Top 100 / Featured: Solar > Concentrated > AORA hybrid solar provides baseload, community power - Israeli company combines a modular concentrated solar tower technology with other heat sources to enable its plants to be baseload capable, providing utility power needs 24/7/365. Each 'solar flower' is designed to produce 100 kW of electricity as well as 170kW of thermal power, targeting community-sized production. (PESWiki; July 3, 2009)
Solar / Mimicking Living Organisms > Photosynthesis Imitation > Converting light into energy with ‘artificial leaf’ one step closer - As an efficient, natural means of capturing solar energy, photosynthesis is hard to beat. But it's also proving extremely difficult to duplicate. Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands have built a light-harvesting antenna using the chlorophyll of the alga Spirulina, bring them half way towards creating an artificial leaf. (GizMag; July 1, 2009)
Humor > Fuel Efficiency > Smart Car's impact on cars of the future - See a gallary of what some of your favorite cars might look like if they were minaturized in the spirit of the Smart Car. Maybe you've already seen these, but I thought they were hillarious. Check out the Smorvette, Smaudi, Smamborghini, Smorsche (shown at right), Smerrari (Youtatech; June 25, 2009)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Batteries / Nanotechnology > Printable batteries - For a long time, batteries were bulky and heavy. Now, a new cutting-edge battery by Fraunhofer ENAS is revolutionizing the field. It is thinner than a millimeter, lighter than a gram, and can be produced cost-effectively through a printing process. (PhysOrg; July 2, 2009)
Water > From Air / Conservation > The AIR-igator draws water from the air for thirsty gardens - The AIR-igator collects condensate from air conditioners, storing it and then automatically drip-watering. So, the hotter it gets, the more water your garden gets. A fairly efficient three-ton central air conditioning unit will produce as many as 15 gallons of water a day. (GizMag; June 29, 2009)