Energy for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines

III. Alternative energy. 8. Solar surge. The physics of sunlight ; Solar thermal ; Photovoltaic cells: Silicon, CdTe (Cadmium Telluride), CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide), Multijunction cells ; Solar-cell summary -- 9. Wind -- 10. Energy storage. Batteries: The physics and chemistry of batteries, The future of batteries ; Bottled wind : compressed-air energy storage (CAES) ; Flywheels ; Supercapacitors ; Hydrogen and fuel cells ; Natural gas -- 11. The coming explosion of nuclear power. Blowing up ; Cost ; Small modular nuclear reactors ; Running out of uranium? ; Fukushima deaths ; Nuclear waste storage ; The coming nuclear explosion -- 12. Fusion. Tokamak ; NIF, the National Ignition Facility ; Beam fusion ; Muon fusion ; Cold fusion -- 13. Biofuels. Ethanol from corn ; Biodegradable is bad? ; Pseudo-biofuels ; Ethanol from cellulose ; Ethanol from algae -- 14. Synfuel and high-tech fossil fuels. Synfuel ; Coal bed methane ; Coal bed gasification ; Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) ; Oil sands -- 15. Alternative alternatives : hydrogen, geothermal, tidal, and wave power. Hydrogen ; Geothermal ; Tidal power ; Wave power -- 16. Electric automobiles. The electric auto fad: Tesla Roadster, Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf ; Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles ; Lead-acid batteries ; Recharge time ; Effective miles per gallon ; Ordinary hybrids ; Battery challenges -- 17. Natural-gas automobiles -- 18. Fuel cells -- 19. Clean coal