Special feature: The ultimate solar energy guide

Plus: ChatGPT enters crypto with meme token, new smart Israeli battle tank, sustainable battery graphite. The sun beams down practically limitless clean energy, more than enough to supply all our needs. Yet even with climate threats looming, solar power remains underused. What's holding it back? Today's [Must Read]( is a thorough exploration of the potential and challenges of harnessing the sun's abundant power. From panels to policies and perovskites, we illuminate the innovations and obstacles shaping solar's trajectory. You'll discover solar's evolution, how cells convert sunlight, and creative applications that are driving change. With clarity on solar's pros, cons, and news of recent breakthroughs, you'll gain a deep insight into our solar energy future. The possibilities are truly bright if only we can overcome the hurdles, as you'll discover below. 💬🔥 Also today, prompt engineering is becoming one of the hottest skills. Get the [ChatGPT Newbie e-book]( to learn more about how to supercharge your content creation and data analysis, and stay ahead of 95% of the competition. Good morning. I’m Tim, newsletter editor at IE. This is the Blueprint. Let’s get into it. VIDEO OF THE DAY [Is Nikola Tesla Overrated?]( Revolutionizing Energy: Offshore wind farms and subsea cables Offshore wind farms depend on advanced subsea cables, and companies like Boskalis Subsea use specialized ships to ensure efficient and safe installation. SUPPORT INTERESTING ENGINEERING Invest in science and engineering Insider access to exclusive content, featuring riveting stories that take you right to the heart of the action. Engage with our thriving online community, dive into captivating science discoveries, and stay informed with our enlightening weekly premium newsletters. With IE+, quality reporting is more than just news - and it is Ad-Free. [SUBSCRIBE]( HOT TOPICS - 🛰 [First space drug factory stuck in orbit after reentry denial]( The US Air Force declined Varda Space Industries' application to land the re-entry capsule at a Utah training facility. - 🕸 [Gene-edited spider silk 6x stronger than bulletproof Kevlar]( Chinese scientists have introduced an innovative, green alternative to nylon and Kevlar. - 💥 [Watch Sierra Space blow up a space station module in slow-mo]( The Colorado-based company's latest "burst test" is part of a campaign to build Blue Origin's Orbital Reef space station. - ⚡️ [This lithium-free e-bike from Pi-Pop needs no batteries]( French startup Pi-Pop introduces an e-bike powered by supercapacitors instead of batteries. - 🐶 [A rare canine disease is spreading to humans in the UK]( The disease does not have significant consequences for humans but is fatal in dogs. Must Read [🌅 From rays to watts: The ultimate guide to solar energy]( Today, we want to share this wide-ranging special feature on solar energy. We think you'll love it. We journey through solar's evolution, from ancient civilizations leveraging passive sunlight to modern photovoltaic milestones. Along the way, you'll learn how today's panels convert photons into current and what factors impact efficiency. We compare solar systems from off-grid to hybrid models, and consider environmental benefits like emissions cuts, but also challenges like water usage. We go on to survey solar's increasing applications across sectors, from residential to transportation, before digging into the latest advances, from promising perovskite cells to AI integration. Finally, we also reckon with the remaining barriers to adoption, from costs to infrastructure needs. Most of all, we hope to give you greater clarity on this complex scenario that will determine the shape of the future of energy on Earth. The possibilities are bright if we can surmount the hurdles. With clarity on solar's pros, cons and breakthroughs, this feature offers key insights to power an intelligent discourse on society's energy transition. [[Read More]( [Culture]( 🤑 ChatGPT launched a crypto token and it made $12 million in first trading day An anonymous developer nicknamed CroissantEth used ChatGPT and DALL-E AI tools to automatically generate a new cryptocurrency token called AstroPepeX. After customizing OpenAI's API, CroissantEth had ChatGPT write an Ethereum smart contract to deploy the memecoin, while DALL-E produced its logo imagery. On its first day of trading, AstroPepeX reached $12 million in volume. While not the first AI-made token, AstoPepeX took automation further by limiting human coding involvement. [[Read More]( [Military]( 🪖 Israel has unveiled its AI-assisted next-gen 'Merkava' tank Called the "Barak" (meaning "Lightning") or "Merkava IV," this fifth-generation main battle tank incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) to make it even deadlier. The new tank has been specifically developed to quickly zero in on targets and hit enemy forces before they can strike. [[Read More]( [Innovation]( 🪵 Meet Biographite: EV battery component made from wood chips New Zealand startup CarbonScape has developed a process to produce graphite, a key battery component, from wood waste rather than mining or fossil fuels. Their patented method makes "Biographite" from sawdust and chips, claiming environmental benefits. CarbonScape says its approach reduces graphite's carbon footprint by 30 percent versus traditional sources. If scaled, the technology could make EV battery manufacturing greener while enhancing stability. [[Read More]( job alert In this section you’ll find the latest jobs as featured on: [jobs.interestingengineering.com]( [Cloud Data Engineer II - Enterprise Analytics Data Products - Enterprise Market Research]( [Hartford,US]( [Machine Learning Solutions Engineer]( [San Francisco,US]( [Senior Post-Sales Machine Learning Engineer - International Remote]( [Remote,US]( [Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Data Automation]( [New York,US]( [Senior ASIC Verification Engineer, Coherent High Speed Interconnect]( [Santa Clara,US]( [Senior Engineer (Tech Lead) - AI Engineering]( [San Francisco,US]( [Senior Mobile Software Engineer, B2C Marketplace]( [Remote,US]( [Cloud Platform Engineer (ISD Engineer II/III – Cloud Engineering)]( [Vienna,US]( [Artificial Intelligence and Decision Engineer]( [McLean,US]( [Senior Software Engineer - Smart 3D Application Admin]( [Houston,US]( QUESTION OF THE DAY What's your take on solar energy? [Absolutely, immediately essential]( [Has potential, but not quite ready]( [Too costly and impractical]( [Overhyped, need other sources too]( YESTERDAY'S RESULTS Yesterday, we asked you about how well we would deal with an incoming asteroid, and 35 percent of you believe we have the technology now. 35% We have the technology now 30% Within 25 years 25% Some time this century 10% Never, it will surprise us “If you wanted to power the entire United States with solar panels, it would take a fairly small corner of Nevada or Texas or Utah; you only need about 100 miles by 100 miles of solar panels to power the entire United States. The batteries you need to store the energy, to make sure you have 24/7 power, is 1 mile by 1 mile. One square-mile. That's it.” Elon Musk ENGINEER'S ARSENAL [Electric Hole Punch]( [$137.90]( [Digital Oscilloscope]( [$479.53]( [Wall Control Office Organiser]( [$169.99]( [Office Filing Cabinet]( [$159.99]( AND ANOTHER THING - [This implant could free diabetics from insulin injections one day]( - [Noise-canceling robots to 'mute' loud conversations in cafe]( - [From lost wings to ruptured fuselages, 7 times planes refused to die]( [premium] - [Parker Solar Probe survives Coronal Mass Ejection, touches Sun]( - [Mystery behind how coated nanodiamonds form finally solved]( - ['Aliens' displayed in Mexico are from a single skeleton]( - [Ancient Martian water body detected by new gravity study]( - [ALMA and Webb study universe's farthest galaxy protocluster]( - [New quantum magnetometer to map Earth’s magnetic field from space]( - [The real impact of blue light on eye health and sleep]( [premium] Need help with advertising? Reach 150,000 engineering and tech professionals. 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