Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Solar energ by 1979 By JOHN SHARKEY Gamecock Staff Writer A contract that provides financial support for further research into a process used in solar energy systems has been awarded to USC's College of Engineering. Dr. R. B. Hilborn, program manger for the research project, said the research program will be evaluating the web method of making sheet silicon. Silicon is the most widely used material for converting sunlight to voltage power. "The goal of our particular project is to find out if it would be economically feasible to use this method for making solar cells, as well as to see if it is feasible to use this process to make the quantity needed to produce this power," Hilborn said. The federal government, through the Energy Research and Development Agency (ERDA), awarded the prime contract for latge-scale silicon research to Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL), of Pasadena, Calif. JPL has a number of programs within that project. JPL awarded nine con tracts for sheet silicon research. USC was the only university awarded one of the contracts. USC's contract, which givesq the research project $265,000, began Oct. 1. There are other materials more efficient than silicon, but becuase silicon is so abundant most research in the field utilizes silicon, according to Hilborn. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the world and about 25 per cent of the earth's crust is made up of silicon. Hilborn explained that when the sulnlight hits the sheet silicon in a photovoltac cell, voltage will develop across it and that voltage provides the source of electric current. The web process involves melting pure polycrystalline silicon in a furnace. A seed crystal is placed on a rod or FREE WA $2 9.95 Camponent System ACS34W. built-in matrix:", four channel circuit y Full size8BSR chi e RS4740 solid-state receiver provides 7 watts * Sylvania speake total continuous power (RMS) 5%" extended e 40 watts EJA peak music power * All cab,. ets of e Front oanel headphone jack on wood comp WE[ SERVICE WHAT WrE - 5olar heating and air con< "button" and the silicon solidifies on the button to form a strip. The process gets its name from the way the silicon fills in between two strips of dendrite as it is pulled from the furnace. Dr. John W. Faust Jr. program investigator for the project, is a co-inventor of the web process. Faust and Hilborn built up the laboratories in the College of Engineering so that they are now one of the most complete laboratories in the country for crystal growth. The facilities, which will be used, in the future for contracted research, helped the college secure the contract, according to Faust. The web furnace of the college has played a greater role in securing the contract, Faust said. The funace is designed for growing web material. Dow Corning had licensed the patent for the process from Westinghouse. After Faust had been at USC for about a year Dow'stqpped their research and production of the process. They had to get rid of the furnaceso they contacted Faust and gave the furnace and about $20,000 worth of silicon to USC, largely because of Faust's expertise in the field. Westinghouse, who was making solar cells for NASA, stopped their production of the cells made from silicon in 1968. The cells have been used in virtually all satellite and manned rockets to supply electric power to the crafts. Westinghouse was not selling enough of the cells and the business became a very low-profit venture. Westinghouse destroyed all of their funaces and so the f!-naceUSC has is the only one of its kind in the world, according to Faust. Both Faust and Hilborn are optimistic about their research. "We would like a significant factor in solar energy research," Fautst said. Hilborn said, "I think of the methods I know for producing sheet silcon, this one will prove to be the most feasible." The project must be com pleted and a final report sent to JPL in 18 months. Hilborn LL POSTERS WHILE $499. 91 }4 matrix four channel circuitry HF).-4.0 microvolts anger with ceramic cartridge, and cue-pause control r system features two ange air suspension speakers ittractive Walnut-gralned vinyl Dsition er 7,000 Ft. Factory Direct Warehouse CAYCE TV a APPLIANCE 906 Knox Abbott Drive yce7S Phone 796..3700 litioning will be practical said if the results of the repserch-ao postivie, "We may be eligible for additional contracts." Fanst said the College of Engineering would like to ex pand their research in the field of solar energy. He said that they would like to train people in the fi*l.d of solar energy and turn out graduates with the required training in the web process. Another professor at the College of Engineering is doing significant work in the area of solar energy research. Dr. Laurence N. Connor Jr. is trying to promote solar energy usage among home owners and builders. The basic system he is using for instruction at the college consists of a collector, made of copper or aluminum, tubes that circulate air or water through the building and a storage tank. The collector surface absorbs the heat from the sun and then heats water or air circulates it through the home in tubes. Connor said the system is not very economical now because industries have not mass produced the components and the installation cost is very high. But Connor said in the long run it is a very inexpensive system and by 1985 it will be very competitive cost-.wise with other systems now in use. Connor said that ERDA is coordinating a project designed to demonstrate that by 1977 solar heating in residential and commercial building s will be practical, and by 1979 a solar cooling system will also be practical. ERDA will provide the difference in cost between the normal system and solaw system to 200 commercial and 1,000 residential buildings who will use the systems in the program. According to Connor researchers in the area are trying to standardize the components of the system and provide a means for evaluating the system. Connor has spoken to some organizations to promote usage of the sytem. He will be conducting a short course on the subject for building and heating contracting in November. .THEY LAST! lpimeee"$I MODEL CQ3739 )YLVANIA FOUR-CHANNEL COMPACT UDIOSYSTEM ;olid-state receiver provides 4 watts min. RMS >ower per channel at 8 ohms from 40Hz to 20kHz with no more than 1% total harmonic Jistortion. ,Built-in 8-track four-channel tape player. 3uilt-in Garrard 6300 automatic turntable with Pickering /15 magnetic cartridge, cue-pause control and anti-skate :ontrol. Push-button switches for discrete four-channel, Q0 matri x, SQ blend, stereo or mono. Combined AM/FM tuning meter wjth Center Tune for FM and Signal Strength [otAM. Provision for connecting new CD-4 four-channel disc demodulator. Four sealed air suspension speakers, each with 6" bass woofer and 2%/" high frequency tweeter. Jack system for four-channel tape play and record. Cabinets of Walnut grain vinyl on wood composition. Show room CREDIT TERMS ___ OPEN - FRI. KITE TIL9PM