Sustainable Energy, USA and worldwide

Renewable energy from evaporating water: "Scientists report the development of two novel devices that derive power directly from evaporation — a floating, piston-driven engine that generates electricity causing a light to flash, and a rotary engine that drives a miniature car."

First solar cell made of highly ordered molecular frameworks: "Researchers have developed a material suited for photovoltaics. For the first time, a functioning organic solar cell consisting of a single component has been produced on the basis of metal-organic framework compounds (MOFs). The material is highly elastic and might also be used for the flexible coating of clothes and deformable components."

Hematite 're-growth' smoothes rough edges for clean energy harvest: "By smoothing the surface of hematite, a team of researchers achieved the first 'unassisted' water splitting using the abundant rust-like mineral and silicon to capture and store solar energy within hydrogen gas."

Chemists devise technology that could transform solar energy storage: "Chemists have developed a major improvement to capture and retain energy from sunlight, where the stored energy can last dramatically longer than current solar technology allows — up to several weeks, instead of the microseconds found in today's rooftop solar panels."

Record-breaking solar flight reaches Hawaii after 5 nights and days airborne without fuel: "The longest and most difficult leg of the Round the World Solar Flight attempted since last March by Swiss explorers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg ended successfully in Hawaii. At the controls of Solar Impulse 2, pilot André Borschberg landed safely in Hawaii after flying 117 hours and 52 minutes over the Pacific Ocean from Japan powered only by the sun."

Now we just need to do that again but faster, and with a bigger plane.

Congratulations to everyone involved. (Not that they'll ever see this post but you know.)

... How did he sleep?

Sitting up?

Though personally I still think a better application of the technology (at least at the moment) would be to power the engines of a modern dirigible. More leg room for one. And better carrying capacity since it's the lifting gas that does the work in that regard.

Perhaps one day we'll have large-scale passenger airplanes that are powered entirely by renewable sources, but I don't think it'll ever be just solar power. You need something more efficient. It'll be some sort of biofuel. (Solar can still be one of many power sources.)

edited 6th Jul '15 11:47:12 PM by BestOf

It would be nice to get back into zeppelins and dirigibles. Sure, they're slower than planes, but they can carry far more. Use them as cargo haulers. We have a better understanding of electricity, weather, and lifting gasses, so we're not going to have another Hindenburg on our hands.

The problem is that getting something like that started costs lots of money, and there's no will for it.

This is the kind of reason why I wish I was rich and/or a Wall Street man.

@ Handle: I don't think the pilots did. They did, however, meditate.

Any human trying to stay awake more than 72 hours will die.

One guy stayed awake for 264.4 hours (or 11 days 24 minutes).

This guy just can't sleep at all, and hasn't done so for over 40 years.

Freaky...

Wave generator powers US electrical grid for the first time: "The US has started receiving power from wave energy for the first time, thanks to a prototype wave generator called Azura.

Installed off the coast of Hawaii at the US Navy's Wave Energy Test Site in Kaneohe Bay, this 40-tonne, bright yellow device is the first of what the national Department of Energy (DoE) says could be a fleet of wave generators working together to supply clean, renewable power to America’s coastal cities. With 50 percent of the population living along 80 kilometres of coastline, the potential is huge, if they can get it right."

edited 22nd Jul '15 11:53:38 PM by rmctagg09

New battery technologies take on lithium-ion: "Lithium-ion batteries remain the technology-of-choice for today's crop of electric cars, but challengers are revving up to try to upset the current order. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, takes a look at two of the top contenders vying to erode lithium-ion's dominance."

Salt water for lamp designed to serve people without electricity: "A startup team calls their work a product. They also call it a social movement. Many people in the over-7,000 islands in the Philippines lack access to electricity. The startup would like to make a difference. Their main ingredient is salt.

Their product is a lamp that takes two tablespoons of salt and a glass of water in order to work. This is from the Sustainable Alternative Lighting, or SALt Corp. This is a startup focused on delivering a cost effective, environmentally safe lamp that runs on salt water.

Their lamp could be an alternative to kerosene/battery powered lamps and candles as a main source of lighting. They said use of the SALt lamp for eight hours a day every day delivers an anode lifespan of six months and used just as an alternative light source will prolong the life of the anode for more than a year."

edited 28th Jul '15 1:59:53 AM by rmctagg09

Researchers have designed a simple fusion reactor that could be running in 10 years: "Scientists at Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) in the US have designed a 6.6-metre-wide fusion reactor that they say could provide electricity to around 100,000 people. Even better, it could be up and running within 10 years, according to their calculations."

I'd love for it to happen, but truthfully, I'll believe it when I see it.

Yeah, they've been saying they're ten years away from a working fusion reactor for the past twenty years. If they're right this time, hey, that's great. Put a couple in every city and our energy problems are practically fixed. But I'm not going to start throwing money at them quite yet.

Microscopic rake doubles efficiency of low-cost solar cells: "Researchers have developed a manufacturing technique that could double the electricity output of inexpensive solar cells by using a microscopic rake when applying light-harvesting polymers."

Artificial leaf harnesses sunlight for efficient fuel production: "A new solar fuel generation system, or artificial leaf, safely creates fuel from sunlight and water with record-setting efficiency and stability."

Soaking up carbon dioxide and turning it into valuable products: "Researchers have incorporated molecules of porphyrin CO2 catalysts into the sponge-like crystals of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to create a molecular system that not only absorbs carbon dioxide, but also selectively reduces it to CO, a primary building block for a wide range of chemical products."

Disappearing Ancient Texts Could Be Saved by Solar-Powered Device: "A 13th-century text recording the discoveries of a medieval polymath, a handwritten dictionary that may help decipher ancient texts, a magical text dating back hundreds of years and writings etched on palm leaves that record centuries of history. All of these and many more are in danger of being lost to the elements.

In this race against time, a team of engineers and archivists are developing a solar-powered device to safeguard historical treasures in India."

Super solar cells collect higher energy photons 30 times better: "A team of scientists have created solar cells that collect higher energy photons at 30 times the concentration of conventional solar cells, the highest luminescent concentration factor ever recorded."

Into the mix: Harnessing the energy when freshwater meets the sea: "New research reveals the potential benefits of harnessing the energy created from salinity gradients, with impacts across climate change, fossil fuel reliance and the global desalination industry."

Engineers invent transparent coating that cools solar cells to boost efficiency: "Every time you stroll outside you emit energy into the universe: Heat from the top of your head radiates into space as infrared light.

Now three Stanford engineers have developed a technology that improves on solar panel performance by exploiting this basic phenomenon. Their invention shunts away the heat generated by a solar cell under sunlight and cools it in a way that allows it to convert more photons into electricity."

Green storage for green energy: "Researchers have demonstrated a safe and affordable battery capable of storing energy from intermittent sources — like rooftop solar panels — that is suitable for the home."

Small-scale nuclear fusion may be a new energy source: "Fusion energy may soon be used in small-scale power stations. This means producing environmentally friendly heating and electricity at a low cost from fuel found in water. Both heating generators and generators for electricity could be developed within a few years, according to new research."