Here Comes the Sun

When I was a kid, one of my neighbors had a solar radiometer.  It’s a glass bulb about the size of a baseball, with diamond-shaped panels connected to a spindle.   The panels, black on one side and silver on the other, would turn on the spindle when exposed to light.

I enjoyed experimenting with the gizmo, edging it in and out of the sunbeam that shone through a window and onto their kitchen table.  How close to the light did the radiometer need to be for the panels to move? What if I shaded it with a piece of cardboard?  How fast would the spindle turn if I put the radiometer fully in the light? Watching those panels move as if by magic was my first exposure to something being powered by light.  (No photovoltaic technology here.  There have actually been competing theories as to what moves a solar radiometer’s panels.)

How about bringing some of that magic to Data Centers?  This week’s Data Center Deconstructed explores the feasibility of powering a Data Center with solar energy.

Note:  This is the fourth Data Center Deconstructed video exploring alternative energy usage in Data Centers.  Previous segments addressed the pros and cons of hydro energy, wind energy and fuel cells.  Check them all out!