solar

Google+ finally allows nicknames, Priceline is killing Shatner, and a solar radiation storm crashes communication systems.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

The Earth is being bombarded with the strongest blast of radiation from the sun since 2003, an event that could cause isolated disruptions to communications and air travel.

The National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center on Tuesday morning published a map showing the solar radiation storm touching the upper atmosphere in the Earth's poles.

"The red that can be seen at the poles is where the energetic particles enter and where airliners and spacecraft, should try to avoid," according to the agency which is based in Boulder, Colorado.

On Sunday night, a solar flare caused … Read more

People who wouldn't normally see auroras are being treated to stunning sights today thanks to the largest solar radiation storm since 2005.

The storm is creating colorful auroras throughout the North and South Poles that stretched to countries that don't normally see the lights, such as England. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has maps on its Web site of the likelihood of seeing a nearby aurora.

This video by Helge Mortensen shows the aurora borealis at Tromvik Norway:

This video by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a long duration flare erupting on the Sun and sending … Read more

A fastball of high-energy matter from the Sun is blasting toward the Earth and is expected to cause the largest solar radiation storm since 2005.

Late last night, a solar flare caused a coronal mass ejection, or the release of a burst of charged particles, from the sun's atmosphere, and it's heading toward the Earth at 1,400 miles per second, according to NASA.

The concern is that a magnetic storm from the solar flare could affect GPS systems and some communications systems, especially in higher altitudes in the north. NASA estimates that the storm could reach the … Read more

BASF and Philips are giving new meaning to the term sun roof.

The two companies joined forces to come up with a prototype for a transparent car roof that incorporates OLED lights and solar cells.

"This combination allows the driver to enjoy a unique open-space feeling while it generates electricity during the day and pleasantly suffuses the interior with the warm light of the transparent, highly efficient OLEDs at night," said Felix Gorth, head of organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics at BASF Future Business GmbH. … Read more

A solar farm in California will be the largest to use an emerging type of thin-film solar technology, another competitive force bringing down the price of solar.

Japan-based Solar Frontier will supply solar panels built with solar cells that use a combination of copper, indium, and selenide. The project, which will produce 150 megawatts at peak times, will be in Kearn County, California and is expected to be completed next June.

Project developer Enxco and Solar Frontier said the thin-film technology has a favorable year-round energy production, not only during its peak output. The technology is "compelling to major … Read more

Pushing to stay one step ahead of rivals, First Solar today set a new mark for the efficiency of its solar panels.

The company said that it achieved 14.4 percent efficiency in converting sunlight to electric power for a panel in its research labs. At the individual solar-cell level, the efficiency is 17.3 percent. (Solar cells are assembled and linked together in a solar panel).

For solar-panel manufacturers, efficiency and production costs are the two primary levers to differentiate products. With the ramp-up of well-financed Chinese manufacturers, the price of solar panels has plummeted over the past three … Read more

LAS VEGAS--No matter how much you prepare for a trade show like CES, what you see on the floor never quite matches what news you get beforehand.

In the case of Samsung, we had a chance to look at the new Samsung Series 9 and Series 5 Ultra ultrabook, but were surprised by quite a few intriguing laptops at Samsung's booth, which we should expect to see later this year.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Last year we reviewed the Eton Soulra XL, a solar-charging iPod/iPhone speaker system that retails for $249.99. Now Eton has introduced a more affordable solar-charging speaker--the Rukus Solar--that's portable and offers Bluetooth wireless streaming for $149.99.

The Rukus also comes in a version without a solar-charging option for $50 less ($99.99).

Eton says that using the solar panel to charge the internal lithium battery will take about 6 hours (in direct sunlight). You can also charge it with the included AC adapter or via USB.

Both Rukus models are due out around May and … Read more