Category: Energy systems
Sphelar is prettier and more efficient than flat solar cells
Where flat solar cells depend on angle to maximize how much energy they extract from sun, the Sphelar solar cell has an efficiency of nearly 20%, because it places 1mm ball-like solar cells in a flower-like pattern which can…
Is global cooling the answer to global warming?
Though increasing effort goes into combating the worldwide effects of pollution, will it be enough? And if not, then what? Roger Angel, University of Arizona Regents Professor and the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory's director, suggests not interposing a great…
The Maantis light from twenty thousand fathoms
Put the eerie glow of a giant sea monster in your office! British architect Richard Rogers developed the Maantis lighting system based on the internal structures of incandescent deep-deep sea creatures. Even when it's turned off, its light-hungry ribs…
Flisom says thin film solar to wipe out fossil power
New thin film solar, so lightweight and flexible it can be stuck to the side of buildings (or clothing for that matter) is about to sweep the marketplace and provide power at half the cost of the current fossil-fuel…
Smart Nanobattery improves batteries a hundredfold
While we've seen slight improvements in battery life since they were invented over a hundred years ago, with the introduction of advanced alkaline, rechargeable lithium-ion, rechargeable Ni-MH, and now the recent Rapid-Charge type, the extension still has us replacing…
Coffee via a donut
Pretty much, the more intimate (er, you know what I mean) your relationship is with your keyboard, the more you like caffeine. But, coffee isn't always an option, so Dr. Robert Bohannon created a way to embed caffeine in…
Green tips for computer energy savings
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory green tips isn't lengthy, but it does include one good one: don't use a screen saver. Screen savers are old tech designed to keep phosphors from literally burning images into a monitor that had…
How to Throw Away that Broken iPod
What to do with last year’s electronics? How to Throw Away that Broken iPod talks about the issues in exporting toxic trash to third-world countries: "ill-protected workers burn plastic off copper wires, releasing dioxins, and bathe old computer chips…
Powersheet provides power without wire
Capable of feeding up to 30 watts, the flexible power sheet prototype from Takao Someya, professor of engineering at the University of Tokyo, detects the power port on a gadget placed on the surface, and inducts power into gadgets…
How to save £1250 a month with solar power
Would you trade a red clay roof for a shiny black one – if it saved you £1250 a month in mains charges? California homeowners are outfitting their houses with solar panels, getting free power, and pocketing profits from…