.

Thanks for reading!

PS:  I had written this back in March 2016 for a competition but didn't submit it because the organizers disappeared. I just read it again and have not edited it much because I like to think it represents my thought process at that time (also because I'm lazy).

Do we really care?

Environment, largely as we know today is damaged by human beings. We have seen different types of damage being done by men, analysed it and found ways to curb it. But there are some issues or perhaps some known yet ignored cases are the use of vehicles by teenagers. I would like to present three different scenarios observed.

The very first appearance which struck me was during the coaching time for teenagers. The city didn’t have many public pool vehicles yet common tempos and rickshaws are obviously available. Yet some of friends (what I am supposed to call them) not only creates pollution both noise and air but also risks their life in clumsy traffic just to show off their how posh they are, their status and in terms called their real attitude. But, the most ultimate result is the sudden and the most unlikely death of one of friends during this so called circus drive. For this attitude not only are the teenagers responsible but the parents and the society which encourages such environment. The public pooled vehicles are given the status of being “poor” and treat them as “substandard” or “lower standard” people. To just travel a mile or “a short 10 min walk” they use so-called “standard” cars without being aware of the harm being done to themselves, society and very obviously environment.

The second scenario observed was the city in which I presently live. Not only are the public pool vehicles encouraged here but the people are not “ashamed” of being a part of such a system. The buses are evidently used by all “classes” of people irrespective of being called as rich and poor. The people might use private vehicles as well but according to my observation it is not as prevalent as observed in the 1^st scenario.

The third scenario is that of famous capital and metropolitan city which I recently visited, Delhi. The city perhaps the fastest life I have ever seen is so evident today, yet it is the most “managed” city I have seen so far. The city which has all types of public pool vehicles in the form of city buses, small transport vehicles, METROS, rickshaws, mini-buses and the list goes on. The metro trains are the most impactful means of transport I have found so far. Cheap, easy, cozy, organized and well maintained these metros have served as well. The Delhi residents have fairly enjoyed this service. I do accept that Delhi is the most polluted city But here we are comparing the scenario and tendency of people towards public pool vehicles.

I know that no one cares about these vehicles and towards its tendency yet it is a known fact that after reading this we will surely count how irresponsible we were and how many times we ignored public vehicles just because of some sheer reasons...

But ultimately the question remains, do we really Care?

Green Attitude

Mini garbage dumps inside the campus being partly burnt at convenient intervals of time. An everyday scene at one of the top engineering institutes in India. No, this is not a post that’s going to slam the way our institute runs or deal with such issues. There can be various complaints, from, “There aren’t enough street lights” to “Why are these lights always on?”

But, amidst all this, what are we doing? Bathroom lights are always switched on throughout the day, and when someone takes out 15 seconds to switch them off, there’s bound to be some other student who “utilizes” his time to switch them on within 5 minutes, claiming “There’s not enough light da/yaar!”  Almost as if there’s some activity of great precision that needs to be executed inside the washroom.

The other common reason to keep all the lights on is “College is paying for the electricity, why do you care?” (And it’s more informal translated forms with more slangs than sense in various languages)  It’s ridiculous how students can claim to be "educated" at a premiere institute like ours and yet be so ignorant.

In an era where Global Warming is taught about way back from primary school, can we really blame the country and all its authorities for not being too serious about the issue? Alright, maybe we can, but can we all stand up and say, “I’m doing my bit”? Are we making a conscious effort to not litter and throw the smallest of candy wrappers in the dust bin? Are we making an effort to not keep our mobile on charge overnight? Are we making an effort to switch off the main switch outside our rooms, and rooms of others in case they’ve forgotten (yeah right!) to?

We at LEAP hope to change and make the campus greener. Ah well, we claim to. Truth is, we aren’t as serious as we should be ourselves. Taking my own case as an example, I’d volunteered to write for our blog about 2 months back and needed a reminder to write something. Most of us LEAP members are busy attending Pragyan and Festember meetings instead of taking LEAP forward. Which is a more pressing issue, the environment or the reputation of our tech/cultural fest? A 2 minute thought would lead us to the obvious conclusion. What do the students from other not-as-good-as-NITT institutes come and have a good hard think about whether they were better off to have not got into a “better” institute?

We, my friends, need to bring about a change. And by “we” I mean each and every student at the institute and not just members of LEAP. We LEAP members are merely those who’ve come forward for various reasons but the real results can only be obtained if we all work together and cooperate. We students need to understand our responsibility and act in unison.

And if not, we’ll probably soon be paying for the electricity we waste, in the form of ever increasing taxes that our government imposes on us. The AAP has already made amends to reduce the electricity charges in Delhi and if the others try to follow their lead, such a situation cannot be far away!

I’ll end with a quote from Albert Al Gore,

“Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, "What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?What we take for granted might not be here for our children."

Turning waste to Gold! Its not Alchemy :P

In today's modern world where everyone even the poorest of the poor posses a mobile phone the volume of e-waste generated around the world is enormous !!! Take for example USA, it is no doubt the most developed nation in the world and generates more than 5 million tons of e-waste.. and India also produces considerable amount of e-wastes..

Here is the problem, these wastes as the name suggests are not completely waste !!! The chips contains various precious elements and if left unattended  becomes a big headache for the nature... ITS TOXIC !!! 

Well, the good news is that we can recycle them !!! In a world of fast depleting resources recycling is a viable option and the best one !!! yay !!!

But here is the bomb !!! :p

The e-waste if not recycled properly has its own problems worse than if left untreated.. :(

The e-waste contains precious elements but are toxic for the humans... So authorized organised  enterprises must take care of these stuff or should we say handle it in a much technical way !!!

Since India is a fast growing nation we thought we should create awareness among the youth for a better electric future :p

We invited E Parisara , India's first electronic waste recycling unit !!! to our campus ...

Mr P Parthasarathy, MD happened to visit us and gave a presentation on how to handle e-waste safely !!! He pointed out that major problem is the collection of e-wastes in India. A major chunk goes to the unorganised sector, where all the problems arise plus the recoverability is also less!!! The presentation also discussed the various methods available to get these metals out of wastes ... It was quite a experience and we did learn a lot !!! 

E Parisara : http://www.ewasteindia.in/#

Please check the website and let us support them for this noble cause !!!   Also lets be more responsible !! and think before throwing away your gadget....

Water Conservation - Awareness Drive !!!

 

Great things starts with a small step !!!

                                   

 

  This is Water Conservation Awareness Drive was targeted to spread awareness  among the youth about the need to save water .... Water our elixir of life needs to be conserved not ruthlessly exploited or wasted.




Posters were stuck at various places in our campus ...and it did prove effective..People got interested in our posters and asked us the ways to save water ...The NIT-T TGCC Team also went about distributing pamphlets and explaining scores of students about the need to conserve
                                                                        WATER !!!
                                               

 

 EVERY DROP COUNTS !!!!