Researchers from the University of Notre Dame in the US have designed a PZT (lead zirconate titanate) piezoelectric device that resembles skin (they called it the EH skin) and that can harness energy from the mechanical work applied to it. The new device can be used in a variety of applications, ranging from wireless sensor units to patches that get energy from vibrations and pass it on to the grid. The sample they tested got as much as 3.7 mW.
A Swedish company called Opbrid has come up with a hybrid bus model. Put into circulation in the city of Umea, the bus is more than anyone could dream of: it can take passengers through the city for 18 kilometers in a row without stopping or switching to diesel.
Frequent readers of this site may recall another article being posted about Google's investment in solar power plants in the Mojave Desert. And you may also recall their vow to look out for more ways to obtain clean, renewable energy. Well, it looks like they're bound to their word. Next on G's "to do" list is the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm in Oregon, U.S.
Ever since releasing the first electric Mini back in 2009, BMW has received complaints from customers driving the Mini E about how the back seat space is taken up by batteries, for example, or most importantly, how much less power you have in an electric car during winter. With the ActiveE, the trunk is still rather reduced, but other aspects are much improved.
Most people didn't know that cooking on a regular stove can be very harmful for the environment and also for themselves. Using wood, kerosene and coal in your cook stove is not so cheap and more than that, the toxic fume resulted is very dangerous for anyone who inhales it.
IBM is seemingly more and more concerned about green technologies, and now invests in a project that can solve the problem of cooling solar cells that would otherwise be hard to use because of the high temperatures they're exposed to (120°C), aka concentrated photovoltaics.
A new record for concentrated photovoltaics efficiency has been broken by Solar Junction, the same company that announced a 41.4% efficiency in February. The new score is 43.5% and their multi-junction solar cells can be produced right away.
One by one, states across the globe become conscious of their solar energy potential and act accordingly â€Ã¢â‚¬Å“ those that can, of course. Australia is one of them. With a growing demand for electricity and the challenge of polluting less, they try to move the weight from a coal-based industry to one that uses mostly solar power.
If last year's auto market has seen the introduction of Nissan's 100% electric, no-gas Leaf, 2011 witnesses the appearance of a racing Leaf at New York's Auto Show. Being a racing car, the concept of the Leaf is a...
The great side about physics is that it discovers things where you would least expect them to be found. For example, just when you thought you knew everything about light, here comes an exciting new discovery that could become an alternative source of power, involving the magnetic properties of light!
