Researchers in Baghdad tested a way to keep silicon solar panels productive in extreme heat by combining evaporative cooling behind the panel with occasional water sprays across its front. A water-soaked cellulose pad cools the rear as a fan pulls air through it; sensors trigger front-side spraying when the panel reaches 42-45 °C. Runoff is collected and recirculated, and the sprays also wash dust from the surface. In tests conducted during Baghdad’s hottest, sunniest hours from July to September, the best setup - a 100-millimeter-thick pad - lowered panel temperature by 29.7 °C compared with an uncooled panel and raised electrical efficiency by about 20 percent. A 150-watt module produced an average of roughly 16.7 watts more.
The results are promising for hot, dry regions, where low humidity makes evaporation especially effective, but temperature reduction alone does not establish practical gains. In the single-panel prototype, the fan and pumps consumed more electricity than cooling immediately added to the panel’s output. Shared equipment in a large installation might reduce that overhead, and the cooled exhaust air could potentially help pre-cool building ventilation, though its measured temperature of about 34 °C would still need further cooling for comfort. Deployment would also depend on water supply, maintenance, dust and mineral buildup, nozzle reliability, and installation costs. The researchers are seeking partners to test the approach at commercial scale.
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The UK’s planned 2G and 3G shutdown by 2033 could disrupt 12-13 million smart meters, forcing replacements. The upgrade could cost about £4 billion, adding to the expense of the government’s troubled rollout. (theregister.com)
Honda plans to build a $3 billion auto plant in Ohio, creating about 2,000 manufacturing jobs. The investment will expand Honda’s production presence in the state. (reuters.com)
LiteDRAM’s guide explains how FPGA-to-DRAM signals, strobes, board layout, termination, reference voltages, and clocks affect memory communication. DDR3 and newer interfaces need boot-time tuning to align signal timing for reliable operation. (github.com)
Alice Huang reportedly helped a network of companies secure more than $7.5 billion in Nvidia GPU imports and move 240,000 restricted chips, mainly H100s and H200s, into China. The claims are based on an investigation tracing corporate links to Megaspeed and Shanghai Century Litong, alongside reports of her personal ties to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. (tomshardware.com)
Tendrils raised $30 million in a Benchmark-led round to develop a processor with thousands of parallel cores, designed to move beyond traditional CPU architectures. The company is also building Vine, an open-source programming language tailored to the new chip design. (tendrils.co)
Toyota is reviving Scion as “Scion by Toyota,” a vehicle-design initiative whose first model is the KEI-01, a rebadged kei truck planned for U.S. sale. Limited to under 25 mph, the right-hand-drive truck is intended for low-speed roads and commercial or agricultural use. (theautopian.com)
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