"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Month: March 2018
Transactive Energy
03/04/18
“How will people trade energy in the future?”
With the developing distributed energy world, energy transmission will now take place bidirectionally. One consequence of this is that people will be able to buy and sell energy from one another instead of the utility in a form known as transactive energy. Like online retail for consumer products, transactive energy will enable homeowners to barter and profit from self-generated renewable energy.
Zener Diodes
03/03/18
“Is there a diode that can allow for current to flow in both directions?”
When you hear the word diode, you probably think of circuit elements that limit the current to only one direction. However, is it possible to have bidirectional current flow with a diode? Well, it turns out that there is something called a Zener diode which allows for exactly this! When Zener Diodes reach a certain critical value in the negative direction known as the Zener voltage, then a break will occur which will allow for current to pass through! As seen in the graph, the Zener voltage is much higher in magnitude than its positive equivalent. Zener diodes are commonly used in microelectronic system to regulate voltage.
Traffic Simulations
03/02/18
“Is it possible to simulate traffic to improve it?”
If you have ever ridden a car in a crowded area, then you probably have experienced traffic. It’s slow, annoying, and worst of all unsustainable. Because of this traffic engineers are trying to design better and better ways to assist people with their daily commutes. One of the tools that they use at their disposal is known as a traffic simulation. Traffic simulations use mathematical frameworks to model how travel moves and what can be done about it. With the data generated by these systems, urban planners can optimize future city designs, making our living space safer, quieter, and ultimately less congested!
Grid Flexibility
03/01/18
“How can we quantify how flexible the grid is?”
The electric grid is currently in a state of transition. With the advent of renewable energy, electricity is transitioning from its old-fashioned monodirectional centralized power generation paradigm to a transactive distributive one. As such, the grid will have to wrap around this new dynamics system and increase its own flexibility
Isaac's Science Blog 