You are the man!!! I wish I had all the knowledge you have on energy. Energy is the key to our success as humans on this planet. We need to use the sun and stop burning up material when the sun is free! Keep up your incredible work and would love to hear from you. I have the same basic desire you have for new energy, but my personal experience is sales.
The top of your roof is free space. If everyone had just one or two, it would reduce energy costs drastically. You don't have to make this your only energy source. As a supplement used by everyone you still make significant impacts. It's like recycling. One person doesn't make that much difference, but thousands, millions, or billions do. We don't need an energy farm to make a difference.
The air car.. air power is free... harness lightning theres loads of power in a bolt of lightning... but greedy fucks like to use stuff that costs money... when theres so much renewable out there.
For a guy with his caliber, I am rather disappointed with this solution. It is not cheap, needs plenty of space and prone to damage (by flying debris etc), also motors on the petals and the petals themselves are difficult to be weather resistant.
He should look into Zero-Point or OverUnity solutions that "aren't beaten worse than a dead horse" for decades ...
What about using the system to heat or cool the household. At about 13 minutes into the video Mr. Gross talks about reversing the process to refrigerate. Could the system be set up to amplify the heating effect during winter and cool the house during summer?
we can use bamboo to save our world from globle warming,please check it out (bamboothewalk) im walking across america with a big bamboo pole telling people we can save r planet with bamboo n promoting human kindness helping people along the way im calling all millionaires/billionaires to walk a mile with me, im doing the biggest walk ever done to date armand young (bamboothewalk)youtube
PLEASE CHECK OUT MY UTUBE CHANNEL,(BAMBOOTHEWALK)UTUBE IM WALKING ACROSS AMERICA HELPING THE HOMELESS for every life lost in 911 2001 and our soldiers lost, lets change some ones life im calling all millionaires/billionaires/all celebs/HUMAN BEINGS to walk a mile with me and in that mile help some one so for every life lost is a life gained ARMAND YOUNG(BAMBOOTHEWALK)UTUBE OR MAN WALKS AGROSS AMERICA GOD BLESS R TROOPS IM CALLING ALL ANGELS
Where can I get one? Since it's so cheap, maybe I'll get four or five lol...I can only hope he's immune from the greed of corporate America and can deliver on this inovation and truly change the world. Do you sense my skepticism?
My name is christian, and i was raped before i died. I use to enjoy pain and now i inflict it upon people. I was tortured and raped until i could no longer breathe. Those bastards now suffer and die, and those who do not repost this to 5 videos will die too.
At the strike of 12AM, those who did not repost this will die a horrible death after seeing a bloody face covered with long black hair. Those who repost this will receive a kiss from their crush
i love how people make smart ass comments and joke about this, hate to break it to ya but this is our planet, its the only one we got and if we screw it up, we die.
@mws123 That's true, but whether we screw it up or not... we are still going to die. There is one thing we know for sure about life... we are not going to get out of it alive.
musyte002 - why would TedTalksDirector get banned for putting up an informational video?
Take a look at their collection.
Just because it's on the featured list doesn't mean it's entertainment, and is NOT intended as a place where you can shut off your brain and go "duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
TedTalksDirector has dozens of videos from the best of the best this planet has to offer - this guy is one of them, and public speaking doesn't make you a better person.
Ultimately every energy source you grab is made by a star. May as well cut out the middle man and figure out how to grab the energy as efficiently as possible.
shut up, these are idea's that could work, also these people are VERY smart, that's why brilliant minds were only invited to T.E.D. which is why you were not invited. your comments also prove my point.
Just because the guy might have a "brilliant mind" doesn't mean it's a good idea he's selling. And just "might" at that; saying that Person A goes to TED so Person A's IQ is X is retarded. They have artists on here too, and most of them are none-too-bright.
The truth about solar power: it fucking blows. It COULD be fantastic in the future, and we know that looking at plants. BUT, why not just take advantage of what nature improved on millions of years of evolution instead? Bio-fuels, not solar.
Because it`s no enough. If you plan corn on all the fields in all the world...it`s not enough. That`s part of the reason. Bio fuel thing isn't really a mature technology no matter how much of it we use. Better eat the corn and think of something else. Also modern solar cells are better than Photosynthesis in terms of energy gathering to surface by 2 or 3 times.
Today we use about 0.1 of the amount of energy captured by photosynthesis. So if we used all of it ,it wouldn't be enough
You've used a statistical flaw, which does make that look right, but it isn't ^.^
Say there is 1kwh per percentage point of power in photosynthesis, and .1kwh per percentage point of power in the same square area of a solar cell (it's actually further than this, but for argument I'm keeping it simple). You'd end up with 100 kwh per space with the cell and 20-30 kwh per that same space with the solar cells (at 2 to 3 times, which is also wrong but hell we'll say you're right). Note the numbers.
Oh and btw, they are trying their best to copy the photosynthesis process plants perform in our solar cells. Google "Dye solar cells"; there is a good chance that we'll make good use of solar power before the end of this century.
"Oh and btw, they are trying their best to copy the photosynthesis process plants perform in our solar cells."
That would be a pretty stupid thing to do, seeing as how photosynthesis is only 5% efficient whereas our best solar cells are well above 30% now.
The only reason to "copy photosynthesis" might be if it gives us a way to make much cheaper cells. We're certainly not going to do it if the goal is to improve efficiency.
I concur. The best approach we have without some miracle breakthrough in solar cell tech is to use the natural sun-to-usable-power converters: plants. The amount of power stored in complex sugars alone is phenomenal, and plants already do it without having to change a thing. That is to say, we already have the technology to get power from the sun in great quantities. Now. Right now. WHY DOES THIS GUY STILL HAVE A BONER FOR SOLAR CELLS (besides the idea being "cool" when he was a kid)?
the device looks big and there are alot of spaces in between the peddle and the motor(or thing in the middle) wonder if they can minimize the spaces not used ....just wonderin ^^
They'll probably find out that all along it's been cheaper and easier to let plants capture energy efficiently, and multiply and repair themselves, etc., and all we have to do is harvest them.
