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Yearly Archives: 2010
Hydroelectric Generator: How to Build a Small One
If you want to produce electricity using a river near your home, the best way you can do it is to build a small-scale hydroelectric generator. Often called as a low-impact hydro, micro-hydro or run-of-stream hydro generator, this system is not very hard to build.
Pea Plants Providing Inspiration for Artificial Solar Cells
Trying to imitate the plants and the way they produce energy when hit by light, Prof. Nathan Nelson of Tel Aviv University's Department of Biochemistry discovered a complex membrane protein and founded a new model for developing "green energy", having this membrane at its core.
1998 Volkswagen Scirocco Powered by Coffee Granules
Today, the auto field is dominated by vehicles running on electricity or other alternative sources of energy but there is a team from the...
Thermopower Waves: MIT's Invention That Could Change Batteries and Devices Forever
Thermopower waves are a phenomenon that happens when powerful waves of energy shoot through carbon nanotube wires, creating electricity. The researchers from MIT are responsible for this discovery, thus opening a new area of rare energy research.
New Kind of Magnetic Solder Eliminates Toxic Lead
A group of scientists at the Yale University have created a new type of magnetic, lead-free solder that could be used to manufacture electronics more efficiently and cheaply.
Arctic Emissions of Methane Could Trigger Abrupt Climate Warming
Researchers concluded that the release of just a fraction of the methane held in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf sediments could lead to a sudden warming of the climate.
China's Biggest Renewable Energy Project to be Launched Soon
China is planning to reduce its carbon footprint by 40-45% from the 2005 level and until 2020 to generate 15% of its electricity from low-carbon technologies. According to Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, a national program consisting of billions of dollars of investments in solar, wind and nuclear energy would be launched very soon.
Small Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Show Potential in Central and Eastern Europe
Nobody would have ever though that Central and Eastern Europe would have the technology or financial resources to build a super car or a zero emission vehicle. This is why we are now astonished as the Hungarian company called Antro developed a hybrid car that is also able to run on solar power.
Artificial Photosynthesis Could Power Homes on a Bottle of Water
MIT chemist Dan Nocera claims that with just one bottle of drinking water and four hours of sunlight, he can generate 30 KWh of electric energy, being enough to power an entire home. This process consist in a a cobalt-based catalyst that uses solar energy to split water and produce hydrogen.
Saw-Free Manufacturing Process Makes Solar Cells 80% Cheaper
1366 Technologies, a company based in Lexington, MA, shows how a new manufacturing process can make silicon solar cells 80 percent cheaper. The company dreams that within 10 years they will be able to improve the technology so as the solar cells built by them to compete with coal in price.
