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Visitor Information: The RPS Gallery and coffee shop will be closed on Saturday 7 December

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Hope for the Future

Science Photographer of the Year Exhibition 2020
1623 Fuel For Thought By Håkan Kvarnström
CREDIT: Håkan Kvarnström
Fuel for Thought
Dr Håkan Kvarnström

A colony of a type of toxic algae. Fertiliser run-off and rising water temperatures cause large populations, or blooms, of algae to grow. These blooms reduce oxygen in the water so fish can’t survive. However, this colony is held together by oil. Scientists are exploring growing it commercially for fuel.

1182 Wind Power By Mihailis Konstandinidis
CREDIT: Mihailis Konstandinidis
Wind Power
Mihailis Konstandinidis

Wind turbines stretch along a mountain ridge above Sidirokastro in northern Greece. We have to find ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Renewable energy sources like wind are one way. Wind power is currently on track to provide a third of the world’s electricity by 2050.

1711 Floating Photovoltaic By Karina Castro
CREDIT: Karina Castro
Floating Photovoltaic
Karina Castro

Floating on the Lac des Toules in the Swiss Alps, this is the first large scale solar power station of its kind. At an altitude of 1,810 metres, it produces 50% more electricity than lowland solar panels. The cold makes the panels more efficient and reflective snow and thinner atmosphere provides more sunlight.

1419 Fog Catcher By David Martin Huamani Bedoya
CREDIT: David Martín Huamaní Bedoya
Fog Catcher
David Martín Huamaní Bedoya

Bringing water to desert areas is vital for people to grow the food they need to eat. In the Moquegua district of Peru, farmers hang out ten by five metre mesh sheets. Morning fog condenses on them and runs down to water the ground so local people can grow food.

1386 TEXTOR Fusion Experiment By Christian Lünig
CREDIT: Christian Lünig
TEXTOR Fusion Experiment
Christian Lünig

A technician makes adjustments inside the TEXTOR Fusion Experiment at the Jülich research centre in Germany. This reactor is part of an international project to prove that nuclear fusion could provide clean energy. Fusion releases considerable energy when atoms crash together at high temperature and pressure to form different atoms.

1075 Polycrystalline Solar Cell By Steve Morton FRPS
CREDIT: Steve Morton FRPS
Polycrystalline Solar Cell
Steven Morton FRPS

A polycrystalline solar cell is made of lots of silicon crystals. This close-up image shows the many crystals in different shades of blue. The vertical stripes are metal bars. These collect negatively-charged electrons generated when the cell is in sunshine. This sample is about 70mm wide.

0395 Modern Farming By Shaun Johnson LRPS
CREDIT: Shaun Johnson LRPS
Modern Farming
Shaun Johnson LRPS

Unreliable weather as a result of climate change is making farming harder than ever. Droughts, floods and changes in temperature all affect how crops grow. Many farmers find covering their land with solar panels and selling the electricity provides more reliable income than raising livestock or crops.

0286 Turbine Tranquility By Malcolm Journeaux ARPS
CREDIT: Malcolm Journeaux ARPS
Turbine Tranquility
Malcolm Journeaux ARPS

These five turbines off the coast of eastern England are part of the Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farms. 54 wind turbines like these generate enough electricity for 130,000 homes. Wind power provides 20% of the UK’s electricity. The UK is one of the world’s best locations for wind power.

1101 Microlenses By José Manuel Martínez López
CREDIT: José Manuel Martínez López
Microlenses
José Manuel Martínez López

Photomicrograph of tiny lenses on the surface of a solar cell. These lenses, each 0.8mm wide, concentrate the Sun's rays onto the surface of the solar cell resulting in better efficiency. A photomicrograph is a photograph taken through a microscope.

1654 Rooftop Organic Farming By Sudipto Das
CREDIT: Sudipto Das
Rooftop Organic Farming
Sudipto Das

Urban farmers in Kolkata, India tend vegetable plots on rooftops more than 15 metres above the streets. With careful watering and using only organic feed, this garden generates about 70kg of fresh vegetables a year. From beetroot to bitter gourd, the farmers grow 35 different kinds of vegetable.

1417 New Energies For New Times By David Martín Huamaní Bedoya
CREDIT: David Martín Huamaní Bedoya
New Energies for New Times
David Martín Huamaní Bedoya

Turbines of the Marcona wind farm, the first wind farm built in Peru. Commissioned in 2011, it has eleven turbines that generate a peak of 32 megawatts of electricity. Peru is investing in wind power and other renewable energy sources to become carbon neutral by 2050.

1380 Giants On The Move By Rasmus Degnbol
CREDIT: Rasmus Degnbol
Giant on the Move
Rasmus Degnbol / REDUX Pictures

A 78m-long blade for an offshore wind turbine seen crossing a roundabout in the city of Tarp, Denmark. The city had to make changes to its roads so the extremely long blade could get to the harbour. Engineers are designing longer blades to make the turbines more efficient.

1303 Synlight Experiment At DLR By Christian Lünig
CREDIT: Christian Lünig
Synlight Experiment
Christian Lünig

Some of the 149 lamps that form the ‘Synlight’ experiment, photographed at the Institute of Solar Research in Jülich, Germany. The ‘Synlight’ creates a light 10,000 times more intense than the sunlight that hits the Earth. It is used in experiments into making fuels such as hydrogen from water.