Yeah I have to concur that plants are already incredibly well adapted to producing energy from sunlight. Corn is a great example (anyone who's ever been around Everclear knows that alcohol is like jet fuel), though oil companies have been buying rights to the gases made from it since people first learned how to do it.
I love this type of research, but my biggest beef with this design is that it moves. I would love to focus on that first static design, but I think that anyone who has ever owned a car knows that it's not always a matter of innitial cost plus fuels, it's all about maintenance and upkeep... Even if parts are cheap, labour isn't.
Storm damage would be the only real issue, as small servos and light weight parts like that would last well over a lifetime without outside interference. Wind would be enough to screw it up though. I know a large portion of that part of the US he showed which could be used is so windy these things just wouldn't work. Then again maybe he can find a way to make them tough enough to survive, time will tell for sure ^.^
a very good speech, one issue i have is the usage of these panels in the winter time. Not only is there less sunlight during winter hours, but the snow itself would completely block them from receiving sunlight and the snow itself may break the panels due to weight.
Additionally i think if he could encase those with glass, with angles that are opposite to those found in diamonds his energy input would be considerably increased. Due to that the angles at which diamonds are cut at are purposely done to increase the amount of of light refracted to the outside of the diamond. If a glass model was made in reverse it may be possible to increase the focus of the rays of light to a single point.
The guy at the end shows off primitive and inefficient piece of expensive crap... Check out ABC Catalyst 2007-03-08 Sliver Cells - solar photovoltaic. Don't let them persuade you to pay for that old crap when you can pay LESS for BETTER crap - SLIVER CELLS solar panels ;-)
"designing better tools by using natural selection in a computer". this is great it if works!!! I've had this exact same idea when I was 18, but at the time I thought it wasn't really posible or useful ,but that it was a nice concept. but now yeah I heard since a while that we do that. it's awesome, I'm so happy I had this idea by myself.
This was a great talk. Gross is a fantastic guy and best of luck to him... too bad his petal invention looks like crap in those 3D renders. He needs to hire a graphic designer.
I didnt really like the look of that on the house, solar panels are far less intrusive. Having them as cheap solar farms? yes. Would I ever have one on my home? probably not.
Solar energy is great for the sun rich countries and I fully support it but Id really like to see more time and thought go in to harnessing energy from the jet streams as well. Air born turbines and kites on winches (yes I watch that James May programme :P) seem like brilliant ideas to me.
Cool its a work in progress and he said it real quick, but it may be indeed already a very interesting unit to be used in 3rd world country's, even if its only for heating water/cooking.
I didn't like that talk. Manly because he didn't mention any drawbacks of his invention compered to other technologies such as solar panels. Clearly there is no such thing that is better than an other thing in all aspect.
Why does he need a separate microprocessor to control each petal? They don't need to react quickly, so time sharing between them on one microprocessor should do? Also, the device could learn the pattern of sun movement and predict how to adjust the petals each time without searching blindly. I'm sure there could be loads of improvements don on this thing.
He doesn't, but at $1 each it's worth the redundancy. If one microprocessor goes out you don't loose your whole system. Also, if it only takes a few seconds to tune into the sun what's the point of memorizing the sun movement (which changes throughout the year).
He admitted himself, they've got a ton of improvement to do.
I was rather drooling over australia. you have to admit how pretty it'd be to see those big solar collector lotus things out in the middle of the australian desert with kangaroos hopping about them.
Hehehe ... good point. Dang me dang me ... get me a rope and hang me from the highest tree. Shame on me for immediately assuming any reference to the middle east is about holding the world hostage.
That said, what makes the middle east unique is that it has been able to export it's oil to the world. I don't think Africa could ever export it's solar energy any further than Europe.
And in truth that's what my original comment was about ... not about the middle east holding the world hostage (what garevss referred to when he accused me of bringing middle east's good-will into the picture).
Solar energy is a redundant source of energy when you understand we all ready have free energy from the inventions of telsla and other modern inventors.
But of course the powers that be don't want us to know about this as it would make us independent negating their power.
there are documentaries on youtube about Tesla & his free energy concepts using the earth's ionosphere as a resonance chamber... it's actually quite fascinating how much he comprehended. we're still catching up with him, he came far before his time...
"Free" as in free of charge. As in, accessible by anyone, anywhere on the planet using simple means. The earth is a powerful battery of sorts, and Tesla spent a great deal of his life tapping into it, learning how to harness it.
It was supposed to be his 'gift to mankind' before economical forces nipped his inventions in the bud.
Well, there's no real such thing as 'free energy'. You'd still have to buy the machine. And only pricing for fuel costs (and therefore concluding it's free energy) ignores the all important capital cost.
That's why so many renewable energy sources are struggling. Not because of their low fuel cost, but their high capital cost. And you can't ignore capital costs; it's absolutely vital to include it.
yes, nothing is literally 'free,' we use the word loosely. Tesla's design for the recipient of "free" electricity was simple; low cost. accessible. just a simple antenna which was possible to manufacture in the early 1900's.
he lost his funding due the business attitude of his investor, J.P. Morgan, saw no potential for major long-term profit in the system Tesla was constructing. the system can give cheap, abundant, energy worldwide.
Tesla did some pretty neat things, but he also tried to make some batshit-insane things, and he went a bit crazy near the end there. The earth-as-a-battery junk is an example of the latter.
Ummm.....no. The HAARP facility in Alaska is researching various ionospheric phenomena, but it has nothing to do with what Tesla was doing, nor is it related to the free-energy crap that various other lunatics keep pushing.
