New ceramic composites that could potentially greatly improve the fuel efficiency of jet engines and reduce pollution are now being tested thanks to a new testing facility, the first of its kind, created by the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Because of how light … [continued]
Until now, objects on the nanoscale have only been viewable in black and white, but a newly created microscopy tool is now going to change that. With the new tool, it becomes possible to learn much more about the chemistry that occurs on the nanoscale and how different materials … [continued]
Okay, so maybe Damon Runyon was not thinking about a government-supported energy efficiency research project when he wrote, “the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s how the smart money bets.” But if he was alive today, he might have been thinking of … [continued]
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered that an old technique for making explosives can be redeployed to produce biofuel. The process involves an odd little bacterium called Clostridium acetobutylicum, which once upon a time was used to manufacture cordite, an explosive propellant for artillery shells and bullets. Aside from … [continued]
Fossil fuels seem to be running out of places to go. Back in March, officials in Ohio put new restrictions on the natural gas drilling method called fracking after seismologists linked it to earthquakes, and last Friday the National Research Council issued a report detailing the impact of conventional … [continued]
The U.S. Navy is behind a push to exploit one of the “hottest” areas of the electromagnetic spectrum, the terahertz band. The Office of Naval Research contributed to a breakthrough project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory last fall with the help of graphene nanoribbons, and just last month a team … [continued]
Tobacco is about to take center stage as a renewable biofuel crop if new research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory pans out. That would be quite a turnaround for tobacco, which according to the Centers for Disease Control is responsible for one in every five deaths in the U.S. … [continued]
They’re at it again–Republicans and Democrats in a practically dysfunctional Congress fought over budgetary matters this past week, specifically an extension of the wind energy production tax credit. The wind energy PTC has helped spur billions of dollars of investment in a young, emerging industry that’s going to prove vital in decades to come. It’s helped create thousands of good jobs when job creation has cratered. It’s improved environmental and health conditions. We won’t have it, Congressional Republicans voted once again.
One of the biggest obstacles to large-scale use of hydrogen-powered fuel cells is in how to store the hydrogen, a task which currently requires high pressure,… which, itself, is energy intensive. Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are aiming to solve this problem by creating new materials in which to store the hydrogen.
The average cost of installing solar power in the US dropped a record amount in the past 18 months, spurring growth in demand and jobs, as a mix of private industry initiative, government support, and public-private collaboration fostered industry and market development.
