Author: Jaymi Heimbuch
Date: 5-4-11
Link: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/futuristic-laptop-concept-features-solar-panel-cover-charger.php?campaign=th_rss_science
Summary: Developed by Laura Karnath and Carl Burdick, the Lifebook Leaf is a great idea that may solve many issues with the environment's energy problem. It is an overall nice design. The flexible screen can be folded into a flat surface (almost like an iPad) or like a laptop. There is a rubber interior to prevent screen-scratching. There is also an exterior shell so the device can become waterproof. There are even three cameras for the use of 3D photography and depth sensing is possible. That is for the use of gestures to operate the system or you can use the touch screen. On top of all of that, the exterior is a giant solar panel so it can be charged without the use of electronic plug-ins.
Opinion: This is a great thing to have been made. Personally, last year my sister left home. She left her Mac computer behind and let me use it. The battery drained out a lot and I felt like it always had to be charged. If the computer was solar powered, I could have had light hitting it during the day and I would not have wasted so much energy. These new computer could save time, money and energy. I believe if everybody used one of these, we could waste tons less fuels to get electricity to charge the batteries. Hopefully the new technology is open and affordable to enough people.
Graphic: Well, the graphic I had in mind is on the article itself. So here’s the link again...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/futuristic-laptop-concept-features-solar-panel-cover-charger.php?campaign=th_rss_science
Questions:
1) Would you use this?
2) Do you think it might look dorky or cool?
3) How often do you usually charge you laptop now (or other electronic device) and would it be beneficial to not have a low battery?
4) Do you think you would leave your laptop outside to charge while you are doing something else inside, or would that be too much of a risk?
5) On a comparison scale, how much electronic energy could schools across the world if they all switched to solar powered devises?
I think that this would be a great thing for our world, but then again it is not predictable. Relying on the sun to power our laptops would not be the greatest of ideas as we cannot tell whether it will be rainy or cloudy on certain days. However, if it is a sunny day then we could easily charge our laptops and use them without using batteries. This would be very helpful, but in the case of bad weather we would not be able to use our laptops if the battery was dead. The way that this ties into my life is that I have my own laptop powered by battery and if it were replaced by a solar laptop I am not so sure I would be able to use it every day like I do. All in all, this is a great idea and I think that this could be a possibility in the future, but there is still some holes in the idea.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: http://www.ctsolar.com/laptopsolarpowerinformation.aspx This is a good link that shows how solar power is used to power laptops and electronics and other helpful answers to common questions.
Questions Answers:
(Answer to #1): I suppose I would try this out and see how well it works and whether or not it would be beneficial or not.
(Answer to #2): I think it would look dorky because you would be like hey guys guess what I just got a solar powered laptop. They would most likely laugh and say wow that is cool sarcastically because it is rare to see solar powered laptops.
3 Questions:
1. How do you power a laptop with solar energy?
2. Do you have to be outside to charge your laptop?
3. What do you do if it is a rainy or cloudy day and you battery is dead?
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteCharles always has pretty interesting articles. This is really cool. Like he said, batteries on computers and such always run out really fast and it's kind of annoying. I keep having to charge it and I feel bad because I'm wasting so much energy. Take the laptops we use in class for example. Some days we use them for most of the class, about an hour or so. By the time I'm done using them, they are almost dead. With the Lifebook Leaf, this will be a lot better. I think it's very interesting how a single laptop runs on solar power. I do see a downside to it though. For some people, you may have to use your laptop all day. You could be using it all during the day while it's charging and then by the time it is nighttime, it will probably be dead. Other than that, it seems a lot more environmentally efficient. But also like Charles said, it is probably too expensive for people to have a lot of.
Answers to Questions:
1. Yes, I would, but only if I could afford it.
2. It does look a little dorky, haha, but hey, I'm a dork, so it fits.
4. I live in a pretty safe neighborhood, so I could probably leave it outside, but what if I needed to use it during the day?
Graphic:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.treehugger.com/2007-12-30_084615-TreeHugger-solar-powered-car.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12/solar_powered_c_6.php&usg=__6y21Th6MXU0pJNxVQopyA9Sn79A=&h=335&w=468&sz=30&hl=en&start=0&sig2=FRP7-Y2S-MMSj7JZTHKSVg&zoom=1&tbnid=mbaH6UdRNVJtXM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=119&ei=5lDITenfA47egQfxlJHPBA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsolar%2Bpowered%2Bcars%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1045%26bih%3D484%26tbm%3Disch0%2C108&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=98&vpy=99&dur=774&hovh=190&hovw=265&tx=176&ty=86&page=1&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&biw=1045&bih=484
This is a model for a solar powered car. It's the same idea as this laptop.
Questions I ask:
1. How much would this cost?
2. Could we replace battery chargers with it?
Opinion: I think this could help places were it is always sunny year round, but then what happens when it is night time and the battery of your solar powered computer runs out? I know that as a student I use my lap top a lot at night because I have sports practice after school and then I came home later at night to do my homework. Also, what about college students that have classes during the day and need a lap top for a class. Well classes aren't outside so they can't charge their lap tops. I don't think solar powered computers are as good an idea as they say in the article.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Questions:
1)No I would not use this device because the area that I live in does not have sun all year round.
2)I don't think the device would look dorky but I'm not sure how cool it would look to have a solar pannel on a computer.
3)I charge my lap top all day and night unless I need to take it somewhere for not a long amount of time were my battery won't die. Yes, it would be benifical to not have a low battery but I'm not sure if solar powered computers is going to fix that problem.
4)I think that I would leave my laptop outside if it was in a cage type of a box with a lock on it that way people cannot just take my laptop. That being said that cage would probrably have to be bolted to the ground so I would most likely not leave my laptop outside unless there was a safe way to leave it out there for no one to take it.
5)I think it all depends on where the school are located in different parts of the country. Take London, England for example they get a lot of rain year round. So solar powered computers probably won't benefit them. However school closer to the equator that get a lot of sun year round could have solar laptops be a big help.
(MY INTERNET WAS DOWN :( SORRY THIS IS LATE)
ReplyDeleteOpinion:
I think that this is an extremely interesting topic. With technology changing every moment, we have to find ways to make it more environmentally friendly. I think that this invention is a major landmark in the technology world. I use my IPod a lot, and I also charge it a lot. It would be fantastic if I never had to charge it using electricity. This would be good because I could charge it anywhere with sunlight without feeling guilty for harming the environment. I think that if we keep researching in this field, in the future we will not have to plug in computers or televisions either! I hope that in the future we will all have technology like this.
Answers to Questions:
1)I would use this because it is good for the environment, and I think that we could improve this over time so that it is no big deal.
2)I think that this will look cool if we make it look cool. We could design the device so that it looks awesomely awesome!
3)I charge an electronic on average...EVERY DAY. This could help me a lot, and it would be awesome not worrying about low battery.
4)Depending on the place, I would leave my device outside. If it is at my home where it is safe I would just put it in my backyard for a little bit.
Expansion:
http://inhabitat.com/etons-soulra-xl-solar-powered-ipod-dock-is-ready-to-pre-order-for-summer-beach-fun/
This website is about a portable solar powered IPod dock.
My Questions:
1)How much would it cost to make this?
2)How much would it cost to buy this?
3)What percentage of Americans say they would use this?
4)How well will this function?