Frankly, I don't know why people like you cant just admire the man for the things he got right, instead of making up conspiracy theories and perpetual-motion schemes to try and make him seem greater.
i don't believe any of that stuff. it's just that in all these books written about him, and in documentaries also, this ionosphere research seems not too far fetched.
no need to get judgmental. nobody has perfect information. it is hard these days to get it, even if one is well-read. there is always someone disputing in such a matter-of-fact way.
now i'm not going to insist my point of view-- it's comes from what i've read in books and seen in documentaries. i'm only telling about it.
From what I remember reading on Tesla: His main problems with his free energy concepts were that the devices he needed to collect the energy always had to be tremendous in relation to power ratios. Scientists have tried many, many times to scale his concepts down, sadly to no avail.
I think I may have misunderstood what you were referring to as energy recievers. Unable to remember book titles or articles, I did a quick internet search and soon found a myriad of pseudo scientific sites dedicated to free energy. What I was mixing up in my head were his attempts with radio waves, where his towers were enormous due to his global vision.
Some big power company will buy out any patents he has and the technology and lock it up in some basement file. Just like every other efficent solar energy invention.
Looks like GE will prob. be the ones that buy it out and it will never see the light of day. (pun intended)
solar flowers, if there's any way to colour them up a bit, i reckon tonnes of chums in the burbs would get one. they'd look heaps better than the ugly black squares
So you think having a good looking house is more important than saving energy, money and moving away from using fossil fuels.
Also it's totally possible to scale this up several times so you run a whole block on three or four large generators. Making these and using one for each house is simply stupid, it would be like having a water tower, coal powerplant or something like that for each house.
So you think that as long as people can save energy, then they don't care how there house looks? Or there car, or there refrigerator, or there lamps, and so on.
The fact that it's a solar powered generator will mean people will buy it without even thinking about the the looks of it, unless they are retarded that is.
Just take the Prius as an example. It's just a normal household car, it doesn't look very cool or stylish. Hopwever because it's engine is "green" people think it's the most awesome car in the world.
Taking your age and your nationality into account, you should know better. The prius is a perfect example of why design is everything on the mas marked. Its the only hybrid on the marked that looks like a hybrid. And that is exactly the reason why it is cool and stylish compared to other hybrids. Why else do you think it is so popular in Hollywood? - because they want to save energy?
And in a scaled version, there are a lot better systems on the marked already.
Put in this way. There will always be people who wants to have different stuff from others, people that also look on the ''beautiful side of things". Well, if this guy is smart (and he is), he would make a better looked version for a higher price. Everyone gets happy.
This way a very well prepared, organized, and fascinating lecture. This lecture had a lot of useful information and was easy to keep up even though there was a large amount.
I have two concerns. First, how much does the final device cost? I need to know both finished product, and dollar per watt ratio. Second, how much power does the final product produce. I'm assuming between one and three kilowatts since he mentioned it would not remove the energy grid entirely.
He's not done yet with the research. I missed a discussions about the cons, but since he's not an altruistic scientist but a entrepreneur first, he won't mention the cons (that's why he didn't mentioned that solar panel can be improved too).
Sounds cool thou, but being a scientist (math), I have to wonder that the majority of high tech applications these days require little or no personnel (which makes thing cheap). Technology is replacing humans day by day.
Not always. You can also use geothermal as a sort of heat-sink. This method doesn't produce power, and is quite different from the deep-drill turbine systems, but using it for heating and cooling applications is extremely beneficial.
Ahhh yes, nothing says high school quite like the impromptu fashioning of a bong for an after-school smoke; BONG is the LAST WORD I would've expected to hear at a TED conference (lol).
The usefulness of genetic algorithms (using lot of simulations to get desired outputs), is analogous to the ideal of localized government versus a highly federalized one. The best way to determine what sort of living style creates the most prosperity is to have multiple govt simulations, more state and local power. Thus, both major parties are obstacles in our path to a more ideal way of life simply by preserving a large, intrusive federal govt.
Good lord.. speed talker. Then again, there was a ton of information to squeeze into a relatively short period of time so... it's totally understandable.
I've never heard of 'genetic algorithms'. That's quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard of! xD
I've heard of genetic algorithms. But, i haven't coded anything with them yet. In fact, I;ve not thought up anything worthwhile to apply them too. :( sad huh.
The video froze up halfway through the presentation and I was in a panic to start it again! Finally, a practical application for solar energy from a guy who has actually thought the problem through, not a hippie with wishful thinking.
this is done in 2003. its almost a decade already. whats going on?
EcoDimension 4 months ago
i read about this guy in Comm 100, idea lab lost a TON of money for all the investors, never really developed much
wetkenny 9 months ago
You are the man!!! I wish I had all the knowledge you have on energy. Energy is the key to our success as humans on this planet. We need to use the sun and stop burning up material when the sun is free! Keep up your incredible work and would love to hear from you. I have the same basic desire you have for new energy, but my personal experience is sales.
shotclips 10 months ago
The sun is free, but space is not.
Maxdwolf 1 year ago
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@Maxdwolf
"The sun is free, but space is not."
The top of your roof is free space. If everyone had just one or two, it would reduce energy costs drastically. You don't have to make this your only energy source. As a supplement used by everyone you still make significant impacts. It's like recycling. One person doesn't make that much difference, but thousands, millions, or billions do. We don't need an energy farm to make a difference.
KemaTheAtheist 1 year ago
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oliveyaqwer 1 year ago
And there you have it, a robotic model of a sunflower. Nature was practically showing it to us already.
litetheory 1 year ago 2
The air car.. air power is free... harness lightning theres loads of power in a bolt of lightning... but greedy fucks like to use stuff that costs money... when theres so much renewable out there.
