Tag Archive
Space-age glasses to replace bifocals
Traditionally, people that need glasses for seeing close to them but not for seeing far away have had a problem. Normal reading glasses help them while seeing close but they need to be taken off to see further away. Bifocals are glasses with two different strengths but that means a smaller field of view for each... »
Japan launches solar sail spacecraft
Last month the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the small spacecraft Ikaros, with a 200 square meter (2100 sq. ft.) solar sail wrapped around it. BBC reports that on June 3rd the craft was in position, ca. 7 million km (5M miles) from earth, and the sail was deployed. The ends of the sail was unbuttoned... »
Turning chicken poop into energy
John Logan is a chicken farmer who learned that his soil was becoming contaminated because of chicken poop. Afraid that it would pollute the river near to where he grows them, he decided to do something with the poop. After working with scientists from Mississippi State University he has now patented the world’s first Chicken... »
Plastisoil: The recycled, self-draining sidewalk
Naji Khoury of Temple University has invented a new type of cementing agent. By mixing soil and recyclable bottles he has created what he calls “Plastisoil”. When mixed with some additives and heated it creates what he calls “porous Plastisoil”. The chief benefit of Plastisoil is that rainwater can run through it, greatly reducing the need... »
Robot that requires no batteries and no fuel
The SOLO-TREC underwater robot can in theory run forever. Developed, and reported on, by NASA, in cooperation with the US Navy and university researchers, it is made to explore the ocean floor and it’s inhabitants. The SOLO-TREC uses differences in temperature between different depths of the ocean to produce it’s power. The power thus generated is... »
Tires that grow on trees
It takes about 7 billion gallons (or just over 25 billion liters) of oil to make all the tires made around the world every year. But this is about to change. Though there are multiple ways being researched right now to make tire-production less dependent on oil, one of the more promising is the work... »
Thorium reactors: Cleaner, safer, easier nuclear energy
Nuclear reactors that use Thorium instead of Uranium as a fuel have been under some discussion lately, and for a good reason. Thorium reactors need less fuel, produce less waste; and less dangerous waste, they can’t melt down and they produce no materials that can be reliably used to make nuclear bombs. Dispatch.com had a very... »
Air-Force likes Algae
I’ve spoken of algae being used as a fuel source before. This is just one of many energy inventions as of late and could easily have been lost in the flood…until now. DARPA, the military research and development agency, is developing means of mass-produced algae fuel and the US air force intends to start using it... »
Store the sun with artificial photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process in plants that turns sunlight into energy. By taking energy generated by solar panels and storing it by splitting water into Hydrogen and Oxygen we can store the energy and use it when the sun isn’t shining, effectively storing the energy until we need it. This is essentially what plants do. While... »
More plans for nuclear waste
GE and Hitatchi aren’t the only ones that have plans for nuclear waste. General Atomics has plans to set up a reactor specifically to burn spent nuclear fuel to create energy. The reactor they have designed is only 20cm long and less than 6 m in diameter, meaning it can be transported on large trucks. The... »
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