Scientists at the US government laboratory which developed the first atomic bomb say nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power about 20,000 homes will be available within the next five years. The miniature reactors will be factory-sealed, absent of any weapon-grade materials, and also have … [continued]
Almost half a million dollars invested by the National Science Foundation over the last 5 years has just yielded a space age material so light and strong that it makes a 28 mile per hour crash feel like a gentle fender blip at 5 mph. Afsaneh Rabiei has invented a … [continued]
“A toast to the end of the Bush Era…” That was the first sentence of an amazing presentation held by Sir Nicholas Stern in São Paulo at the Federation of the Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) on Tuesday this week. In less than an hour, Dr. Stern … [continued]
Raser Technologies announced this week that it has completed construction of a plant on top of one of the United States’ largest geothermal hotbeds to be discovered in over 25 years—so large that Raser believes it could power one third of all homes in Utah.
Virginia-based Catch the Wind has an innovative solution for improving wind turbine efficiency— laser beams. The company’s fiber-optic laser system gives turbines up to 20 extra seconds to adjust to changes in gusts and wind direction. That may not sound like much, but Catch the Wind claims that its system … [continued]
The US Navy has awarded Ocean Power Technologies a $3 million contract for participation in the second phase of its Deep Water Active Detection Systems (“DWADS”) program.
Few people will argue that LED lights are particularly attractive, but they may just be able to make you more attractive. German researchers reported last month that people who received several weeks of treatment under LED lights experienced a lessening of skin wrinkles similar to what is seen with Botox … [continued]
Solar energy is necessary for our transition to a sustainable economy, but a recent study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that the industry may be harming the environment. Nitrogen Triflouride (NF3), a greenhouse gas used by the semiconductor industry to clean the chambers where silicon chips are produced, has 17,000 … [continued]
Are you too lazy to go around unplugging appliances when you’re done with them? Do you still consider yourself environmentally aware? Then maybe it’s time to look into purchasing the Harriet Carter Outlet Switch. The device— not to be confused with a power strip— is a current cutter that allows … [continued]
The solar cells, about the size of a 12-point font letter ‘o,’ are being tested to eventually power microscopic machines, such as those used to test chemical leaks in the air. The researchers at the University of South Florida say these are some of the smallest solar cells ever, with … [continued]
