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POPS0.3% of Saharan Sun Enough To Power Europe The visionary proposal comes as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission released its strategic energy technology plan which highlighted photovoltaic cells as one of the eight technologies that need to be developed in the future. The plan also includes fuel cells, hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind and smart grids.
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POPSThe key to oil independence is a new electrical grid It seems that with alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar, the United States has the potential means to substantially reduce our dependence on oil - especially once plug-in cars are on the market. But until we substantially upgrade our nation's electrical grid with modern technology that will enable the energy created by these sources to be transmitted intelligently around the county, their impact will be limited. It's going to take a greater commitment from Congress to jump start this. Making it happen will provide a huge boost to our economy, environment and political leverage with the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela and more.
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POPS'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year. "This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind,"
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POPSCan we harness energy from outer space? While nuclear fusion has already been tested with the hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium, those reactions give off the majority of their energy as radioactive neutrons, raising both safety and production concerns. Helium-3, on the other hand, is perfectly safe. It doesn't give off any pollution or radioactive waste and poses no danger to surrounding areas. helium-3 has two protons but only one neutron. When it's heated to very high temperatures and combined with deuterium, the reaction releases incredible amounts of energy. Just 2.2 pounds (one kilogram) of helium-3 combined with 1.5 pounds (0.67 kilograms) of deuterium produces 19 megawatt-years of energy Roughly 25 tons of the stuff could power the United States for an entire year.
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POPSWhy we need high oil prices I know this sounds crazy, but i honestly believe that high oil prices in the short term (1-5 years) is a very good thing if it forces us to find alternatives. I am definitely concerned that if oil prices drop temporarily, the momentum behind alternatives such as wind and solar will die off - leaving us exactly where we are today - way too dependent on oil and way to harmful to our environment.
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POPSA Giant Solar Tower Could Power the Future On a sunny day, the air at the top of the tower would be 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), whereas the air in the greenhouse could reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius). As this hot air escapes up the tower at 34 mph (15 meters per second), it spins 32 turbines that generate up to 200 megawatts of electricity. Even with all this power, the solar tower is less than one tenth as efficient as solar cells in converting the sun's energy into electricity. The advantage for a solar tower is that its materials are much less expensive.
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POPSWhy can't the U.S. be more like Varese? If this town in Italy can be 100% dependent on renewable power, why can't towns/cities in the U.S. do the same? It really makes me angry to live in a country that holds itself out as a world leader, yet we need to look at small towns in Italy to see examples of the Power Revolution. It frightens me that Big Oil stands in the way of the U.S. leading the Revolution.
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POPSSolar Sailing in Space The concept of solar sailing was invented in the 1920s by two Russian scientists, and it has been the subject of a few projects over the years, says Louis Friedman, the executive director of the Planetary Society, a public space organization based in Pasadena, CA
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POPSThe World's First Flying Saucer: Made Right Here on Earth Using an onboard source of energy (such as a battery, ultracapacitor, solar panel or any combination thereof), the electrodes will send an electrical current into the plasma, causing the plasma to push against the neutral (noncharged) air surrounding the craft, theoretically generating enough force for liftoff and movement in different directions (depending on where on the craft's surface you direct the electrical current). The concept sounds far-fetched, but U.F. mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor Subrata Roy plans to have a mini model ready to demonstrate his theory within the next year.
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POPSSolar powered Prius!! Now this is exciting news! This type of innovation is exactly what the world needs to help us lose our dependency on oil. It is also the type of progress that i believe will spur the economy out of its very nasty funk.
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POPSFilling up your car with ELECTRICITY!! When we can fill up our cars with electricity instead of gasoline - and generate electricity through wind and solar power - and transmit more electricity over the grid - we will have truly changed global dynamics. The amazing thing is that it may not be more than a few years away! Any additional help we can get from Washington will make a huge difference. I hope to see this be a central issue in the upcoming election.
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POPSRocket Scientists Say We'll Never Reach the Stars Even the most theoretically efficient type of propulsion, an imaginary engine powered by antimatter, would still require decades to reach Alpha Centauri, according to Robert Frisbee, group leader in the Advanced Propulsion Technology Group within NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. And then there's the issue of fuel. It would take at least the current energy output of the entire world to send a probe to the nearest star
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POPSMicropbes Under Sea Floor Shows Possibility of Alien Life However, this population lives at an unusual rate. Single-celled organisms usually consume food for energy and then rather than grow larger, simply divide and reproduce themselves. While the Bacteria Escherichia Coli, as an example, doubles its numbers every 20 minutes, these Archaea double on the order of hundreds or thousands of years and consume very little energy. "In essence, these microbes are almost, practically dead by our normal standards," says House. "They metabolize a little, but not much." According to House, organisms metabolizing at such slow rates is what we could expect to find in other areas of our solar system because such environments have much less energy available than on Earth. Perhaps, similar organisms may be in hydrothermal vents beneath the ice of Europa -- the second moon of Jupiter -- or in subsurface aquifers of Mars.
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POPSShock Discovery of Ancient Space Invader This rock sample contains fragments of the first asteroid ever discovered intact. The brown 'nuggets' in the sample once orbited the Sun, and are probably older than the planets in our Solar System.
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POPSThe Energy Technology Revolution Tom Friedman is so right (shocker) about this. I find it to be insane that this is not THE ISSUE of the presidential election. T. Boone Pickens gets it. Tom Friedman gets it. Europe and Asia seem to get it. When will Washington get it???
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