2 天之前· Compared to the new definition of solar droughts, there are fewer (only four) solar drought events if following the conventional definition only considering solar power generation (red shadings in Figure S1c in Supporting Information
The technology used in solar power has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. One particularly exciting development is bifacial solar panels – we''ll soon be using this technology in our hybrid energy parks. To
The Doomsday Clock that has been ticking for 77 years is no ordinary clock — it attempts to gauge how close humanity is to destroying the world. On Tuesday, the clock was again set at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest to the hour it has ever been, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which created the clock in 1947.
Some years the time changes, and some years it doesn’t. The Doomsday Clock is set every year by the experts on the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which currently includes nine Nobel laureates. Related article Single-use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet.
Phenomena like large solar flares and CMEs are most common during periods of “solar maximum” that occur approximately every 11 years — next up around 2025. The good news is, researchers estimate that storms of sufficient magnitude to cause real havoc occur only once every hundred or so years. The bad news is, we’re probably overdue.
The most severe “X-class” flares can unleash the same amount of power as 10 billion megatons of TNT, which can disturb our ionosphere and disrupt any process that relies on signals beamed down from space. Here is how solar storms’ power compares to big terrestrial phenomena:
The Bulletin ’s website, iconic Doomsday Clock, and regular events equip the public, policy makers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threats to our existence. The Bulletin focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies, including developments in biotechnology.
As a consequence, the observed increases in extreme power shortage events will likely cause more severe outage accidents and higher socioeconomic costs in developing economies. Therefore, the growth in extreme power shortage events probably enlarges potential unequal burdens in terms of energy security between developed and developing countries.