UFester777 1 year ago
Ive invented a solar powered vibrator for girls that like to exibit themselves.
hablerz 1 year ago
Dosen't look like I'm getting one of thoose on my roof in the nearest future. Norway is completly white.
ultraliser 1 year ago
@ultraliser Good job your 98 percent hydro power then isnt it :P
hablerz 1 year ago
Awesome
alastair78 1 year ago
For a guy with his caliber, I am rather disappointed with this solution. It is not cheap, needs plenty of space and prone to damage (by flying debris etc), also motors on the petals and the petals themselves are difficult to be weather resistant.
He should look into Zero-Point or OverUnity solutions that "aren't beaten worse than a dead horse" for decades ...
fteoOpty64 1 year ago
see you next week jason, wait what?
-hero
fordieform 2 years ago
"Great, When can I buy one dozen?"
Johnnyart2000 2 years ago
What about using the system to heat or cool the household. At about 13 minutes into the video Mr. Gross talks about reversing the process to refrigerate. Could the system be set up to amplify the heating effect during winter and cool the house during summer?
JPM9090 2 years ago
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WTF
aldenpogi123456789 2 years ago
Bill Gross is the dictionary definition of an Engineer. Very Impressive and inspiring.
cfrend 2 years ago 9
wow amazing
50kT 2 years ago
This technology is amazing and shows our potential if applied in a constructive way for the benefit of humanity.
Enlightenment2009 2 years ago
Flower power!
Kargoneth 2 years ago 2
Kinda funny how nature modeled petals and how mathematical models reinvent them, innit?
ahypnos 2 years ago
does it means that with more petals tuning , it will concentrate more light thus generating more energy?
nuttypillar 2 years ago
This is awesome. So fun to learn.
By the way, reflection is not limited to just glass. I'm sure there are smart methods to deal with that by now, or are seriously being handled.
pcslider 2 years ago
pcslider
[snipped] > "By the way, reflection is not limited to just glass."
I'm sorry; but where did you hear anything mentioned about "glass" and any "reflection" thereon, thereof, therein, there-through or there-from...?
There are some very good hearing aids being produced right now and you may want to "seriously" handle one....or two....I'm sure.
* aluminized plastic *
stewpedashoe 2 years ago
la paella es bonita, pero a la que caiga granizo....habrá pétalos de Texas a Oregón.
jandroniol 2 years ago
holy fuck i just about shit my pants
freekydeekydonkey 2 years ago
I cannot imagine how this mirrors are stormproof. Looks very sensitive.
Yellow2011 2 years ago
i know how to track the sun
hanselos 2 years ago
me too. it's called "eyes"
Nuclearcx 2 years ago 2
i know how to solve this, but will only tell this man, someone make it happen
hanselos 2 years ago
This guy is smart, I would buy one.
And about the hot spots I agree.
Let us not forget about the M machine, too.
californiabonfire 2 years ago 2
" remember that sun is free", so as long as we have sun energy we could use it and storage it
Mihaiodes 2 years ago
the design looks like a (tropical) flower...nature already found out how to get the most sunlight ^^
hausofpeen 2 years ago 2
That's true...
bobbyhuges 2 years ago
exactly what i was thinking!!! right on
jebintommy 2 years ago
They used Evolution, witch kicks ass both in nature and computer simulation.
lifeandwater 2 years ago
it looks like a flower. For example sunflower corolla is following the sun as long as it is visible in the sky.
Mihaiodes 2 years ago
Really cool ! Liked the usage of generic algorythms
Jernespand 3 years ago 2
genetic not generic
bobbyhuges 2 years ago
Ofcourse :) typo
Jernespand 2 years ago
Looks nice but how many would you need to completely get off the grid? Plus there's the need for capacitors to store some energy for nighttime use.
atypicalguy 3 years ago
we can use bamboo to save our world from globle warming,please check it out (bamboothewalk) im walking across america with a big bamboo pole telling people we can save r planet with bamboo n promoting human kindness helping people along the way im calling all millionaires/billionaires to walk a mile with me, im doing the biggest walk ever done to date armand young (bamboothewalk)youtube
BAMBOOTHEWALK 3 years ago
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PLEASE CHECK OUT MY UTUBE CHANNEL,(BAMBOOTHEWALK)UTUBE IM WALKING ACROSS AMERICA HELPING THE HOMELESS for every life lost in 911 2001 and our soldiers lost, lets change some ones life im calling all millionaires/billionaires/all celebs/HUMAN BEINGS to walk a mile with me and in that mile help some one so for every life lost is a life gained ARMAND YOUNG(BAMBOOTHEWALK)UTUBE OR MAN WALKS AGROSS AMERICA GOD BLESS R TROOPS IM CALLING ALL ANGELS
BAMBOOTHEWALK 3 years ago
Where can I get one? Since it's so cheap, maybe I'll get four or five lol...I can only hope he's immune from the greed of corporate America and can deliver on this inovation and truly change the world. Do you sense my skepticism?
ricola1974 3 years ago
14:50: so its not a solar panel, more like a solar "flower"
greybeard87 3 years ago
This dude is my CEO,he is a great guy.
Hollywoodillyrian 3 years ago
OMG i hate when the guy makes that smacking sound, someone get him some water.!!!!!!!
greybeard87 3 years ago
he get passed the 10 minuts limit cus he owns you tube ,ok MURLIN900
asmetuyasiempre 3 years ago
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My name is christian, and i was raped before i died. I use to enjoy pain and now i inflict it upon people. I was tortured and raped until i could no longer breathe. Those bastards now suffer and die, and those who do not repost this to 5 videos will die too.
