The Ability of Light to Produce Electrons, and Thus Electricity, Has Been Known For Over 100 Years.
At the Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Sandia National Laboratories, scientists have developed tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used. (more…)
4 Times As Efficient and Lasts Over 20 Times Longer
Sometimes called the electronic light bulb, the induction lamp offers high efficiency and a very long life because it operates without an electrode nor a filament. At the center of the lamp is the induction coil powered by an electronic unit at the base of the lamp. This coil produces a magnetic field in the lamp that ultimately produces light. This coil is sometimes referred to as an energy-coupling antenna. Since the induction lamp has no filament to burn out, so the lamp does not fail catastrophically as do incandescent bulbs. As the phosphors in the glass housing age, the induction lamp simply dims. (more…)
Explore the potential impacts of climate change on our planet Earth and learn about solutions for adaptation and mitigation, in the context of the United Nation’s Climate Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen. Plus you get a
chance to see what all of words have been trying to communicate or as the old adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words!”
Currently underway on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., twenty teams are competing in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Decathlon 2009. Also sponsored and managed by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Solar Decathlon is an international event in which DOE challenges university teams to design and build homes that run entirely on solar energy. Each team received $100,000 from DOE to uniquely design, build and operate an energy efficient, fully solar-powered home for this unique competition. The teams ship their partially constructed homes to the National Mall. Then they assemble (more…)
In operational testing since July, at Heathrow Airport in London, a network of personal driverless pods are taking passengers non-stop to their destinations, cutting down on congestion and pollution. ULTra (Urban Light Transport) is an innovative form of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT). It is designed to meet the expectations of passengers – convenient, inexpensive, reliable, safe and easy to use, while also satisfying public demands for value for money, ease of construction and environmental benefit. As convenient as, or in congested environments more convenient than, the car, but with minimal environmental impact. (more…)
A team of 40 students at Sakarya University, Turkey, have built an astounding hydrogen car. All 40 are members of the Advanced Technologies Implementation Group (SAITEM) at the university, comprised mostly of students who do the technical and mechanical work. This hydrogen fuel powered vehicle they call SAHIMO, is capable of an incredible 1,412 MPG (568 kilometers per liter). Constructed of 90% carbon-fiber this little aerodynamic vehicle weighs in at less than 243 pounds (110 kilograms). Not sure if that is fully fueled or not, nor the size of the fuel tank. But with that kind of mileage, you wouldn’t need more than a 2 gallon tank max and fully fueled would be not much over 16 pounds (7.26 kilograms). (more…)