Generating electricity from the flow of cars
10 December, 2013Mexican entrepreneurs have developed a system capable of using vehicular flow to generate electric energy. This development has the potentiality to produce sufficient electricity to power up a household through a device that 'catches' the force of the moving cars.
Converting magnetic energy to electric power
10 September, 2013InventorOne-The Andrew Abolafia Co has discovered that there are large amounts of intrinsic energy stored in certain types of permanent magnets. The company has now invented a device to extract that energy and convert it to electric power in a practical and cost-effective manner.
Monash develops compact supercapacitors with energy storage similar to conventional batteries
05 August, 2013Next-generation energy storage is now a step closer with Monash University researchers developing an engineering first - a graphene-based device that is compact, yet lasts as long as a conventional battery.
You are what you earn: chemical body burden reflects socioeconomic status
02 August, 2013Using data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a research team analysed possible links between a person’s socioeconomic status and the prevalence of chemicals in their body.
Biofuel production from Australian algae
25 July, 2013Native species of algae have been identified as potential candidates for the development of cheap, efficient and commercially viable alternative fuels.
Weeing in space
19 July, 2013When Alan Shepard, the first American to fly in space (5 May 1961) was forced to wee in his spacesuit, his urine short-circuited his electronic biosensors. Eight hours of launch delays had not been factored into his 15-minute spaceflight and there was no provision for him to urinate once kitted out in his spacesuit.
Milestone achieved in bio-based acrylic acid process
12 July, 2013In August 2012, BASF, Cargill and Novozymes announced their joint agreement to develop a process for the conversion of renewable raw materials into a 100% bio-based acrylic acid. Yesterday, they reached an important milestone.
Cheap antifreeze materials may lead to low-cost solar energy
05 July, 2013A process combining some comparatively cheap materials and the same antifreeze that keeps an automobile radiator from freezing in cold weather may be the key to making solar cells that cost less and avoid toxic compounds.
Making hydrogenation greener
02 July, 2013Instead of relying on heavy metals as catalysts, researchers have discovered a way to use iron which will make the process of hydrogenation both more environmentally friendly and less expensive.
Transistors without semiconductors - the death of silicon
01 July, 2013For decades, electronic devices have been getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller. It’s now possible - even routine - to place millions of transistors on a single silicon chip. But transistors based on semiconductors can only get so small.
The green energy lab of the future
21 June, 2013 by Lauren DavisWhen Curtin University’s renewable energy research centre CRESTA closed in 2004, the university found itself lacking a facility devoted to renewable energy. So when Dr Sumedha Rajakaruna was asked to design and build a new lab, he made sure the full use of expensive renewable energy sources could be achieved.
Pig poo problem solved
20 May, 2013An Australian-led project to turn 1.4 million tonnes of Chinese pig poo into alternative energy and fertiliser has been hailed in a national science award.
The flight of the RoboBee
06 May, 2013In the very early hours of the morning, in a Harvard robotics laboratory, an insect called a RoboBee took flight achieving vertical take-off, hovering and steering. Half the size of a paperclip, weighing less than a tenth of a gram, it leapt a few inches, hovered for a moment on fragile, flapping wings and then sped along a pre-set route through the air.
‘Free’ self-cooling, thermoelectric system developed
15 April, 2013Researchers at the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre have produced a prototype of a self-cooling thermoelectric device that achieves ‘free’ cooling of over 30°C in devices that give off heat. It is a piece of equipment that acts as a traditional cooler but which consumes no electricity because it obtains the energy it needs to function from the very heat that has to be dissipated.
Frequent mating key to male reproductive fitness
18 January, 2013Fertility tests frequently reveal that males have problems with the quality of their seed. The problems often relate to senescence, which is a reduction in quality with age.
