БЛОГ

Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 591

Aug 10, 2016

How to turn green light blue

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

The upconversion of photons allows for a more efficient use of light: Two photons are converted into a single photon having higher energy. Researchers at KIT now showed for the first time that the inner interfaces between surface-mounted metal-organic frameworks (SURMOFs) are suited perfectly for this purpose — they turned green light blue. The result, which is now being published in Advanced Materials (“Photon Upconversion at Crystalline Organic–Organic Heterojunctions”), opens up new opportunities for optoelectronic applications such as solar cells or LEDs.

Photon upconversion: energy transfer between the molecules is based on electron exchange

Photon upconversion: energy transfer between the molecules is based on electron exchange (Dexter electron transfer). (Image: Michael Oldenburg)

Read more

Aug 10, 2016

With new water generators, Carrollton startup can unlock the ocean above your head

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

In the blackland prairie of Texas, an ocean is thousands of miles away. But Benjamin Blumenthal, co-founder and chief executive officer of SunToWater Technologies, says we’re all standing under the sixth ocean — the one that’s above our heads.

The Carrollton startup makes an appliance that unlocks that water supply. The company’s water generators — each about the size of a central air conditioning unit — use air, salt and solar power to produce gallons of drinkable water. They could bring water to rural communities without a municipal water supply, regions stricken by drought or developing countries with water contamination.

But the company will target a higher-end market first: Homeowners with large lawns to water and swimming pools to fill. Blumenthal said SunToWater is focusing on customers in California and Texas, two states that have coped with an unpredictable, and often limited, water supply and the water restrictions and high utility bills that come with it.

Continue reading “With new water generators, Carrollton startup can unlock the ocean above your head” »

Aug 10, 2016

Engineering a better biofuel

Posted by in categories: engineering, sustainability

The often-maligned E. coli bacteria has powerhouse potential: in the lab, it has the ability to crank out fuels, pharmaceuticals and other useful products at a rapid rate. A research team has discovered a new way to remove a major stumbling block in the process, and boost biofuel production from E. coli.

Read more

Aug 10, 2016

Elon Musk Says SolarCity Will Sell a Roof Integrated With Solar Panels

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, solar power, sustainability

“It’s not a thing on the roof, it’s the roof,” says Musk.

Read more

Aug 6, 2016

Porsche concept electronic Mission E car

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Click on photo to start video.

Porsche concept electric Mission E car.

Continue reading “Porsche concept electronic Mission E car” »

Aug 6, 2016

Tesla Autopilot Drives Owner to Hospital During Pulmonary Embolism

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

It’s the feel good Autopilot story Tesla has been waiting for.

Read more

Aug 4, 2016

New way to model molecules

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, computing, encryption, quantum physics, robotics/AI, solar power, sustainability

Magine a future in which hyper-efficient solar panels provide renewable sources of energy, improved water filters quickly remove toxins from drinking water, and the air is scrubbed clean of pollution and greenhouse gases. That could become a reality with the right molecules and materials.

Scientists from Harvard and Google have taken a major step toward making the search for those molecules easier, demonstrating for the first time that a quantum computer could be used to model the electron interactions in a complex molecule. The work is described in a new paper published in the journal Physical Review X by Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and several co-authors.

“There are a number of applications that a quantum computer would be useful for: cryptography, machine learning, and certain number-theory problems,” Aspuru-Guzik said. “But one that has always been mentioned, even from the first conceptions of a quantum computer, was to use it to simulate matter. In this case, we use it to simulate chemistry.”

Read more

Aug 3, 2016

One man turned his Tesla into a giant ‘Pokémon GO’ machine

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, sustainability, transportation

We don’t recommend playing “Pokémon GO” while driving, but we have to admit this Tesla hack is cool in theory.

Read more

Aug 3, 2016

ORNL optimizes formula for cadmium-tellurium solar cells

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Nice and Kudos to ORNL.


A team led by Jonathan Poplawsky of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences used advanced microscopy techniques to discover efficiency differences of crystalline structures of various mixtures of cadmium, tellurium and selenium. In fact, selenium is an integral part of the formulation that resulted in a world record for solar cell efficiency. The team’s paper is published in Nature Communications.

While some of today’s solar cells use a blend of cadmium and tellurium to convert light into electricity, adding the optimum amount of selenium in the right places could help increase efficiency from the current mark of about 22 percent to levels approaching the theoretical limit of 30–33 percent. The trick is to determine the best ratio of selenium.

Continue reading “ORNL optimizes formula for cadmium-tellurium solar cells” »

Aug 3, 2016

Foreign rail firms shunted as ‘Made in China’ mantra gathers pace

Posted by in categories: energy, government, sustainability

Made in China motto is gaining speed in China.


SHANGHAI Foreign firms say they are struggling to gain access to China’s vast railway market as the country, seeking to transform its domestic industry into an export powerhouse, tightens the bidding criteria on rail tenders.

The complaints echo similar concerns raised in other industries including technology and renewable energy, and highlight what some foreign companies see as an uneven playing field when operating in China.

Continue reading “Foreign rail firms shunted as ‘Made in China’ mantra gathers pace” »