China Touch

Archive for August, 2011

The bullfrog is the largest frog in North America. The bullfrog population is not as abundant as it used to be because people kill these frogs to eat their legs! This is a fascinating creature that needs to be protected.

The bullfrog is most common in the Southern part of the United States. They are known for their large size, throaty call and their extraordinary leaping ability. Bullfrogs can grow to be six inches in length, but when they stretch out their legs this adds another seven to ten inches in length. They can also jump up to six feet away!

The frog’s calls are heard throughout the summer when they are mating. The male makes a call to get females and then the females respond with another call. Sometimes you may see two males fighting because they are very territorial. The frogs are not seen in the winter because they are hibernating.

If you want to keep these frogs, it is best if they have a shallow pool that they can get in and out of very easily. Try not to use tap water in the pool because it has chlorine in it, which could hurt them. Tadpoles are especially sensitive to this. To get rid of the chlorine in your water, either filter it or let it sit out for two weeks. Frogs like the water to be around eighty degrees. Only fill the pool so that the depth covers the frogs half way. You should also put pebbles or stones on the bottom.

If you keep Bullfrogs in captivity, you can feed them all kinds of insects, baby mice and feeder fish. Be careful if you are going to keep more than one frog together, because they will usually eat anything that is smaller than them, including other frogs.

When the female bullfrog lays eggs, she can lay up to 20,000 eggs at once. These eggs will then become tadpoles. The tadpole stage lasts between six months and two years, depending on the weather. When the eggs first hatch, the babies cannot swim so they just cling to plants. Very soon they begin to develop hind legs. Once these legs are fully-grown, they use them to swim and push through the water. The tadpole continues to develop into a frog by having skin grow over the gills, having lungs develop, having front legs grow and having the tail disappear.

If you want to take care of tadpoles, you should keep them in an aquarium. The water in the tank should be filtered. Don’t put any fish in the aquarium with the tadpoles because they might hurt them. It is best if you only put between two and four tadpoles in a tank together. They will swim together and are very active if kept in small groups. Tadpoles can be fed pellets, flake food, water plants and algae. When they get bigger you can also feed them bloodworms.

It is so amazing the way a frog changes from an underwater creature to a land creature. They are very fascinating and fun to see in the wild. Fortunately, laws have been passed to regulate how many frogs can be caught and eaten. Hopefully this will help build their population back up.

The University of Calicut, came in to being on 23/07/1968, by ordinance No. 5/68 of the Govt. of Kerala, which was subsequently replaced by the Calicut University Act 1975. The goals of the University are to develop qualitatively the higher education and research in all spheres of human development with special reference to Technical and technological sectors and to promote art and culture particular to Kerala, to uplift the educationally backward people and to expedite the process of human development in comparatively lesser developed regions of northern Kerala, Now, after the establishment of Kannur University in 1995, the jurisdiction of Calicut University is confined to the districts of Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad (except the Taluk of Mananthavady). The main campus of the University is Thenhipalam (Malappuram Dt), 23 KM. south of Kozhikode city and spreads over an area of 200 ha. on either side of NH-17.

The Administrative office, the Pareeksha bhavan, the school of distance education, the indoor and outdoor stadium, the University press, Publication Dept., the University Engineering Dept., Hostels for men and women, working women’s hostel, faculty hostel and quarters for staff are located here. A well equipped library, an Audio Visual Research Center, Computer Center, Science and Instrumentation Center, Guest House and a seminar Complex, School of Health Sciences, University Health Center, Super market, Canteen, State Bank of Travancore with ATM, Post Office, Telephone exchange are also functioning in the campus. Extensive playgrounds and gymnasium are also located in the Campus.

The University has full fledged teaching departments and several centers and schools of study. The university has two major extension centers, one at Thrissur and the other at Calicut. Another center is being established in Vatakara. Besides these, the university has Teacher Education Centers in all the five districts and advanced computer science centers in 13 places offering MCA, MSc Computer, and BSc IT courses. The Calicut university institute of engineering and technology (CUIET) is located at the university campus, 400 M. away from Kohinoor in NH-17. There are more than 150 colleges affiliated to the University including Teacher Training Colleges, Engineering colleges, Medical colleges, Law colleges, IHRD Centers, Fine arts college, Oriental Title Colleges and College for Dentistry, Nursing and Homeopathy.

