User:Ap210

About Me

My name is Alex Pfiffner

From Portland, Oregon

Class of 2015

Studying Mechanical Engineering (also interested in BME and Neuroscience)

This should sum things up: http://nyan.cat/

Name Pronunciation- æləks fɪ́fnər (Alex Fife-ner)

Matlab Demo: 3-D Drawing

The 3-D Drawing Program seems most interesting to me because it epitomizes the ease with which computer programs can accomplish tasks humans would have extreme difficulty with. Even with only a relatively simple program, MATLAB can generate the surface of revolution for any combination of straight lines the user could present. It perfectly represents the graphics both before and after generating the surface, which any person would have extreme difficulty drawing in a few seconds. 3-D Drawing is not only useful, but is also interesting to experiment with to see what shapes can be created.

External Links

External Links NANOWIRES MAY BOOST SOLAR CELL EFFICIENCY, UCSD Jacobs, May 13, 2008, September 20, 2011 (Grand Challenge)

Summary- University of California, San Diego has developed Nanowires that may boost the efficiency of ultra-thin solar panels. Indium phosphide Nanowires increase the number of electrons that are successfully knocked into the solar panel's electrode and therefore increase the productivity of thinner panels. The Nanowires allow electrons a direct pathway to the electrode not found in most current, thin solar panels which are built from normal polymer mixtures. If these Nanowires could be grown on untreated metal electrodes, many possibilities and applications (such as more efficient and curved panels) would be made available. Scientists predict this technology will not be publicly available until at least the year 2018.