Yay Solar Energy!!! (TED talk review)

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