This article was produced in collaboration with INNOVATE
Last Thursday was today: the longest day of the year. A good reason to put the sun in the spotlight for a while. together with Innovation organized research The third edition of the Space Night Festival in Goffertpark Nijmegen. With 930 students, curious octogenarians and everything in between, we looked for ways to harness the power of the sun on Earth.
1. Textiles can generate solar energy
With her sample of flexible organic solar cells woven into textiles, Pauline van Dongen shows how you can generate solar energy using fabric. Simple but smart. As a fashion designer, she started this technological evolution in clothing and is now working to drive the energy transition. Why not also use sun-generating fabric applications as facade coverings for large office buildings, or as tent fabric at sunny festivals?
2. The festival was partly powered by solar generators
Most festivals and events still use diesel generators to provide power. Useful, but also very polluting. That’s why Roel Blumer created the startup Volta Energy with his brother, where they make solar generators. Bloomer told how his company started in his parents’ cabin.
Although the prototype was destroyed (and is now used as a coffee table in their office), the brothers have now developed a successful model that can easily power festivals with solar energy. One copy powered the theater during Space Night.
3. Weather forecasts in space are vital
Philipp Schönjans, ESA’s senior project leader, explained the importance of being able to predict space weather. Why? A solar storm can cause damage to Earth. In order to produce a space weather report, the Solar Orbiter was sent into space a few years ago, Schönjans said. This doesn’t mean we can prevent these solar storms, but we can prepare for them.
4. The sun takes up a lot of space
During the researchThe competition taught the audience, among other things, that a red dwarf is the most common star in the Milky Way. The age of the sun is about 4.6 billion years. Broadcaster Dounia Maakour and astronomer Mark Kleinwalt were able to choose the only winner from a room full of endless participants. Wearing his mission hat, he happily accepted his reward: free access to new knowledge and relaxation every day for a year. Quest.nl And in the magazine. Do you know the answer to the quiz question below?
You will find the answer below the image
During the task test, answers were presented by putting on or taking off a hat.
Answer to the competition question above: 99.8 percent.
The Sun’s mass is more than a thousand times the mass of Jupiter, which itself is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets combined. There are 333,000 Earths in one sun by weight. More facts about the sun? These are three misunderstandings about our star.
In addition to Night of Space, INNOVATE and Quest are also working together to find the most innovative student in the Netherlands. Are you or do you know a student who has been working for months with a good plan to improve the world? Register before July 1.
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