Lifeboat Foundation

In remote desert locations, at least two things are likely to be lacking: an electrical grid, and a source of water for agriculture. An experimental new system addresses both problems, by combining photovoltaic panels with an absorbent hydrogel.

Developed by scientists at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the setup is known as the integrated water-electricity-crop co-production system – or WEC2P, for short.

It incorporates an array of connected photovoltaic panels, each one of which lies directly atop a layer of hydrogel. Both the panel and the gel form the lid of a downward-sloping metal box, which has a spout at the bottom.

Turbojet engines are an incredible piece of 20th century engineering that except for some edge cases, have mostly been replaced by Turbofans. Still, even the most basic early designs were groundbreaking in their time. Material science was applied to make them more reliable, more powerful, and lighter. But all of those incredible advances go completely out the window when you’re [Joel] of [Integza], and you prefer to build your internal combustion engines using repurposed butane canisters and 3D printed parts as you see in the video below the break.

To understand [Integza]’s engine, a quick explanation of Turbojet engines is helpful. Just like any other internal combustion engine, air is compressed, fuel is burned, and the reaction produces work. In a turbojet, a compressor compresses air. Fuel is added in a combustor and ignited, and the expanding exhaust drives a turbine that in turn drives the compressor since both are attached to the same shaft. Exhaust whose energy isn’t spent in turning the turbine is expelled and produces thrust, which propels the engine and the vehicle it’s attached to in the opposite direction. Simple, right? Right! Until the 3D printer comes in.

Continue reading “Electric Jet Engine Uses 3D Printed Compressor, Skips The Turbine Altogether” »

With the war in Ukraine raging and gas and energy prices climbing across world markets, there is one piece of good news for European energy markets.

Economists from Poland’s state Pekao bank are reporting a large reduction on the price of CO₂ emission certificates. The prices have fallen dramatically from €95 to €62 per ton. This is especially good for countries like Poland, which are forced to pay a premium for energy derived from “dirty” sources like coal. The fall in the price of this “tax” is expected to make the cost of energy especially more bearable for many of Europe’s poorer nations.

The CEO of Poland’s Development Fund, Paweł Borys, also commented on the issue on Twitter. “It is significant how CO₂ prices have collapsed, falling by 30 percent since they peaked in February. This is good news, as it means that electricity prices may fall, thereby reducing inflationary pressure that have been exacerbated by hikes in oil and food prices.”

Thomas Frey, Futurist, writes about the Dark Web and Metaverse.

Many people will push the boundaries in the Metaverse and anonymity fuels it.

A global hunt for spare barrels of crude is underway as sanctions slam Russia, the world’s second largest exporter, following its invasion of Ukraine.

But don’t expect Saudi Arabia to step in to fill the gap, at least for now.

What’s happening: The kingdom could help ease global oil prices, which have spiked to their highest level since 2014. Saudi Arabia has the capacity to raise production by 2 million barrels per day, according to Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president of analysis at Rystad Energy.

Today we can eliminate landfills by incinerating much of the garbage we produce using net-zero-emissions waste-to-energy technologies.

Can hydrogen be a substitute for fossil fuels across the global economy? A report tabled at COP-26 provides a plan to make it so.

Designed by scientists in Germany, the module facade has to be integrated with a building’s technical equipment. The rooms behind the facade can be supplied with solar power and at the same time heated, cooled and ventilated.

Nikola Tesla’s vision of the world is about to become reality.

#engineering

Continue reading “Tesla Said It Was Possible, Now Wireless Electricity Is Finally Becoming Reality” »