Living Systems as Energy Converters

Multilevel Converters as a Utility Interface for Renewable Energy Systems

Electric power production in the 21 Century will see dramatic changes in both the physical infrastructure and the control and information infrastructure. A shift will take place from a relatively few large, concentrated generation centers and the transmission of electricity over mostly a high voltage ac grid (Fig. 1) to a more diverse and dispersed generation infrastructure that also has a high...

Bidirectional DC-DC Converters for Energy Storage Systems

Energy utilization in fluctuating biological energy converters

We have argued previously [Szoke et al., FEBS Lett. 553, 18-20 (2003); Curr. Chem. Biol. 1, 53-57 (2007)] that energy utilization and evolution are emergent properties based on a small number of established laws of physics and chemistry. The relevant laws constitute a framework for biology on a level intermediate between quantum chemistry and cell biology. There are legitimate questions whether...

Designing and Testing Composite Energy Storage Systems for Regulating the Outputs of Linear Wave Energy Converters

Zanxiang Nie 1,2,*, Xi Xiao 1,*, Pritesh Hiralal 3, Xuanrui Huang 1, Richard McMahon 4, Min Zhang 5 and Weijia Yuan 5 1 Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; [email protected] 2 Zinergy Shenzhen Ltd., Taohuayuan Science and Technology Innovation Park, Baoan, Shenzhen 518101, China 3 Zinergy UK Ltd., Future Businesss Centre, Cambridge CB4 2HY, UK; prite...

Stellivore Extraterrestrials? Binary Stars as Living Systems

We lack signs of extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) despite decades of observation in the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Could evidence be buried in existing data? To recognize ETI, we first propose criteria discerning life from non-life based on thermodynamics and living systems theory. Then we extrapolate civilizational development to both external and internal growth. Taken together, these...