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POPSFree-piston engine could be twice as fuel efficient as combustion engines In conventional internal combustion engines, multiple pistons are connected via rods to a crankshaft that, via the transmission, drives the wheels. Free-piston engines do away with the crankshaft: the pistons aren't connected to anything. Instead, two opposing pistons just shuttle back and forth inside a chamber. To generate electricity, the pistons could be equipped with rows of magnets that shuttle past metal coils to create an electrical current.
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POPSThe key to oil independence is a new electrical grid It seems that with alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar, the United States has the potential means to substantially reduce our dependence on oil - especially once plug-in cars are on the market. But until we substantially upgrade our nation's electrical grid with modern technology that will enable the energy created by these sources to be transmitted intelligently around the county, their impact will be limited. It's going to take a greater commitment from Congress to jump start this. Making it happen will provide a huge boost to our economy, environment and political leverage with the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela and more.
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POPSEnergy at your feet Finally, unlike roof-top solar arrays, which some find unattractive, the solar collectors in roads and parking lots would be invisible.” In the lab, small slabs were exposed to halogen lamps, simulating sunlight. Larger slabs were set up outdoors and exposed to more realistic environmental conditions, including direct sunlight and wind. The tests showed that asphalt absorbs a considerable amount of heat and that the highest temperatures are found a few centimeters below the surface. This is where a heat exchanger would be located to extract the maximum amount of energy. Experimenting with various asphalt compositions, they found that the addition of highly conductive aggregates, like quartzite, can significantly increase heat absorption, as can the application of a special paint that reduces reflection.
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POPSKites could provide electricity for 100,000 homes Several other scientists are investigating the use of kites to harness energy from the wind - which some researchers estimate provides more than 100 times the amount required to power the entire planet. In 2007, Google´s philanthropic arm invested about $10 million in a US kite company called Makani. An Italian company called Kitegen has a multi-kite scheme that could generate a gigawatt of power, as much as a standard coal plant.
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POPS'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year. "This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind,"
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POPSCool! Nanoparticles Recent results from research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that adding the right dash of nanoparticles to standard mixes of lubricants and refrigerants could highly contribute to energy saving in cooling systems.
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POPS0.3% of Saharan Sun Enough To Power Europe The visionary proposal comes as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission released its strategic energy technology plan which highlighted photovoltaic cells as one of the eight technologies that need to be developed in the future. The plan also includes fuel cells, hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind and smart grids.
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POPSWhales & Dolphins Inspire a Novel Design for Wind Turbines "Engineers have previously tried to ensure steady flow patterns on rigid and simple lifting surfaces, such as wings. The lesson from biomimicry is that unsteady flow and complex shapes can increase lift, reduce drag and delay 'stall', a dramatic and abrupt loss of lift, beyond what existing engineered systems can accomplish," Fish said. "There are even possibilities that this technology could be applied to aeronautical designs such as helicopter blades in the future."
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POPSAlternative Energy News This site is an open source for news and information about renewable energy technologies. Browse the articles and press releases, the latest news, discussion forums, and mix-up of other media from sources like Flickr and YouTube. Our goal is to raise awareness about clean energy sources using any means necessary. Got an idea? Contact us.
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POPSSwedish wave energy converters On an island right off the coast of Western Sweden near the quaint coastal town of Lysekil, researchers from Uppsala University are putting the final touches on two generators and a small underwater turbine anchored 25 meters down on the sea floor that will turn wave action into energy for 20 homes on the island.
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POPSPorridge: A Good Source of Energy For Your Body & Your Factory A FIFE factory is to become one of Scotland’s greenest when it begins generating all its own energy from oat husks. Quaker, which produces Scott’s Porage Oats at its Uthrogle Mills plant near Cupar, is to invest £6 million in a combined heat and power biomass boiler which will make it carbon neutral. The husks, removed from the oats during the milling process, will provide 9,709 MWhrs of electricity and 10,902 MWhrs of steam a year, reducing its emissions by 9,000 tonnes a year. “This innovative approach by Quaker to cut carbon emissions through investment in new low carbon technology will be a powerful signal to other businesses that reducing carbon emissions and looking for sustainable energy sources makes business sense.”
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POPSSolar-powered Peddle Boat! They say that inventors should find a need and fill it. I don't know who needs a solar boosted pedal boat, but a design concept for one exists nonetheless.
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POPSCreative ways to recycle ordinary objects Recycling doesn’t have to be limited to helping the environment: it can also be a challenge and opportunity to ingenious designers who work with materials most people would consider waste to create amazing things. Some of the above designs serve multiple purposes: illustrating the material possibilities of what most would consider trash while also maximizing the aesthetic potential of what would otherwise be considered waste objects. Clothes become rugs, airline trolleys become furniture, cardboard becomes bridges and sewage turns into building blocks!
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POPS Solar Collecting Roads About Ooms Nederland Holding, the first company in the world to extract energy from asphalt concrete for use in heating an office building.
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