How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone?

How can the Global Convergence of Information and Communications Technologies Work for Everyone? Student's Name Institutional Affiliation How can the Global Convergence of Information and Communications Technologies Work for Everyone? Today more than 1 billion people are using the internet, more than 7 billion are mobile phone subscribers, and unknown numbers of devices are intercommunicating in the vast network, which is supporting the daily activities of human beings. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the world will experience a ubiquitous computing and every region and everybody in the world will spend most of the time in any form of a technologically augmented reality. This convergence of technology, information and minds around the world has led to the formation of new civilizations. Mobile phones have become daily companions of most people; they have a combination of a computer, camera, telephone, music player, TV, flashlight, alarm and many other more features that humans have found essential in their daily lives. According to Moore's Law, "as costs fall, and as ease of use increases, even remote and less developed areas will participate in this emerging globalization." The journey to complete the world's nervous system of globalization is still on and is picking up the base. Social networks, collaborative intelligences, and systems have emerged into new forms of transnational democracies that are addressing global issues and opportunities. This has given birth to unprecedented international conscience and action, forming a conventional management. These systems have proved to be the solutions to some issues that have gone beyond hierarchical control. The non-ownership model of open source software is slowly emerging to be the crucial element in the economic systems. Organizations have built offices and are holding meetinhs and interviews in cyberworlds to compete with the conventional reality of technology. The "big things" that have emerged from these convergences of technology and communications are the collective emergences for businesses, issues and countries which have formed new forms of organizations whose objectives are to address the problems without any form of conventional management. "Collective intelligences are continuous emerging properties are created from synergies among people, software, and information that is gotten from feedbacks to produce just-in-time knowledge for better decisions than any one of these elements acting independently. Real-time streamed communications shorten the time it takes from situational awareness to decisions. Search engines give instant access to all of the world's stored knowledge…the web is evolving from the present user-generated and participatory system into Web 3.0, a more intelligent partner that has knowledge about the meaning of today's Jeopardy-beating Watson from IBM and Apple's affectionate Siri." However, the explosive growth of the internet has created stress on the Net questioning its capacities and prompting new approaches to keep and meet the growing demand while its place in the society makes its reliability crucial. Organizations and individuals have trusted their data to "cloud computing" which are distant Net-connected servers that store information and data. They have trusted these servers than they trust their own computers, this has raised privacy and reliability questions. Many online platforms including the governments are fighting hard to find out a solution that will control the contents of the web. This has raised a hot debate on the neutrality of the net, doctrines through which the technical and economic factors for internet users will not be affected by consideration of equipment, user type, or the content of information being communicated. Now it is hard to imagine the world without the tele-medicene, tele-communication, tele-education and the tele-everything that these convergences of technology, information and communications have created. Wireless internet communication is being constructed in remote areas, mobile phones with internet access have been designed for business, education and information access even by the lowest-income earners in the society. Innovative programs have been created to connect the underdeveloped areas to the evolving global nervous system of civilization. Some of these programs are aimed at addressing the pressing global issues such save energy that will be used by people without harming the environment. Some of the areas that have reaped much from these convergences is the energy sector where solar energy is harnessed to produce save power and energy for use in homes and industries. Nowadays most of the energy generated is produced from fossils that emit tons of pollution agents into the atmosphere. These fossils will not be around for long, eventually they will run out someday. In order to make the evolving global nervous system of civilization sustainable as well as cause less alarm to the environment, these intelligent convergences are looking for new sources of clean and save energy for domestic and industrial use. Due to this increased demand for clean energy, solar energy sector is the one that has taken the advantage of the created convergences and is growing around the world. There are several directions for the development of solar energy. Examples are the photovoltaic systems that convert solar energy directly into electrical energy; concentrated solar power panels systems that convert solar energy into thermal energy converting it further into electrical energy using the thermal engine. However, after the solar energy system has been established for a particular location, it is difficult to upgrade it or change its operation methods. To be able to choose the right system for a specific location, it is important to understand and compare the basic mechanisms and general operation functions of several solar technologies that are widely used around the world. This