The operation of the CPV is based on solar cells made of compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide, using solar radiation with an efficiency of 40%, double the conventional. However, as the materials needed are very expensive, very small cells are installed (two millimeters square and two inches square). To counter this small size, used various means such as mirrors, lenses, prisms, etc.., Which concentrate sunlight on the cells and extended to a thousand times.

Concentration photovoltaic technology (CPV) uses the solar radiation with an efficiency of 40%, double that of conventional solar cells

The CPV is one more example of the many practical applications that have space research. This technology is used for years in the panels of the satellites and spacecraft, where plates are required to obtain maximum solar energy in the minimum possible surface. United States (U.S.) was a pioneer in the creation of these cells, while from the 80′s decline was its drive to focus on the aerospace industry.

At present, the increasing development of renewable energy is returning the interest in this technology. Proponents claim that with technological advancement and a proper legal framework, the CPV can be competitive in a few years. For example, CPV Today, an initiative created to generalize this scheme, envisaged that the third generation of new cells reach an efficiency of 50% by 2015, thus helping to decrease its cost by 62%.

When the market these plates, but can be used individually as conventional photovoltaic systems, with a power of a few kilowatts (KW), its promoters believe that today the main economic output is the use on an industrial scale. In this case, the idea would be to build plants with a lot of solar power and thereby achieve above 100 megawatts (MW). In this way, we could supply the energy to the grid, or use it to produce hydrogen, one of the great hopes for clean energy.

Besides the U.S., Germany and Spain are the countries most advanced in the world in this field. For example, in 2006 established the Institute of Concentration Photovoltaic Systems (ISFOC). Headquartered in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) is an R & D center in the world pioneer who has launched, according to its makers, a pilot CPV installation of three MW.

For his part, as those responsible for the ISFOC, there are several plants that are already operating in Spain are connected to the network with a total power of 15 MW. These plants are tested in the various technologies available, with a concentration based on both silicon cells and in cells with high efficiency. For example, the Photon Guascor, with financial support from the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDEA), put up the first commercial installation of its kind in Europe.

Outside of Spain, but with Spanish participation, the project NACIR is another interesting initiative in the field of CPV. Its aim is to use this technology in the countries of North Africa, with unbeatable position to take advantage of sunlight. The project, launched this year, is scheduled to run for four years and has a budget of over seven million euros, partly financed by the European Commission. Among its main challenges highlighted in the installation of a system of Morocco SVC connected to the mains, an autonomous system of water pumping and irrigation in Egypt and the creation of a database to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

The project also NACIR emerges through the collaborative efforts of three bands: university-industry-institution, as part of the Solar Energy Institute of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the ISFOC, Fraunhoffer Institute for Solar Energy in Germany, companies Concentrix Solar (Germany) and Isofoton (Spain), the Moroccan National Electricity (ONE) and the Ministry of Water Resources of Egypt. Besides NACIR, ISFOC makers explained that they expect to realize over 2009 various collaborative projects in the Middle East, Asia and U.S.
Disadvantages of concentration photovoltaics

The drivers of the CPV today recognize that this technology is still in a pre-condition. Also, the technology presents a number of characteristics that limit their generalization. For example, the cells function properly only on clear days and with direct radiation, which reduces its use to optimally very sunny and located on the equator of the planet. For example, since the ISFOC explained that one of the criteria for choosing Puertollano as a test bed was the high amount of direct radiation.

However, the disadvantage of lack of sunlight prevents the use of solar followers two axes high precision, but of course makes the final product. Moreover, while there are followers of concentration for its location on roofs, their drivers do not consider that option is more interesting for this technology. Moreover, the efficiency losses of up to one thousand times the sun’s light on the hub are also important, although lower than other solar technologies, such as the foil.

As costs of CPV, ISFOC responsible for ensuring that at present are similar to those of conventional photovoltaics, although they estimate that in the short term, technology development and market growth, coupled with legislation appropriate, will place the cost of generating electricity under the CPV conventional photovoltaics.