Archive for the 'Energy' Category
Obama Authorizes Limited Air Strikes Against Militants in Iraq
August 8th, 2014So worried about a “Potential act of genocide” is it? “Fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.” That’s very interesting, considering that the U.S. funded and armed the ISIS group it now wants to bomb. And while we’re on to topic of funding and arming terrorists, remember that the U.S. is the primary state sponsor of the […]
Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor Project Attracts Venture Capital Funds
August 7th, 2014Via: Gigaom: On Tuesday, nuclear startup Transatomic Power announced that it has closed a seed round of $2 million from the Founders Fund’s newly-launched science-focused fund FF Science. The Founders Fund is the firm behind some of the more successful Internet startups out there including Facebook, Yammer and Spotify, but also some science-focused companies such […]
BMW Launches Its Answer to Tesla’s Supercharger Network
August 5th, 2014Via: Wired: The biggest problem automakers selling electric cars face is limited range. No one wants to get caught without any juice. To get around this concern, Tesla, whose Model S offers the best range (up to 265 miles), is building a vast network of “Supercharger” stations that make it possible to take epic road […]
NASA Validates ‘Impossible’ Space Drive
August 3rd, 2014Via: Wired: Nasa is a major player in space science, so when a team from the agency this week presents evidence that “impossible” microwave thrusters seem to work, something strange is definitely going on. Either the results are completely wrong, or Nasa has confirmed a major breakthrough in space propulsion. British scientist Roger Shawyer has […]
Panasonic and Tesla Sign Agreement for the Gigafactory
July 31st, 2014Via: Tesla Motors: Panasonic Corporation and Tesla Motors, Inc. have signed an agreement that lays out their cooperation on the construction of a large-scale battery manufacturing plant in the United States, known as the Gigafactory. According to the agreement, Tesla will prepare, provide and manage the land, buildings and utilities. Panasonic will manufacture and supply […]
Meet the Electric Life Forms That Live on Pure Energy
July 18th, 2014Via: New Scientist: Unlike any other life on Earth, these extraordinary bacteria use energy in its purest form – they eat and breathe electrons – and they are everywhere STICK an electrode in the ground, pump electrons down it, and they will come: living cells that eat electricity. We have known bacteria to survive on […]
Cheaper Thermoelectric Material to Hit Market Later This Year
July 17th, 2014Via: MIT Technology Review: California-based Alphabet Energy plans to begin selling a new type of material that can turn heat into electricity. Unlike previous thermoelectrics, as such materials are known, it is abundant, cheap, and nontoxic. Thermoelectric materials can turn a temperature difference into electricity by exploiting the flow of electrons from a warmer area […]
Can’t Beat Them? Grow Lettuce: In Japan, Idled Electronics Factories Find New Life in Farming
July 7th, 2014Via: Wall Street Journal: Haruyasu Miyabe used to oversee a computer-chip production line at a Fujitsu Ltd. plant here. One day last year, the plant manager told Mr. Miyabe to prepare for a career change. “Starting tomorrow, you are going to make lettuce,” he recalls being told. Amid troubled times in the Japanese electronics industry, […]
Shale: U.S. Surpasses Saudi Arabia as Largest Oil Producer in the World
July 4th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: The U.S. will remain the world’s biggest oil producer this year after overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as extraction of energy from shale rock spurs the nation’s economic recovery, Bank of America Corp. said. U.S. production of crude oil, along with liquids separated from natural gas, surpassed all other countries this year with […]
Dean Kamen’s Stirling Engine
July 2nd, 2014Via: Forbes: Kamen’s contribution has been in engineering his Stirling with the most high-performance materials. He started off using skilled welders to put together key parts of the engine made out of exotic alloys. More recently he’s figured out how make those pieces with even more precision using 3-D printing. Crane says a key element […]
