Electricity Conversion

[Janyce Brits]

PowerConverters can include simpler tools such as transformer or more complex like a resonant converter. The term can also refer to a class of electrical machinery that is used to convert one frequency of alternating current into another. Power conversion systems often incorporate redundancy and voltage regulation.

Power converters are classified based on the type of power conversion they perform. One way of classifying power conversion systems is based on whether the input and output is alternating current or direct current.[1]

The standard power voltage and frequency vary from country to country and sometimes within a country. In North America and northern South America, it is usually 120 volts, 60 hertz (Hz), but in Europe, Asia, Africa, and many other parts of the world, it is usually 230 volts, 50 Hz.[2] Aircraft often use 400 Hz power internally, so 50 Hz or 60 Hz to 400 Hz frequency conversion is needed for use in the ground power unit used to power the airplane while it is on the ground. Conversely, internal 400 Hz internal power may be converted to 50 Hz or 60 Hz for convenience power outlets available to passengers during flight.

The secondary circuit is floating, when you touch the secondary circuit, you merely drag its potential to your body's potential or the earth's potential. There will be no current flowing through your body. That's why you can use your cellphone safely when it is being charged, even if your cellphone has a metal shell and is connected to the secondary circuit.

Operating at high frequency and supplying low power, power converters have much smaller transformers as compared with those of fundamental frequency, high power applications. Usually, in power systems, transformers transmit power simultaneously, no charge!

Flyback converter's transformer works differently, like an inductor. In each cycle, the flyback converter's transformer first gets charged and then releases its energy to the load. Accordingly, the flyback converter's transformer air gap has two functions. It not only determines inductance but also stores energy. For the flyback converter, the transformer gap can have the function of energy transmission through cycles of charging and discharging.

Select data to convert:There are two options for entering data into this calculator: energy data or emissions data. When you enter energy data, the calculator converts these values into carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions based on emission factors for energy consumption or electricity reductions. Then, it provides equivalent ways to express those emissions. When you enter emissions data, the calculator provides equivalent ways to express those emissions.

Carbon Dioxide or CO2 Equivalent* Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. CO2 is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the Earth's carbon cycle. The main human activity that emits CO2 is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) for energy and transportation, although certain industrial processes and land-use changes also emit CO2. Link

Carbon Greenhouse gas emissions may be expressed in terms of a quantity of the gas itself (e.g., 1 ton of methane), an equivalent quantity of carbon dioxide (e.g., 28 tons of CO2 equivalent), or in terms of carbon (e.g., 7.63 tons of carbon). Carbon is often used as the unit of measurement when tracing emissions through the carbon cycle. To convert a quantity of carbon to the equivalent quantity of carbon dioxide, multiply by 3.67.

CH4 - Methane Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil, or from the decomposition of organic waste in municipal landfills and the raising of livestock. Methane is also emitted by natural sources such as wetlands. Pound for pound, the impact of CH4 is 28 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period. Link

Perfluorocarbon gases Fluorinated gases come from human-related activities. They are emitted through their use as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (e.g., as refrigerants) and through industrial processes such as aluminum and semiconductor manufacturing. In general, fluorinated gases are the most potent and longest lasting type of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities. LinkCF4C2F6C4F10C6F14

SF6 - Sulfur Hexafluoride Fluorinated gases come from human-related activities. They are emitted through their use as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (e.g., as refrigerants) and through industrial processes such as aluminum and semiconductor manufacturing. In general, fluorinated gases are the most potent and longest lasting type of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities. Link

*If your estimated emissions of methane, nitrous oxide, or other non-CO2 gases are already expressed in CO2 equivalent or carbon equivalent, please enter your figures in the row for CO2 or carbon equivalent.

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We report successful spin injection into the surface states of topological insulators by using a spin pumping technique. By measuring the voltage that shows up across the samples as a result of spin pumping, we demonstrate that a spin-electricity conversion effect takes place in the surface states of bulk-insulating topological insulators Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3 and Sn-doped Bi2Te2Se. In this process, the injected spins are converted into a charge current along the Hall direction due to the spin-momentum locking on the surface state.

The following calculators are provided to help you determine the size of generator required for your specific application. Other calculators on this page are for unit conversions and other power related calculations.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have fabricated a novel device that could dramatically boost the conversion of heat into electricity. If perfected, the technology could help recoup some of the recoverable heat energy that is wasted in the U.S. at a rate of about $100 billion each year.

Once the fabrication method is perfected, the silicon sheets could be wrapped around steam or exhaust pipes to convert heat emissions into electricity that could power nearby devices or be delivered to a power grid. Another potential application would be cooling computer chips.

The NIST-University of Colorado study is based on a curious phenomenon first discovered by German physicist Thomas Seebeck. In the early 1820s, Seebeck was studying two metal wires, each made of a different material, that were joined at both ends to form a loop. He observed that when the two junctions connecting the wires were kept at different temperatures, a nearby compass needle deflected. Other scientists soon realized that the deflection occurred because the temperature difference induced a voltage between the two regions, causing current to flow from the hotter region to the colder one. The current created a magnetic field that deflected the compass needle.

The interaction between the phonons traveling in the silicon sheet and the vibrations in the nanopillars slow the traveling phonons, making it harder for heat to pass through the material. This reduces the thermal conductivity, thus increasing the temperature difference from one end to the other. Just as importantly, the phonon interaction accomplishes this feat while leaving the electrical conductivity of the silicon sheet unchanged.

The team is now working on structures fabricated entirely of silicon and with a better geometry for thermoelectric heat recovery. The researchers expect to demonstrate a heat-to-electricity conversion rate high enough to make their technique economically viable for industry.

The amount of sunlight that strikes the earth's surface in an hour and a half is enough to handle the entire world's energy consumption for a full year. Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy either through photovoltaic (PV) panels or through mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. This energy can be used to generate electricity or be stored in batteries or thermal storage.

Below, you can find resources and information on the basics of solar radiation, photovoltaic and concentrating solar-thermal power technologies, electrical grid systems integration, and the non-hardware aspects (soft costs) of solar energy. You can also learn more about how to go solar and the solar energy industry. In addition, you can dive deeper into solar energy and learn about how the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office is driving innovative research and development in these areas.

You're likely most familiar with PV, which is utilized in solar panels. When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel. This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the cell, causing electricity to flow.

Concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat, which can then be used to produce electricity or stored for later use. It is used primarily in very large power plants.

A number of non-hardware costs, known as soft costs, also impact the cost of solar energy. These costs include permitting, financing, and installing solar, as well as the expenses solar companies incur to acquire new customers, pay suppliers, and cover their bottom line. For rooftop solar energy systems, soft costs represent the largest share of total costs.

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