At the strike of 12AM, those who did not repost this will die a horrible death after seeing a bloody face covered with long black hair. Those who repost this will receive a kiss from their crush
i didnt wanna die, sorry didnt start this
SHADOWOFTHENIGHTMOON 3 years ago
That's sweeeeeeet; I want some.
jonolinc07 3 years ago
how did u get passed the 10 mins limit
murlin900 3 years ago
he has a director's account, anybody can get it.
ojmardueno 3 years ago
i love how people make smart ass comments and joke about this, hate to break it to ya but this is our planet, its the only one we got and if we screw it up, we die.
mws123 3 years ago 7
@mws123 That's true, but whether we screw it up or not... we are still going to die. There is one thing we know for sure about life... we are not going to get out of it alive.
frosty992001 1 year ago
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__┌┐______'┌┐ Copy and paste
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TruPower22 3 years ago
I'd support you if you'd use a less vulgar ASCII art.
someman7 3 years ago
hes smart yet using a mac not the type of people i talk to
ebenheart 3 years ago
I'm glad you guys are thinking about this.
djstory 3 years ago
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(\__/)
(='.'=) copy n paste mr.bunny onto every vid u watch n see him takeover youtube
ricardoccalmeida 3 years ago
Invade Irak
Get oil fields
Profit?
Lets all follow the example of Americans and Invade nearby countries for Energy Resources like the Rednecks do.
HaxorLee 3 years ago
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This sucks cock ! i hope you get banned! ;D 1/5
musyte003 3 years ago
musyte002 - why would TedTalksDirector get banned for putting up an informational video?
Take a look at their collection.
Just because it's on the featured list doesn't mean it's entertainment, and is NOT intended as a place where you can shut off your brain and go "duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
TedTalksDirector has dozens of videos from the best of the best this planet has to offer - this guy is one of them, and public speaking doesn't make you a better person.
I hope YOU get banned, not Ted
tillo2008 3 years ago
PerfectPerfect
eidysion 3 years ago
Ultimately every energy source you grab is made by a star. May as well cut out the middle man and figure out how to grab the energy as efficiently as possible.
Kreadus005 3 years ago 2
1:09 - 1:11...
...that is all
joshm135 3 years ago
Ehm,. he talks so fast he cant even breath :D
UnknownTerritoryBand 3 years ago
Suntaxes!
phrek75 3 years ago 2
only a matter of time
Medispawn 3 years ago
wow
dukunberanak3 3 years ago
I have to say that thing is a piece of shit. No fucking way that that is the cheapest way to get energy from the sun with current technology.
The entire area of the solar collectors is barley anything.
12354blahbla 3 years ago
shut up, these are idea's that could work, also these people are VERY smart, that's why brilliant minds were only invited to T.E.D. which is why you were not invited. your comments also prove my point.
nxmoparmatt84 3 years ago 2
Just because the guy might have a "brilliant mind" doesn't mean it's a good idea he's selling. And just "might" at that; saying that Person A goes to TED so Person A's IQ is X is retarded. They have artists on here too, and most of them are none-too-bright.
The truth about solar power: it fucking blows. It COULD be fantastic in the future, and we know that looking at plants. BUT, why not just take advantage of what nature improved on millions of years of evolution instead? Bio-fuels, not solar.
Truthiness231 3 years ago
Because it`s no enough. If you plan corn on all the fields in all the world...it`s not enough. That`s part of the reason. Bio fuel thing isn't really a mature technology no matter how much of it we use. Better eat the corn and think of something else. Also modern solar cells are better than Photosynthesis in terms of energy gathering to surface by 2 or 3 times.
Today we use about 0.1 of the amount of energy captured by photosynthesis. So if we used all of it ,it wouldn't be enough
Blackthorn2323 3 years ago
You've used a statistical flaw, which does make that look right, but it isn't ^.^
Say there is 1kwh per percentage point of power in photosynthesis, and .1kwh per percentage point of power in the same square area of a solar cell (it's actually further than this, but for argument I'm keeping it simple). You'd end up with 100 kwh per space with the cell and 20-30 kwh per that same space with the solar cells (at 2 to 3 times, which is also wrong but hell we'll say you're right). Note the numbers.
Truthiness231 3 years ago
EDIT, there was a typo in that third sentence. "You'd end up with 100 kwh per space with the *photosynthesis* and..."
Truthiness231 3 years ago
Oh and btw, they are trying their best to copy the photosynthesis process plants perform in our solar cells. Google "Dye solar cells"; there is a good chance that we'll make good use of solar power before the end of this century.
Truthiness231 3 years ago
"Oh and btw, they are trying their best to copy the photosynthesis process plants perform in our solar cells."
That would be a pretty stupid thing to do, seeing as how photosynthesis is only 5% efficient whereas our best solar cells are well above 30% now.
The only reason to "copy photosynthesis" might be if it gives us a way to make much cheaper cells. We're certainly not going to do it if the goal is to improve efficiency.
c6gunner 3 years ago
> I have to say that thing is a piece of shit. No fucking way that that is the cheapest way to get energy from the sun with current technology.
Who said anything about current technology? The talk is from 2003.
sy1234 3 years ago
I concur. The best approach we have without some miracle breakthrough in solar cell tech is to use the natural sun-to-usable-power converters: plants. The amount of power stored in complex sugars alone is phenomenal, and plants already do it without having to change a thing. That is to say, we already have the technology to get power from the sun in great quantities. Now. Right now. WHY DOES THIS GUY STILL HAVE A BONER FOR SOLAR CELLS (besides the idea being "cool" when he was a kid)?
Truthiness231 3 years ago
DERP
PiercedAnonymous 3 years ago
Genetic Algorithms as a problem solving tool at 4:25
Brilliant!
Slacktive 3 years ago
thats not brilliant, thats obvious. Thats the entire purpose dumbass.
