Uranium Nitride Could Be Used As Better Replacement for Current Nuclear Fuels, Los Alamos...
Uranium nitride can provide an alternative to the uranium and plutonium oxides now used. Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico have recently discovered some of its reactive properties.
Phantom Eye – Boeing's New Hydrogen Powered Spy Plane
Plane maker Boeing recently launched a hydrogen-powered spy unit that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days. Dubbed Phantom Eye, it is one of the most environmentally friendly airplanes available today. According to officials, this unmanned aircraft can carry up to 450 lbs, having a 150-foot wingspan.
PZT Nanofibers Piezoelectric Generator Producing 1.6V Unveiled by SIT Scientist
Dr. Yong Shi, from Stevens Institute of Technology has released a paper called "1.6 V Nanogenerator for Mechanical Energy Harvesting Using PZT Nanofibers." He uses piezoelectric nanowire- and nanofiber-based generators that can convert mechanical energy into electricity.
FloDrive Turbine – 1kW Hydroelectric Generator to Power Homes in Developing Countries
Students at Cambridge University have recently created a portable hydroelectric generator that is able to supply up to 1 kW of electricity when installed...
Plasmonic Motor Powered Mechanically and Directly by Light, Developed by UC Berkeley
Researchers from the University of California Berkeley, led by Xiang Zhang, a principal investigator with the university's Materials Sciences Division and director of UC Berkeley's Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center (SINAM), demonstrated for the first time practically how light can actually move material nanometric particles of gold by using surface plasmons.
Delft Researcher Modifies Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells' Production Line to Raise Efficiency
Amorphous silicon solar cells lose their efficiency during the first hours of sunlight exposure, because of the phenomenon called the Staebler-Wronski effect, which has not yet been fully explained by science. After several hours of sunlight, these types of solar cells lose about a third of their efficiency, from 10 to 7 percent.
WSU Researchers Creating New Compressed Material for Ultra-High Capacity Energy Storage
A new material able to store unprecedented amounts of energy and revolutionize batteries, the car industry and renewable energy sector has been discovered by Washington State University scientists by using pressures similar to those found deep in the Earth.
Xcel Energy Starts Hybrid Power Plant in Colorado
Designed by Abengoa Solar, a Spanish company that has its U.S. headquarters in Lakewood, the $4.5 million plant which is slated for shutdown by the end of 2010, has been converted to test the use of parabolic-trough mirrors.
New Organic Framework for More Efficient Graetzel Solar Cells Discovered
Scientists from Cornell University have unveiled a basic process that could give solar cells a boost in efficiency and a drop in price. The process employs molecules typically used in coloring blue jeans and in ink dyes. Their purpose if to build an organic framework that could serve as a building block for cheaper and flexible solar cells.
Power Generating River Turbines To Be Installed Under Famous Parisian Bridges
After having installed the heating systems of some of their buildings based on underground springs, and mini-windmills on buildings, the people of Paris will have yet another clean energy generation project right under their famous and historical bridges. They call them "hydroliennes", or water turbines, powered by the river Seine (if you haven't visited Paris, you should).
