Author Archives: carswell liu

The New Thin Solar Cell

Posted on November 6, 2017 | 2 comments

        There is always constant search for new eco-friendly energy sources and researchers at Tohoku University developed a new solar cell. Akama T. et al. used atomically thin 2D materials, known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), to produced a semitransparent, flexible solar cell. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of this innovation is 0.7% and although this value seems extremely small, it is the highest value for known for TMDs.

Semitransparent flexible solar cell

Why should we care about this? There are other energy production methods with higher PCE values, but none of them have the physical properties like a few layers of TMD. What makes this so significant is that the solar cell is extremely thin and still semi-flexible. You have probably seen an older version of this material in calculators such as the picture below.

Solar Calculator

Current solar cells are rigid, opaque and for large amounts of energy, they require a larger surface area. This research begins to solve all three problems; flexibility, transparency, and efficiency. Imagine the possibilities once the solar cell has become transparent, semi-flexible and highly energetic. As stated by the researchers, “…next-generation smart solar cells for various applications such as in the surfaces of windows, front display panels of personal computers and cell phones, and human skin.”

Solar Charger for Mobile Devices

Every window in a building can produce electricity and your cellphones can recharge some of its battery just by being exposed to the sun. The development of solar cells is not solely for mass energy production, but potentially for everyday applications.

-Carswell Liu

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The Dangers of Salt

         Whether you like it or not, a key ingredient in many restaurants today is salt. Since everything contains a bit of salt, what are the effects of this large intake? Let’s consider what sodium usually does in the body. The kidney usually balances the amount of fluid within the body, but sodium dilution requires a large volume of water. This strain potentially causes kidney diseases and affects the flow of blood within the body.

Excessive salt consumption may cause serious harm to the body

Constant increase of blood flow damages the cardiovascular system. The heart has to pump with more effort and the arteries and veins harden over time due to constant pressure against its walls. If this occurs occasionally, it may be healthy to the body to circulate the system, but after many repetitions this may result in hypertension. This high blood pressure may lead to stroke, heart attack and various other detrimental conditions.

Issues related to high blood pressure

Does this mean we should abandon consuming salt? Not necessarily.

A lack of sodium in the body can cause as much harm as excess salt. Hyponatremia is a condition where one feels a lack of energy, headaches, nausea and other similar symptoms due to low salt levels. Salt is an essential mineral to the body. It helps with muscle functions, nerve transmissions and regulates body fluid levels (kidney).  Sodium and Potassium also regulate the body’s blood pressure and if there is a lack of sodium present to regulate potassium levels, the body may experience mild hyperkalemia.

Excessive salt consumption can lead to high blood pressure while lack of salt may lead to hyponatremia. It is normal to continue eating salty foods but it is best to attempt to follow health guidelines.

-Carswell Liu

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The harm from long term microwave radiation.

Posted on September 18, 2017 | 1 comment

Cancer rates are gradually increasing and a potential source of radiation causing this growth is the electromagnetic waves from cell phones. As technology advances, researchers try to fix any flaws within electronics. These could include bugs in software or hardware malfunctions, but a constant concern are the waves emitted. Many studies were conducted denying the correlation between cell phones and cancer, but there are some which hint at possibilities.

In a New York Times article by Pollack, he discusses the effect of radiation from cellphones on rats. In this experiment, the animals were exposed to different degrees of radiation, that would  be emitted from cellphones, for nine hours daily over a period of two years. This resulted with a minority group of 2-3% developing brain cancer and 5-7% developing Schwannomas in their heart. Although there appears to be a correlation between cancer growth and cellular radiation, this is a significantly small scale affected.

https://static01.nyt.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000004441354

Kesari et al. conduct a more detailed study showing the effect on biological systems due to cell phone radiation. In their research, they found that microwave fields cause chronic stress creating reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused by oxygen and free radicals leading to toxic damage in the system and eventually carcinogens. However, like the case with the rats, only a small number affected would ultimately be diagnosed with cancer.

Exposure to Cellphone Radiation

Although both cases hint towards radiation types from cell phone lead to carcinogens, both reports conclude further research is required. The emissions in the experiment is the same type has those from cell phones, but not in the same strength. Further research could be done such as using weaker radiation strengths, but until then, there’s no apparent danger from using cell phones.

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