12354blahbla 3 years ago
the device looks big and there are alot of spaces in between the peddle and the motor(or thing in the middle) wonder if they can minimize the spaces not used ....just wonderin ^^
jakylili 3 years ago
They'll probably find out that all along it's been cheaper and easier to let plants capture energy efficiently, and multiply and repair themselves, etc., and all we have to do is harvest them.
newguy33X 3 years ago
Yeah I have to concur that plants are already incredibly well adapted to producing energy from sunlight. Corn is a great example (anyone who's ever been around Everclear knows that alcohol is like jet fuel), though oil companies have been buying rights to the gases made from it since people first learned how to do it.
Truthiness231 3 years ago
I love this type of research, but my biggest beef with this design is that it moves. I would love to focus on that first static design, but I think that anyone who has ever owned a car knows that it's not always a matter of innitial cost plus fuels, it's all about maintenance and upkeep... Even if parts are cheap, labour isn't.
dennisfauchez 3 years ago
Storm damage would be the only real issue, as small servos and light weight parts like that would last well over a lifetime without outside interference. Wind would be enough to screw it up though. I know a large portion of that part of the US he showed which could be used is so windy these things just wouldn't work. Then again maybe he can find a way to make them tough enough to survive, time will tell for sure ^.^
Truthiness231 3 years ago
Wouldnt work in a great portion of the US, it'd be covered in snow for 25% of the year.
millgiass 3 years ago
a very good speech, one issue i have is the usage of these panels in the winter time. Not only is there less sunlight during winter hours, but the snow itself would completely block them from receiving sunlight and the snow itself may break the panels due to weight.
LegendSlayer79 3 years ago
I was thinking the same thing, I wonder what the efficiency would be like in a green house setting...
dennisfauchez 3 years ago
Additionally i think if he could encase those with glass, with angles that are opposite to those found in diamonds his energy input would be considerably increased. Due to that the angles at which diamonds are cut at are purposely done to increase the amount of of light refracted to the outside of the diamond. If a glass model was made in reverse it may be possible to increase the focus of the rays of light to a single point.
LegendSlayer79 3 years ago
The guy at the end shows off primitive and inefficient piece of expensive crap... Check out ABC Catalyst 2007-03-08 Sliver Cells - solar photovoltaic. Don't let them persuade you to pay for that old crap when you can pay LESS for BETTER crap - SLIVER CELLS solar panels ;-)
grraadd 3 years ago
Pretty funny with the TED talk putting down photo-voltaic cells (rightly so) and then the ad from GE.
SobaniForce 3 years ago 3
"designing better tools by using natural selection in a computer". this is great it if works!!! I've had this exact same idea when I was 18, but at the time I thought it wasn't really posible or useful ,but that it was a nice concept. but now yeah I heard since a while that we do that. it's awesome, I'm so happy I had this idea by myself.
Animalll2003lll 3 years ago
What happens when the panels get dirty?
sxpacks 3 years ago
you clean them.
lilwestkid 3 years ago
I meant to say, what happens when they get scratched...but if they only cost a buck, I guess you can just replace them
sxpacks 3 years ago
This was a great talk. Gross is a fantastic guy and best of luck to him... too bad his petal invention looks like crap in those 3D renders. He needs to hire a graphic designer.
Hostile 3 years ago
What were the energy specs? I didn't catch that.
UlyssesBreckenridge 3 years ago
Wow and Phew thanks goodness for smart people, just wish there were more...:-)
Calumson 3 years ago
That was such a good video! haha! Good job! I like the music in the background too. What was the song you used?
Chick6517 3 years ago
I didnt really like the look of that on the house, solar panels are far less intrusive. Having them as cheap solar farms? yes. Would I ever have one on my home? probably not.
Solar energy is great for the sun rich countries and I fully support it but Id really like to see more time and thought go in to harnessing energy from the jet streams as well. Air born turbines and kites on winches (yes I watch that James May programme :P) seem like brilliant ideas to me.
punkslashhippy 3 years ago
Kites on winches? What James May programme, dude?
Hostile 3 years ago
James May's Big Ideas. not many episodes in the series but they're an interesting watch.
and with the wonders of the intenet: /watch?v=rWvKvFlZIgQ
its the kites on winches (or laddermill) i was talking about.
punkslashhippy 3 years ago
I hope he gets production at a competitive cost.
Having home power at a 5 year payback would be huge.
Bonus, the units look great, sort of like having flowers on your roof.
PlayT0E 3 years ago
this guy seriously needs some lubricant for his throat.
fireflyuphigh 3 years ago
Cool its a work in progress and he said it real quick, but it may be indeed already a very interesting unit to be used in 3rd world country's, even if its only for heating water/cooking.
Singul4r1ty 3 years ago
Drink some water jeez
dothack200 3 years ago
Thanks for this great presentation
CorvetteTeaser 3 years ago
I love the idea of utilizing sun energy without silicon, it also looks great
I hope they can make these from secondhand plastic or some other pollutant shit and flood the markets with it. That would be great.
semiliteratedgod 3 years ago 4
I didn't like that talk. Manly because he didn't mention any drawbacks of his invention compered to other technologies such as solar panels. Clearly there is no such thing that is better than an other thing in all aspect.
This kind of attitude always seems fishy to me.
And he talks way too fast.
csikjarudi 3 years ago
agreed. at least he showed a product. but he didn't estimate a price or an energy output.
1schwererziehbar1 3 years ago
He's a CEO and a scientist. It's unrealistic to expect the head of a company to divulge that sort of information to the public.
RoGhrianadh 3 years ago
Why does he need a separate microprocessor to control each petal? They don't need to react quickly, so time sharing between them on one microprocessor should do? Also, the device could learn the pattern of sun movement and predict how to adjust the petals each time without searching blindly. I'm sure there could be loads of improvements don on this thing.
