Somehow, it seems appropriate to begin blogging in the new year with a note on energy. The Web abounds with "cure for cancer" articles, this one in the Guardian Unlimited claiming that Nanosolar's cheap printed PV cells will revolutionize power generation. The problem is that power generation has never been the problem. It's power storage that's the issue. The consumption of electricity is far from linear, and it's not very portable. It comes down to the venerable battery, and despite the claims of Duracell, Energizer, etc. hasn't changed all that much since Alessandro Volta invented it. Give us the next Thomas Edison, Edwin Howard Armstrong, John Bardeen or etc. and an increase in battery storage capacity and durability of an order of magnitude, and then -and only then- will you have what has become a contemporary cliché, "this changes everything."
Is this possible? Given my understanding of basic physics -which is pretty basic- I'd have to say, along with the Magic 8-Ball, "Don't count on it."
Oh, Happy New Year!
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