When President Obama recently called for a “Sputnik moment” to inspire a new generation of American innovation, he probably did not expect researchers at Stanford University to answer with a waffle iron. However, that pretty much summed up what happened, at least in the nanoscale world of plasmonics. It could … [continued]
After the record-breaking flooding in Australia, now what has been described as the worst cyclone in its history is bearing down on Queensland at 33kmh (20 mph). Waves of over 14 meters (46 feet) and wind gusts above 260km/h (162 mph) are predicted from cyclone Yasi. Forecasters are saying that … [continued]
In what is considered to be a first in new materials science, a team of engineers at the Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories have created a light-absorbing material that efficiently generates charge and charge separation. What’s more, these “films” are transparent, making them perfect for windows. Soon, perhaps, your … [continued]
The state-run Nepal Electricity Authority has had to cut power for 11 hours a day beginning this week, because river water levels have dropped dramatically, according to AllHeadlineNews. With its steep terrain topped by glaciers, Nepal has the greatest hydro power potential in the world, at 84,000 megawatts. To date, … [continued]
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy have developed a material that could turn an ordinary-looking window into a solar panel. If developed successfully, the breakthrough means that any window could do double duty as a solar panel, and entire glass-walled buildings could be designed around their capacity to generate … [continued]
Researchers from The University of Cambridge have come up with a low-cost organic solar cell that could make practically any plastic object into a solar power generator.
In a last-minute race to the finish-line, the CEC has approved a staggering 2,800 MW (or 3 GW) of solar projects this month in California. [social_buttons] Among them are Tessera Solar‘s 709 MW Imperial Valley Solar project in Imperial County (scaled down from 750 MW, by BLM request) and NextEra … [continued]
In a complete reversal of the usual pattern, where water temperatures are generally cooler than land temperatures, for the second year running, the ocean was actually hotter than land in some regions, marking another ominous sign of the strange and unpredictable effects of continued global warming. [social_buttons] After last years … [continued]
A team of researchers has discovered that graphene can be stretched to create tiny nanobubbles in which electrons generate the same energy levels that otherwise would require an extremely strong magnetic field. The discovery provides a clue to the manipulation of electrons in graphene, which in turn could lead to … [continued]
Researchers at Cornell University have developed a process for building an organic molecular-scale framework that could be used to collect solar energy. They did it using phthalocyanines, which are common dyes used in blue jeans and numerous other products. [social_buttons] The researchers came up with a way to assemble the … [continued]
