SOURCE: themindunleashed.com
A German architect by the name Andre Broessel has designed and built a crystal ball shaped solar tracking device that just may revolutionize the way the world looks at solar power and renewable energy. It is known as the Betaray and it can collect and concentrate the sun’s energy even during times when the sky is overcast.
Perched on a robot like steel frame, the energy generating orb can magnify and concentrate the sun’s energy, as well as moonlight around 10,000 times.Because of this ability, the Betaray is considered, by its inventor, to be 35% more efficient than any other current solar power source including the standard photovoltaic systems currently in use.
It takes up far less room than the current photovoltaic systems and panels and is an actual solar generator that is portable and can be mounted almost anywhere. The inventor believes that his new crystal ball is so much more efficient because it actually tracks solar energy as the Earth revolves around the sun so as to maximize energy gathering and generation. The ball has a tiny surface within it that is composed of solar cells and panels for storing the gathered energy. The cells are made from crystalline silicon and the inventor says that there is a weather tracking device and system encased within the solar orb.
The future of this device seems to be most promising but like every innovative technology brought into an industry, it is expected to receive some serious resistance. What is currently being captured and used is really just a small fraction of the enormous energy that the sun is capable of generating day after day. Currently only about 20% of the captured energy from the sun is being used to produce electricity.
Broessel’s groundbreaking invention is not ready for production or to enter the market as of yet. He currently trying to raise $120,000 so that he can perform further testing, make adjustments and to secure patents for his invention.