LikeAPossum 3 years ago 4
He obviously isn't such a great engineer as he think of himself.
lordmetroid 3 years ago
He doesn't, but at $1 each it's worth the redundancy. If one microprocessor goes out you don't loose your whole system. Also, if it only takes a few seconds to tune into the sun what's the point of memorizing the sun movement (which changes throughout the year).
He admitted himself, they've got a ton of improvement to do.
davea0511 3 years ago
davea is right. This guy wants the most cost-effective solution, $1 possessors are cheap.
chilenozo 3 years ago
Africa could be the middle east of solar energy.
garvess 3 years ago 5
>Africa could be the middle east of solar energy.
Yeah right. Like they're going to block out the sun on the rest of the world with giant robots in space. You've been watching the Simpsons too much.
davea0511 3 years ago
I meant that Africa has a lot of sun and the middle east has a lot of oil. Didn't say anything about their good will.
garvess 3 years ago
I was rather drooling over australia. you have to admit how pretty it'd be to see those big solar collector lotus things out in the middle of the australian desert with kangaroos hopping about them.
ratholin 3 years ago
Hehehe ... good point. Dang me dang me ... get me a rope and hang me from the highest tree. Shame on me for immediately assuming any reference to the middle east is about holding the world hostage.
If the shoe fits though ...
That said,
davea0511 2 years ago
... continued ...
That said, what makes the middle east unique is that it has been able to export it's oil to the world. I don't think Africa could ever export it's solar energy any further than Europe.
And in truth that's what my original comment was about ... not about the middle east holding the world hostage (what garevss referred to when he accused me of bringing middle east's good-will into the picture).
davea0511 2 years ago
Solar energy is a redundant source of energy when you understand we all ready have free energy from the inventions of telsla and other modern inventors.
But of course the powers that be don't want us to know about this as it would make us independent negating their power.
Namaste1001 3 years ago
If you know about free sources of energy discovered by Tesla then bring them on. Otherwise you can die rather than post BS.
LikeAPossum 3 years ago
What are you talking about?
themightyboooooooooo 3 years ago
"we all ready have free energy from the inventions of telsla and other modern inventors"
lol, it's just nobody knows about it except yourself, I guess
pinochet222 3 years ago 2
I you want to power a radio, you can do it through the electromagnetic waves themselves and a grand coil for an antenna.
lordmetroid 3 years ago
there are documentaries on youtube about Tesla & his free energy concepts using the earth's ionosphere as a resonance chamber... it's actually quite fascinating how much he comprehended. we're still catching up with him, he came far before his time...
abyssquick 3 years ago
There's no free energy dude. Energy 'generation' is actually a conversion process.
bluebeard2 3 years ago
Yes; but that is not what was meant.
"Free" as in free of charge. As in, accessible by anyone, anywhere on the planet using simple means. The earth is a powerful battery of sorts, and Tesla spent a great deal of his life tapping into it, learning how to harness it.
It was supposed to be his 'gift to mankind' before economical forces nipped his inventions in the bud.
abyssquick 3 years ago 2
i'm sorry these tiny youtube windows don't allow for more detailed comments. it forces people to be succinct and passive about detail.
so, just bear that in mind.
abyssquick 3 years ago
Oh, I see.
Well, there's no real such thing as 'free energy'. You'd still have to buy the machine. And only pricing for fuel costs (and therefore concluding it's free energy) ignores the all important capital cost.
That's why so many renewable energy sources are struggling. Not because of their low fuel cost, but their high capital cost. And you can't ignore capital costs; it's absolutely vital to include it.
bluebeard2 3 years ago
yes, nothing is literally 'free,' we use the word loosely. Tesla's design for the recipient of "free" electricity was simple; low cost. accessible. just a simple antenna which was possible to manufacture in the early 1900's.
he lost his funding due the business attitude of his investor, J.P. Morgan, saw no potential for major long-term profit in the system Tesla was constructing. the system can give cheap, abundant, energy worldwide.
abyssquick 3 years ago
Tesla did some pretty neat things, but he also tried to make some batshit-insane things, and he went a bit crazy near the end there. The earth-as-a-battery junk is an example of the latter.
c6gunner 3 years ago
he used it successfully. nasa is employing his related ionosphere research at that new antenna farm station in alaska.
whatever he said about it may have seemed abstract, but his relevant devices are now becoming well understood.
abyssquick 3 years ago
Ummm.....no. The HAARP facility in Alaska is researching various ionospheric phenomena, but it has nothing to do with what Tesla was doing, nor is it related to the free-energy crap that various other lunatics keep pushing.
Frankly, I don't know why people like you cant just admire the man for the things he got right, instead of making up conspiracy theories and perpetual-motion schemes to try and make him seem greater.
c6gunner 3 years ago
i don't believe any of that stuff. it's just that in all these books written about him, and in documentaries also, this ionosphere research seems not too far fetched.
no need to get judgmental. nobody has perfect information. it is hard these days to get it, even if one is well-read. there is always someone disputing in such a matter-of-fact way.
now i'm not going to insist my point of view-- it's comes from what i've read in books and seen in documentaries. i'm only telling about it.
abyssquick 3 years ago
From what I remember reading on Tesla: His main problems with his free energy concepts were that the devices he needed to collect the energy always had to be tremendous in relation to power ratios. Scientists have tried many, many times to scale his concepts down, sadly to no avail.
RoGhrianadh 3 years ago
offhand, which book / resource might I read more about this? i would like to better understand these ratios.
i am very appreciative for this; as all inquisitive minds are in a state of learning. thanks for being direct!
abyssquick 3 years ago
I think I may have misunderstood what you were referring to as energy recievers. Unable to remember book titles or articles, I did a quick internet search and soon found a myriad of pseudo scientific sites dedicated to free energy. What I was mixing up in my head were his attempts with radio waves, where his towers were enormous due to his global vision.
