Dr. E.A. Farber Sunshine Superman
 |
Sun-powered space heaters, stills, pumps and sewage treatment plants. Solar-driven refrigerators, air conditioners, engines, stoves and cars. They're successfully harnessing Ole Sol to these and other devices at the University of Florida.
Dr. E.A. Farber
|
"The energy crisis is really nothing new," says Dr. E.A. Farber, Director of the Solar Energy & Energy Conversion Laboratory at the University of Florida in Gainesville. "We were already running short of fossil fuels, our so-called 'conventional' sources of power, 40 years ago. It just hadn't come to the public's attention at that time."
Maybe not, but the world's supply of energy and its relationship to the development of nations most certainly had already come to the attention of a few farsighted individuals back there in the early 1930's, and Austrian-born Erich Farber was one of them.
RELATED CONTENT
The U.S. Department of Energy's work with the city of Greensburg, Kan., over the past year is beari...
. . . ENERGY FLASHES...... ENERGY FLASHES...... ENERGY FLASHES. . . September/October 1982 POPEYE W...
Air and Sand Lines/Air Supply
January/February 1982
Issue # 73 - January/February 1982
See ...
A new study predicts we could have one quarter of our energy needs from renewable sources by 2025, ...
Which renewable energy technology has the best potential to combat global warming and power our fut...
Four decades ago, while still a high school student, Farber observed that the countries and civilizations which controlled the most energy—and used it—were the nations and cultures that also advanced most rapidly. Young Erich further noted that the power providing this advantage came mainly from the fossil fuels—gas, coal and oil—which obviously (to him, at least) would one day be exhausted.
"This led me directly to solar energy," Dr. Farber says. "I thought of the planet's human population as a family trying to live off its savings (fossil fuels) which were stored in a bank (underground) and which were being steadily depleted. This, of course, cannot go on indefinitely. Sooner or later that family has to begin living on its income, sooner or later we have to make do with the amount of renewable, incoming energy we receive. After mulling over the possibilities of wind, geothermal, tidal and other sources of power—all very good when the conditions are right for their use—I realized that the sun alone offered the resource I was seeking. Solar energy is readily available, well distributed, inexhaustible for all practical purposes and does not pollute the environment when converted and utilized."
Farber developed his ideas as he received the major part of his education in Europe and during the time he studied at the Universities of Missouri and Iowa. He further honed his keen interest in solar power while teaching at the Universities of Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. By the time he moved to Gainesville—20 years ago—to instruct at the University of Florida, Erich was quite possibly the planet's most enthusiastic and knowledgeable authority on the subject. Little wonder that the University of Florida's Solar Energy Lab is one of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind in the world.
The UF solar energy installation is especially interesting because of its emphasis on working hardware. Ever think of building a solar energy collector or sun-operated water heater, stove or still? How about a solar turbine, steam engine, refrigerator or air conditioner? An electric car which has its batteries recharged by the sun? Or a "solar gravity" motor or a sewage treatment plant that uses Ole Sol's rays to double its processing capacity? All old hat to Farber, his staff of ten and the students who attend the three classes conducted by the Solar Energy Lab.
And don't think you can't duplicate UF's success just because you live in Minnesota or British Columbia. Farber believes that, "Florida isn't any better than many other areas of the earth for solar energy collection. Look at the Weather Bureau's data and you'll be surprised at how evenly this source of power is distributed. Pick practically any point on the face of the planet and, if people live there, the chances are very good that the surrounding region receives meaningful amounts of sunshine."
