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This permits ions to move in and out without damaging it.

The electrode seems to be a wonder material for use as a high-voltage cathode. Novel ways are also being developed to utilise wind energy. In many parts of the world we find large windmills, each with three huge blades generating electricity. These wind turbines are not very efficient since about half the air does not go through the blades but around them, with a resulting loss in their capacity to generate electricity. FloDesign, a U based company, has now developed a new generation of wind turbines that rely on the design used in !et engines. These turbines have propeller blades that are much smaller but produce more electricity as the air is directed through the turbine by a surrounding shroud. mall turbines that will produce "# $ilowatt power will be initially manufactured and they will then be followed by megawatt capacity turbines. % problem associated with micro wind turbines is that they must wor$ well in both light and high winds, for instance under stormy conditions when they should not spin too fast. In the case of the larger wind turbines, the design of the blades ta$es care of this problem, ma$ing them stall under very high speed wind. This is done through sensors that send signals to attached computers which in turn ad!ust the turbine speeds. This is too e&pensive a solution. 'owever, nature is often the best teacher. The stability of dragonflies even under high wind conditions provided critically important clues. The dragonfly is very stable in its flight, even under high wind speeds. This is due to the special design of its wings which are thin and fle&ible, and have small protrusions on their surfaces. These protrusions create a number of swirling vortices that contribute to the e&traordinary aerodynamic stability of the dragonfly. (ased on this, the %$ira )bata of Nippon (unri University in *apan has invented a micro turbine which is far better than those available previously. +a$istan needs to concentrate on solving its energy problems by utilising its e&isting resources of coal, water, wind, and the recently discovered shale oil and shale gas. % reader has rightly pointed out that all the electrical appliances produced in +a$istan are ,energy inefficient-. For e&ample our fans, tube-well motors and roadside wor$shop machines use heavy starting current and also consume much more electricity than %merican, .uropean, or even /hinese appliances. 0hen one considers the millions of fans, tube-well motors and road side wor$shop motors in the country, one gets some idea of how much energy is being wasted because of the improper enforcement of 1uality standards, particularly those relating to energy efficiency, in those industries that manufacture such motors and appliances. imilarly most of our vehicles, especially locally manufactured bodies of truc$s and buses, are energy inefficient. /oncluded

The writer is the president of the +a$istan %cademy of ciences and former chairman of the './. .mail2 ibne3sina4hotmail.com

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