RoGhrianadh 3 years ago
Some big power company will buy out any patents he has and the technology and lock it up in some basement file. Just like every other efficent solar energy invention.
Looks like GE will prob. be the ones that buy it out and it will never see the light of day. (pun intended)
justis101 3 years ago
solar flowers, if there's any way to colour them up a bit, i reckon tonnes of chums in the burbs would get one. they'd look heaps better than the ugly black squares
kahnicles 3 years ago 3
My concern is about durability. If the panels are made of plastic, they wouldn't last long, would they?
digitalmorphine 3 years ago
UNless you live in an area where sandstorm rule or where hailstorm regularly pass, you're not going to have a problem.
Slug99 3 years ago 2
Why would you put something that ugly on your house?
theiamania 3 years ago
So you think having a good looking house is more important than saving energy, money and moving away from using fossil fuels.
Also it's totally possible to scale this up several times so you run a whole block on three or four large generators. Making these and using one for each house is simply stupid, it would be like having a water tower, coal powerplant or something like that for each house.
Slug99 3 years ago
So you think that as long as people can save energy, then they don't care how there house looks? Or there car, or there refrigerator, or there lamps, and so on.
theiamania 3 years ago
The fact that it's a solar powered generator will mean people will buy it without even thinking about the the looks of it, unless they are retarded that is.
Just take the Prius as an example. It's just a normal household car, it doesn't look very cool or stylish. Hopwever because it's engine is "green" people think it's the most awesome car in the world.
Slug99 3 years ago
Taking your age and your nationality into account, you should know better. The prius is a perfect example of why design is everything on the mas marked. Its the only hybrid on the marked that looks like a hybrid. And that is exactly the reason why it is cool and stylish compared to other hybrids. Why else do you think it is so popular in Hollywood? - because they want to save energy?
And in a scaled version, there are a lot better systems on the marked already.
theiamania 3 years ago
Put in this way. There will always be people who wants to have different stuff from others, people that also look on the ''beautiful side of things". Well, if this guy is smart (and he is), he would make a better looked version for a higher price. Everyone gets happy.
chilenozo 3 years ago
Wow, he talks soooo fast!
thedailyenglishshow 3 years ago 2
This way a very well prepared, organized, and fascinating lecture. This lecture had a lot of useful information and was easy to keep up even though there was a large amount.
I have two concerns. First, how much does the final device cost? I need to know both finished product, and dollar per watt ratio. Second, how much power does the final product produce. I'm assuming between one and three kilowatts since he mentioned it would not remove the energy grid entirely.
srx08 3 years ago 2
He's not done yet with the research. I missed a discussions about the cons, but since he's not an altruistic scientist but a entrepreneur first, he won't mention the cons (that's why he didn't mentioned that solar panel can be improved too).
Sounds cool thou, but being a scientist (math), I have to wonder that the majority of high tech applications these days require little or no personnel (which makes thing cheap). Technology is replacing humans day by day.
chilenozo 3 years ago
geothermal?
XxXStarLoveXxX 3 years ago
geothermal power uses lava to boil water and run a turbine
deltheatheist 3 years ago 2
Not always. You can also use geothermal as a sort of heat-sink. This method doesn't produce power, and is quite different from the deep-drill turbine systems, but using it for heating and cooling applications is extremely beneficial.
RoGhrianadh 3 years ago
Ahhh yes, nothing says high school quite like the impromptu fashioning of a bong for an after-school smoke; BONG is the LAST WORD I would've expected to hear at a TED conference (lol).
sisyphusorianus9787 3 years ago
nice work ... very impressive all he needs now is a system to store the electrical energy for nighttime use
ffunit 3 years ago
somebody send this to Obama...
GabrielGZNH 3 years ago 4
The usefulness of genetic algorithms (using lot of simulations to get desired outputs), is analogous to the ideal of localized government versus a highly federalized one. The best way to determine what sort of living style creates the most prosperity is to have multiple govt simulations, more state and local power. Thus, both major parties are obstacles in our path to a more ideal way of life simply by preserving a large, intrusive federal govt.
hughtub 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
It's also analogous to HITLER!
Mattjf 2 years ago
Good lord.. speed talker. Then again, there was a ton of information to squeeze into a relatively short period of time so... it's totally understandable.
I've never heard of 'genetic algorithms'. That's quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard of! xD
Namari12 3 years ago
I've heard of genetic algorithms. But, i haven't coded anything with them yet. In fact, I;ve not thought up anything worthwhile to apply them too. :( sad huh.
BinaryReader 3 years ago
I'm in the blue zone... :(
stevenaudet 3 years ago
The video froze up halfway through the presentation and I was in a panic to start it again! Finally, a practical application for solar energy from a guy who has actually thought the problem through, not a hippie with wishful thinking.
6stringbadger 3 years ago
Whoever said evolution never contributed to society.
proatheism 3 years ago 4
Genetic algorithms... basically its the invention that invents lol
leanonme1 3 years ago 5
Dude is fucken smart... sheit son!
ChowZeb 3 years ago
Wow. I had to pause this just to breathe. Wow.
sockpuppetsfromhell 3 years ago
Very nice presentation. Can't wait for him to accomplish his goal of getting a payback of less than 5 years.
Wesdabest 3 years ago 2
me too
UtubeUser786786 3 years ago
I love smart people
Mackaframmalamma 3 years ago 2
It resembles a flower.
It appears that the genius in the design of nature strikes again.
CirqueDuCloud 3 years ago 3
hmm 6 or 7 hours a day is good but what about the other 18 hours??
happosai21 3 years ago
most people sleep for at least 6 of those 18h hours, consuming very little electricity.
as for the rest... it doesn't matter. There's already a well-spread elec