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Category: sustainability – Page 710
Frankenvirus emerges from Siberia’s frozen wasteland
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Scientists will reanimate a 30,000-year-old giant virus, warned more microscopic pathogens may awaken due to climate change.
Transparent Batteries That Charge in the Sun Could Replace Smartphone Screens
A group of Japanese researchers have managed to improve the design of a transparent lithium-ion battery so that it’s now able to recharge itself when exposed to sunlight without the need for a separate solar cell.
The transparent battery was first developed by the researchers, led by Kogakuin University president and professor Mitsunobu Sato, back in 2013. The electrolyte used for the battery’s positive electrode is made mostly from lithium iron phosphate, while the electrolytes used for the negative electrode include lithium titanate, and lithium hexafluorophosphate.
Those are all common ingredients used in Li-ion rechargeable batteries, but the thickness of these electrodes are just 80 to 90 nanometers, which allows a lot of light to pass through and makes these batteries almost completely transparent.
NASA developing megawatt solar power arrays and will be used with solar electric propulsion
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NASA Glenn Research Center, GRC, currently has several programs to advance near-term photovoltaic array development. One project is to design, build, and test two 20 kW-sized deployable solar arrays, bringing them to technology readiness level (TRL) 5, and through analysis show that they should be extensible to 300 kW-class systems (150 kw per wing). These solar arrays are approximately 1500 square meters in total area which is about an order-of-magnitude larger than the 160 square meters solar array blankets on the International Space Station (ISS).
The ISS has the four (pair) sets of solar arrays that can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity. Each of the eight solar arrays is 112 feet long by 39 feet wide and weighs 2400 pounds. There were space missions involving astronauts working in space to install and deploy the ISS solar panels.
Alliant Technical Systems, ATK, was selected in 2012 by NASA’s Space Technology Program under a Game Changing Technology competition for development of a promising lightweight and compact solar array structure. The MegaFlex™ engineering development unit, EDU, was tested at NASA GRC Plumbrook facility this year. See below for the ATK deployment of the demonstration unit.
Tesla Model S covers 452 miles on a single charge
A Tesla Model S has reportedly been driven 452.8 miles (728.7 km) on a single charge in a feat that, according to driver Bjørn Nyland and the World Record Academy, sets a new world record for an electric production car.
How Technology Is Fueling The Push Toward Solar
Solar energy in the United States has seen immense momentum throughout the years. When the Solar Energy Industries Association released its annual report in 2008, it concluded that U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity reached a total of 1.183 gigawatts — a stellar achievement at the time.
Contrast that figure with today, and the number is dwarfed by the United States’ installed capacity of 21.3 gigawatts, enough energy to power 4.3 million homes.
As to what is powering this widespread adoption, one only needs to look at the residential market. According to recently released research by GTM, 72 percent of the market growth in 2014 is a result of solar tech companies offering diverse financing solutions and easy-to-navigate web platforms. Going solar for homeowners has become as easy as online shopping.
Cheaper, More Efficient LED Technology Developed
Scientists including one of Indian origin have developed a new highly efficient and low cost light emitting diode that could help spur more widespread adoption of the LED technology.
“It can potentially revolutionise lighting technology. In general, the cost of LED lighting has been a big concern thus far. Energy savings have not balanced out high costs. The new discovery could change that,” explained Zhibin Yu, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering at Florida State University.
Yu developed this technology with a team that included post-doctoral researcher Junqiang Li and graduate students Sri Ganesh Bade and Xin Shan.
The 2015 Fuller Challenge Semi-Finalists | The Buckminster Fuller Institute
“Now in its 8th annual cycle with the strongest applicant pool yet, including the most diverse pool of program entrants to date creating change in 136 countries, The Fuller Challenge remains the only award specifically working to identify and catalyze individuals and teams employing a whole systems approach to problem solving.”
Dune, 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world — By Hari Kunzru | The Guardian
“It has sold millions of copies, is perhaps the greatest novel in the science-fiction canon and Star Wars wouldn’t have existed without it. Frank Herbert’s Dune should endure as a politically relevant fantasy from the Age of Aquarius.”