Hm... Alternating current at 60Hz changes polarity 60 times a second. AC oscillating at a billion (?) times per second changes polarity at a billion (?) times per second.
They have one thing in common: They change polarity on a specified interval.
Hey, researchers, if you are reading this, why not make a network of electrical diodes which allow current to only flow in one direction? Oh, wait, I just remembered, why don't you make a rectifier? That way you would be dealing with + and - like a battery. Then an inverter shall kick it back to 60Hz AC! Sparkling!
FTA: One potential candidate is high-speed rectifiers, special diodes that would sit at the center of each spiral antenna and convert the electricity from AC to DC. The team has a patent pending on a variety of potential energy conversion methods. They anticipate they are only a few years away from creating the next generation of solar energy collectors.
I'm not sure if you're aware how diodes work, but the problem is that they have a finite recovery time which limits their operating frequency. Commercial ultrafast diodes top out at a few GHz at best; I'm not sure where the latest research is at, but I don't think we're anywhere near the 10 THz (=10,000 GHz) speeds these guys are after.
I know they do let current flow in one direction, but yes, I thought there should be some diode fast enough to deal with it. Factor in the recovery time and the current output will be a little seedy.
Out of curiosity, would an LED work? I know it can go AC and DC.
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I really hope they can get this to work. All the advantages of solar with hardly the disadvantages. Kudos to the scientists for discovering it!
Hm... Alternating current at 60Hz changes polarity 60 times a second. AC oscillating at a billion (?) times per second changes polarity at a billion (?) times per second.
They have one thing in common: They change polarity on a specified interval.
Hey, researchers, if you are reading this, why not make a network of electrical diodes which allow current to only flow in one direction? Oh, wait, I just remembered, why don't you make a rectifier? That way you would be dealing with + and - like a battery. Then an inverter shall kick it back to 60Hz AC! Sparkling!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectifier
P.S: I know the idea is far fetched, but give it a try? What's to lose?
PS2: I accidentally figured out how to coax the commenting system. Click on the date of the post and click reply.
FTA:
One potential candidate is high-speed rectifiers, special diodes that would sit at the center of each spiral antenna and convert the electricity from AC to DC. The team has a patent pending on a variety of potential energy conversion methods. They anticipate they are only a few years away from creating the next generation of solar energy collectors.
@aguilz:
I'm not sure if you're aware how diodes work, but the problem is that they have a finite recovery time which limits their operating frequency. Commercial ultrafast diodes top out at a few GHz at best; I'm not sure where the latest research is at, but I don't think we're anywhere near the 10 THz (=10,000 GHz) speeds these guys are after.
@TreeTrunk
I know they do let current flow in one direction, but yes, I thought there should be some diode fast enough to deal with it. Factor in the recovery time and the current output will be a little seedy.
Out of curiosity, would an LED work? I know it can go AC and DC.