paper will not only provide a brief introduction of solar energy technologies but also provide a discussion of the various companies that are producing solar energy through improved technology. It will also help the governments to avoid the long-term switching costs and make solar energy systems more efficient, economical and stable. Solar Energy The sun is the only source of energy for earth. All other sources of energy such as wind, hydro, fossil, and biomass energy have their origins in sunlight. Solar energy falls on earth at a rate of 120 petawatts meaning that the amount of solar energy from the sun in a single is able to satisfy the world's demand for energy for more than two decades. The calculation of the amount of each potential renewable source of energy is due to the convergences of technology and communications. As technology advances the potentials of each source to produce more energy increases too. However, the demand for energy in the world will not be constant, it is expected to be increasing at a rate of 5% per year (International Energy Agency, 2010). The solar energy produced has several applications such as solar propulsion, electricity generation, photochemical, solar desalination, and controlling room temperature. The harnessing of solar energy and converting it into electrical energy has wide applications and its impact in the society is deep thus attracting the attention of many researchers. According to Energy Balance for World Report of 2010 provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA), "about 30% of the total energy produced is consumed by electricity generation sectors with an efficiency of rate of 42.6%." In developed countries, energy consumption is higher (41%) (International Energy Agency, 2010). Electrical energy is of high grade since it can be converted into other forms of energy such as mechanical or heat energy. If the world is able to produce economic and enough energy and have easy transportation and energy transmission, the shares of electrical energy will also increase in demand sectors. Environmental Aspects of Solar Energy Solar energy is safe, clean and renewable source of energy. It does not emit pollution agents into the atmosphere while in production or use. The major element commonly used in the solar panels is silicon and is abundant as well as environmental friendly. Most of the power stations are largely in arid or semi arid areas thus the problem of land is not serious. However, the use of solar energy can be dangerous considering the conditions it is being used. The multi-junction photovoltaic cells that are used to achieve high energy converting efficiency, are made of poisonous elements such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) or gallium arsenide (GaAs), which are harmful and can harm the environment if leaked. Therefore, there is need for more study on how the safety of these materials can be reached as well as how these cells can be recycled if the evolving global nervous system is to be stable and adopt technological advancements into the production of solar energy. Also the coolants and lubricants used in concentrated solar power systems are also harmful if they leak to the environment. If this problem of solar energy is eliminated then it can be reasonable enough to conclude that solar energy is safe and clean for use. Solar Technologies Several types of solar technologies exist and are currently exploited to help in achieving the global foal of providing safe, clean, and enough energy for consumption. However, these technologies are based on different concepts and merits. Analyzing and comparing them will help the intelligent convergences to adopt the most beneficial and efficient one considering the available conditions. However, the most common technologies that are being used are the non-concentrated photovoltaic solar panels and solar powers. They have been commercialized by the governments and are expected to advance in the future. Therefore, the paper will concentrate on these two technologies. Also there are other emerging technologies such as the solar thermoelectricity systems (STS), concentrated photovoltaic systems, and dye sensitized solar cell (DSPV) which are under intensive research. If proved to be efficient and achieve the necessary technical requirements, they may claim a share in the solar energy sector and become commercialized. However, some researchers categorize them into the two main technologies with DSPV being categorized in CPV and STS into CSP though each technology employs different mechanisms. They will be included in the discussion for the sake of having an understanding of what each entails. Solar Thermoelectricity It uses parabolic disc technology to harness solar energy based on the concept of thermoelectric effect. Energy is produced through a concentrated thermoelectric generator (CTEG) which is divided into two parts that produce energy by converting differences in temperatures in the two parts. When energy falls on the device, a difference in temperature is created. A temperature gradient is believed to be causing charged carriers to move from the hot side to the cold side. This concept is applied in astronautic and automotive systems (Fan, Singh, and Akbarzadeh, 2011). Merits * Is simple and does not need large space thus can be easily deployed on roof tops. * Can be used in harsh environments. * Does not make noise hence environmental friendly. * Is reliable. Demerits * Its efficiency is still low. * Like other solar technologies it relies on concentration requirements thus unable to collect and diffuse irradiation relying on direct radiation. * Due to low efficiency, it requires higher concentration ratio of the collector and the tracking systems. This will increase the capital and maintenance costs. * The thermoelectric materials used such as Bismuth telluride is harmful and expensive. * It requires cooling systems to decrease the cold side's temperature to increase its efficiency. This will also increase capital and maintenance costs. This technology is new in the laboratories and has not matured enough to meet the requirements of the market. However, it has many merits that will make it mature enough and have a share in the market in the near future. Because of its special nature and low grade thermo energy usage, this technology should be combined with other technologies to achieve its overall high efficiency. Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) This technology is based on the concept of semiconductor formed between a photo-sensitized anode and an electrolyte, a photo-electrochemical system. The cell is also referred to Gratzel and was invented in 1991 by Michael Gratzel and Brian O'Regan at the Ecole Polytecnique Federale de Lausanne (Grätzel, 2001). Merits * DCSSs use low cost-cost materials and are simple to manufacture thus not costly to produce. * They can replace the existing technologies. Demerits * Their efficiency is low compared to other technologies. * Their lifetime will be degraded if they are exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Most researchers are interested in this technology. Dyesol Company is the one that is well established in this industry. However, this technology is facing many challenges that are preventing its mass production and usage. It is in the early stages of the development cycle. There are possibilities that its efficiency will be improved and more intensive studies are on. However, this technology may not be efficient for large-scale usage where more efficient cells are required despite being expensive (Fan-Tai, Song-Yuan and Kong-Jia, 2007). The idea of DSSC is brilliant since it employs different mechanisms and its advantages are special compared to other technologies. Although it has not fully matured, the technology will be an important source of renewable energy in the near future if it attains the technological requirements necessary for its breakthrough. Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) The concentrated photovoltaic technology uses the optics concept such as lenses that concentrate large amount of sunlight onto a small area of the photovoltaic materials to generate energy. They are categorized depending on the amount of solar concentration that is measured in suns. Merits * Its efficiency is higher compared to other technologies. * They are less expensive to produce. Demerits * CPV is unable to collect diffuse irradiation. * The amount of energy produced is lowered even with small clouds. CPV has the potential of providing cost-effective, large-scale, solar energy production especially in the arid and semi arid areas. Most companies have ventured into the manufacturing of multi-junction concentrator cells to respond to the increasing demand of this type of technology. Examples of companies that have been attracted by this technology include the RF Micro Devices (RFMD) and JDSU which have ventured into the manufacturing of multi-junction concentrator cells. Other companies have ventured into the development of concentrator photovoltaic systems while others have deployed units that are generating less than 1 megawatt (MW) of energy. This technology has shown signs of advancing in the future as the world continues to advocate for and embrace solar energy. CPVs are advancing each day. This technology has been combined with other technologies to produce concentrated photovoltaics and thermal (CPVT), which is also referred to as combined heat and power solar (CHAPS) that is a co-generation technology used in concentrated photovoltaics to produce both electrical and heat energy at the same time. The heat produced maybe used to heat homes, water and air conditioning, or in process heating. There is a possibility that concentrated solar power can be combined with concentrated photovoltaics to produce a higher efficiency hybrid system. Phototvoltaic Solar Panels This technology generates electrical power energy by converting direct solar radiation into direct current electricity through semiconductors that show the photovoltaic effect. It uses solar panels that consist of solar cells containing photovoltaic materials. Some of the materials that are used in photovoltaics include polycrystalline silicon, cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide, amorphous silicon and monocrystalline silicon. It is the most commonly used solar technology around the world. Types of Photovoltaic Panels Crystalline Silicon Most PVs (80-90%) are based on the wafer-based crystalline-Si. Manufacturing of this type involves the growing silicon ingots, slicing them into wafers to create solar cells which are then electrically interconnected, and encapsulating the cell's string to form the panel. Currently the panels use silicon in one of two forms; single-sc-Si or mc-Si. The sc-Si panels have higher efficiency and it is expected to increase in the long-run. The atomic structure of mc-Si panels is more disordered lowering its efficiency. They are less expensive and more resistant to degradation at a rate of 2% per year due to irradiation than the sc-Si. However, in the long-term, their efficiency is expected to 21%. This type of PVs is expected to be the dominant PV technology up to around 2020 with its market share reaching about 50% due to their reliable technology, long lifespan availability of resources (Energy Technology Perspectives, 2008). However, they face some challenges in improving their efficiency and effectiveness on resources consumption. Thin Films They are made by depositing thin layers of photosensitive materials in the micrometre range on a low-cost backing such as plastic, glass or stainless steel. The first generation of this type of panels to be produced was the a-Si. There is a combination of amorphous and microcrystalline and thin hybrid silicon cells for efficiency improvements. Alongside the II-VI semiconductors other technologies such as copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride have been developed. Their merits include low consumption of resources; higher efficienc...