Apr 28, 2016
China Quest for Clean Tech
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: economics, energy, sustainability
Nice
Mark L. Clifford on China, renewable energy, and economic growth.
By young china watchers for the diplomat.
Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 602
Apr 28, 2016
China’s Jia Yueting intends to outmuscle Musk — Taking on Tesla
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: electronics, mobile phones, sustainability, transportation
LeEco is known as the “Netflix of China” due to its very popular video streaming service, but the conglomerate also has interests in a much wider range of sectors including smartphones, TVs and electric vehicles.
Ding Lei, LeEco’s auto chief and a former top official at General Motors’ China venture with SAIC Motor, says part of LeEco’s advantage in tomorrow’s auto industry is that it carries no baggage from today’s.
This, the man said, is the future of cars, and the Chinese consumer electronics company LeEco is going to make that future a reality.
Continue reading “China's Jia Yueting intends to outmuscle Musk — Taking on Tesla” »
Apr 28, 2016
The Oceans Are Running Low on Oxygen
Posted by Sean Brazell in categories: climatology, sustainability
File this under definitely not good: global warming is depleting the oceans of oxygen. You know, that little molecule that we, along with all other complex life forms, require in order to breathe and therefore live.
The reason is simple. According to basic thermodynamics, cold water can hold more dissolved gases than warm water. As our ever-warming atmosphere heats the surface of the ocean, the oxygen content starts to fall. Also, as water warms, it expands and gets lighter. This makes it less likely to sink, which in turn reduces the transport of oxygen from the atmosphere into the deep ocean.
All of this is well-established science. It’s also understood that the oxygen content of the ocean varies all the time due to changes in weather, seasons, latitude, and longer-term climate patterns like El Niño. But a study published this week in Global Biogeochemical Cycles is the first to show that the oxygen content of the world’s oceans is now falling thanks to climate change.
Read more
Apr 28, 2016
Tesla planning cheaper EV that ‘most people can afford’
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: sustainability, transportation
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HaJAF4tQVbA
Turns out the Model 3 isn’t going to be Tesla’s most affordable model.
Teslas can cheaper?
Continue reading “Tesla planning cheaper EV that ‘most people can afford’” »
Apr 28, 2016
At last: Non-toxic and cheap thin-film solar cells for ‘zero-energy’ buildings
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: engineering, entertainment, solar power, sustainability
‘Zero-energy’ buildings — which generate as much power as they consume — are now much closer after a team at Australia’s University of New South Wales achieved the world’s highest efficiency using flexible solar cells that are non-toxic and cheap to make.
Until now, the promise of ‘zero-energy’ buildings been held back by two hurdles: the cost of the thin-film solar cells (used in façades, roofs and windows), and the fact they’re made from scarce, and highly toxic, materials.
That’s about to change: the UNSW team, led by Dr Xiaojing Hao of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics at the UNSW School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, have achieved the world’s highest efficiency rating for a full-sized thin-film solar cell using a competing thin-film technology, known as CZTS.
Continue reading “At last: Non-toxic and cheap thin-film solar cells for ‘zero-energy’ buildings” »
Apr 27, 2016
Biology May Hold Key to Better Computer Memory
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: biological, computing, engineering, nuclear energy, sustainability
Of course bio technology holds the key for better memory.
Newswise — A group of Boise State researchers, led by associate professor of materials science and engineering and associate dean of the College of Innovation and Design Will Hughes, is working toward a better way to store digital information using nucleic acid memory (NAM).
It’s no secret that as a society we generate vast amounts of data each year. So much so that the 30 billion watts of electricity used annually by server farms today is roughly equivalent to the output of 30 nuclear power plants.
Continue reading “Biology May Hold Key to Better Computer Memory” »
Apr 26, 2016
Chinese Billionaire Taking on Tesla With Cars He Hopes One Day Will Be Free
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: engineering, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation
Tomorrow’s cars will be all-electric, self-driving, connected to high-speed communications networks … and free.
And probably Chinese.
That, at least, is the vision of Jia Yueting, a billionaire entrepreneur and one of a new breed of Chinese who see their technology expertise re-engineering the automobile industry, and usurping Tesla Motors, a U.S. pioneer in premium electric vehicle (EV) making.
Continue reading “Chinese Billionaire Taking on Tesla With Cars He Hopes One Day Will Be Free” »
Apr 26, 2016
Photosynthesis Phone Charger
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: mobile phones, solar power, sustainability
Apr 26, 2016
Micro-sized, Liquid-metal Particles for Heat-free Soldering Developed
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: electronics, engineering, particle physics, sustainability
His lab is dedicated to an idea called frugal innovation: “How do you do very high-level science or engineering with very little?” said Thuo, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State University and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. “How can you solve a problem with the least amount of resources?”
That goal has Thuo and his research group using their materials expertise to study soft matter, single-molecule electronics and renewable energy production. A guiding principle is that, whenever possible, nature should do part of the work.
“Nature has a beautiful way of working for us,” he said. “Self-assembly and ambient oxidation are great tools in our designs.”
Continue reading “Micro-sized, Liquid-metal Particles for Heat-free Soldering Developed” »
Apr 25, 2016
Flipping a chemical switch helps perovskite solar cells beat the heat
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: nanotechnology, solar power, sustainability
Thin films of crystalline materials called perovskites provide a promising new way of making inexpensive and efficient solar cells. Now, an international team of researchers has shown a way of flipping a chemical switch that converts one type of perovskite into another—a type that has better thermal stability and is a better light absorber.
The study, by researchers from Brown University, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could be one more step toward bringing perovskite solar cells to the mass market.
“We’ve demonstrated a new procedure for making solar cells that can be more stable at moderate temperatures than the perovskite solar cells that most people are making currently,” said Nitin Padture, professor in Brown’s School of Engineering, director of Brown’s Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation, and the senior co-author of the new paper. “The technique is simple and has the potential to be scaled up, which overcomes a real bottleneck in perovskite research at the moment.”
Continue reading “Flipping a chemical switch helps perovskite solar cells beat the heat” »
