electricity
Tapping industrial waste heat could reduce fossil fuel demands in the short term and improve efficiency of countless manufacturing processes, according to scientists in Japan writing in the International Journal of Exergy.
Eds: A terrific comment back-and-forth has developed on this post since we published it March 24. If your interests trend toward particle physics and cold fusion, treat yourself with a read.
Researchers are reporting compelling new scientific evidence for the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), the process once called “cold fusion” that may promise a new source of energy.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In the quest to pack ever-smaller electronic devices more densely with integrated circuits, nanotechnology researchers keep running up against some unpleasant truths: higher current density induces electromigration and thermomigration, phenomena that damage metal conductors and produce heat, which leads to premature failure of devices.
Photodetectors -- devices found in cell phones, digital cameras and other consumer gadgets that utilize photoconducting materials -- are a green technology in performance (converting light into electricity), but the manufacture of very powerful photodetectors needs to be improved before they can qualify for solid green status.
New Haven, Conn.--Even in the midst of a growing economic crisis last fall, over 90 percent of Americans said that the United States should act to reduce global warming, according to a national survey released today by researchers at Yale and George Mason Universities.
The Polymer Chemistry Research Group at the University of Helsinki, Finland, has succeeded in producing nano-sized metallic copper particles. When the size of particles is reduced to a nano-scale (one nanometre being one billionth of a metre), the properties of the material undergo substantial changes.
The concept of delaying global warming by adding particles into the upper atmosphere to cool the climate could unintentionally reduce peak electricity generated by large solar power plants by as much as one-fifth, according to a new NOAA study. The findings appear in this week's issue of Environmental Science and Technology.
With adequate financial and political support, renewable energy technologies like wind and photovoltaics could supply 40 percent of the world's electricity by 2050, according to findings from the International Scientific Congress "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions." However, if such technologies are marginalized, its share is likely to hover below 15 percent.
An analysis of the engineering and economics for a solar water-heating system shows it to have a payback period of just two years, according to researchers in India. They report, in the International Journal of Global Energy Issues, on the success of the 1000-liter system operating at a university hostel.
Putting idle servers to sleep when they're not in use is part of University of Michigan researchers' plan to save up to 75 percent of the energy that power-hungry computer data centers consume.
The water levels in the Dead Sea - the deepest point on Earth - are dropping at an alarming rate with serious environmental consequences, according to Shahrazad Abu Ghazleh and colleagues from the University of Technology in Darmstadt, Germany.
Cellulosic biofuels offer similar, if not lower, costs and very large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared to petroleum-derived fuels. That's one of the key take-home messages from a series of expert papers on "The Role of Biomass in America's Energy Future (RBAEF)" in a special issue of Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining.
Students have a laundry list of reasons why writing is one of their least favorite subjects. How do we adjust this mind set through incorporating science?
This article will explore tips, tricks, and techniques of using science to actually excite students about writing in school at all age levels K-12. Teachers and students- you no longer have to dread writing time!
Geothermal energy is increasingly contributing to the power supply world wide. Iceland is world-leader in expanding development of geothermal utilization: in recent years the annual power supply here doubled to more than 500 MW alone in the supply of electricity.
Research by TU Delft proves that Dutch power stations are able to cope at any time in the future with variations in demand for electricity and supply of wind power, as long as use is made of up-to-date wind forecasts. PhD candidate Bart Ummels also demonstrates that there is no need for energy storage facilities. Ummels will receive his PhD on this topic on Thursday 26 February.
