The TED talk I am reviewing is about a solar energy system
that is more efficient than most on the market because it tracks the sun’s
movement throughout the day. The machine was created by the founder of Idealab
Bill Gross who explains his ideas for previous inventions and really wanting to
have an impact on the world and specifically the energy crisis we have in the
world.
He begins by discussing his interest from a very young age
at the potential of solar energy and even had a small business making solar
cells that went on for a while. But then he encounters difficulties that throw
him on a “25 year detour”. Some of these problems included coursework at his
college and other technological advances in computers. He eventually comes back
to his passion though of working to create a backup energy supply and in his
case it was solar.
Bill then goes on to speak about his problem solving process
and how he got to his ultimate final product which he revealed during his TED
talk. His first idea was to create a stationary cell that captured the light from
multiple different angles purely based on its shape and while much more cost
effective than the common solar cells today it did not capture near as much
energy as a tracking cell so they went back to the drawing board. After some
designing they came up with a 12-petal system with each petal controlled
individually by a microprocessor in order to track the sun and calibrate to try
and be as warm as possible.
After coming up with the best way to capture the rays Bill
then went into discussing the process for finding a solar energy to electrical
energy converter. He discusses going through hundreds of designs and ideas
before coming up with the current prototype which is cheap and efficient.
I think this innovation is absolutely incredible because my
passion lies in renewable and specifically solar energy. Like Bill I see so
much untapped potential for solar energy that if we just decrease the cost of
production and installation a little bit the resource could be extremely viable
and greatly reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. I find his process very
interesting because he never gave up and always persevered and fought through
if the original or even hundredth design did not go through. His design process
also really intrigued me because he took what he learned at some of his
previous jobs in order to apply it to this final creation.
What I got most out of this though isn’t the invention or
his process it was simply the principle of having an idea and a passion and
running with it no matter the results it brings. Bill eventually got back to
his true passion that he had in high school and I can tell from the video that
not only is he proud of what he is done but he is very happy with doing it.
This is where I want to be in the future happy and proud about what I am doing
because I know that I am making some sort of difference in the world. I would
really like that to be with solar energy and its applications but I also know
that as long as I am doing something to improve our state of being I will enjoy
my life.
#platypus
#platypus
