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Archive for the ‘energy’ category: Page 303

Feb 25, 2017

A forgotten war technology could safely power Earth for millions of years. Here’s why we aren’t using it

Posted by in category: energy

The science is proven. The concept works. Whether it’s built before humanity’s looming energy crisis is up to us.

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Feb 25, 2017

Graphene oxide supercapacitor commercial prototype targeted within 2 years

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, energy, transportation

OMG? Are we going to have super cheap electric vehicles in a few years that charge in a few seconds/minutes?

I hope so! This is very exciting.


Australia has supercapacitors made from graphene oxide. They can can store as much energy per kilogram as a lithium battery, but charges in minutes, or even seconds, and uses carbon instead of expensive lithium.

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Feb 25, 2017

Here’s the Bonkers Idea to Make a Hyperloop-Style Rocket Launcher

Posted by in categories: energy, space, transportation

James Powell’s maglev tube could send crewed capsules to space with way less fuel.

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Feb 25, 2017

Nano-sized hydrogen storage system increases efficiency

Posted by in categories: energy, nanotechnology, transportation

Nice.


Lawrence Livermore scientists have collaborated with an interdisciplinary team of researchers including colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories to develop an efficient hydrogen storage system that could be a boon for hydrogen powered vehicles.

Hydrogen is an excellent energy carrier, but the development of lightweight solid-state materials for compact, low-pressure storage is a huge challenge.

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Feb 23, 2017

Lanthanide-Doped KLu2F7 Nanoparticles with High Upconversion Luminescence Performance: A Comparative Study

Posted by in categories: energy, nanotechnology

Nice find on nanoparticles and energy transfer — important in scalable devices, energy conservation, etc.


The development, design and the performance evaluation of rare-earth doped host materials is important for further optical investigation and industrial applications. Herein, we successfully fabricate KLu2F7 upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) through hydrothermal synthesis by controlling the fluorine-to-lanthanide-ion molar ratio. The structural and morphological results show that the samples are orthorhombic-phase hexagonal-prisms UCNPs, with average side length of 80 nm and average thickness of 110 nm. The reaction time dependent crystal growth experiment suggests that the phase transformation is a thermo-dynamical process and the increasing F/Ln3+ ratio favors the formation of the thermo-dynamical stable phase — orthorhombic KLu2F7 structure. The upconversion luminescence (UCL) spectra display that the orthorhombic KLu2F7:Yb/Er UCNPs present stronger UCL as much as 280-fold than their cubic counterparts. The UCNPS also display better UCL performance compared with the popular hexagonal-phase NaREF4 (RE = Y, Gd). Our mechanistic investigation, including Judd-Ofelt analysis and time decay behaviors, suggests that the lanthanide tetrad clusters structure at sublattice level accounts for the saturated luminescence and highly efficient UCL in KLu2F7:Yb/Er UCNPs. Our research demonstrates that the orthorhombic KLu2F7 is a promising host material for UCL and can find potential applications in lasing, photovoltaics and biolabeling techniques.

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Feb 20, 2017

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)

Posted by in category: energy

Magnetohydrodynamics involves magnetic fields (magneto) and fluids (hydro) that conduct electricity and interact (dynamics). MHD technology is based on a fundamental law of electromagnetism: When a magnetic field and an electric current intersect in a liquid, their repulsive intersection propels the liquid in a direction perpendicular to both the field and the current.

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Feb 18, 2017

Power Company Sends Fire-Spewing Drone to Burn Trash Off High-Voltage Wires

Posted by in categories: drones, energy

What happens when your power lines get all kinds of trash hanging from them and it’s not safe to send up a human? In Xiangyang, China, you send in the drones. Specifically, the drones that shoot fire.

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Feb 18, 2017

2017 (Buckminster) Fuller Challenge Prize

Posted by in categories: complex systems, energy, engineering, environmental, futurism, innovation, science, sustainability

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEWBmIrXyhw

“Launched in 2007, the Fuller Challenge has defined an emerging field of practice: the whole systems approach to understanding and intervening in complex and interrelated crises for wide-scale social and environmental impact. The entry criteria have established a new framework through which to identify and measure effective, enduring solutions to global sustainability’s most entrenched challenges. The rigorous selection process has set a unique standard, gaining renown as “Socially-Responsible Design’s Highest Award.”

The Fuller Challenge attracts bold, visionary, tangible initiatives focused on a well-defined need of critical importance. Winning solutions are regionally specific yet globally applicable and present a truly comprehensive, anticipatory, integrated approach to solving the world’s complex problems.”

Deadline is March 31, 2017

Feb 17, 2017

Astonishing geomagnetic spike hit the ancient kingdom of Judah

Posted by in category: energy

Planentary magnetic fields how do they work —

Astonishing geomagnetic spike hit the ancient kingdom of Judah.

If this were to happen again today, the electrical grid could be a smoking ruin.

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Feb 16, 2017

From Initial Nucleation to Cassie-Baxter State of Condensed Droplets on Nanotextured Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Posted by in categories: energy, nanotechnology

Science mimicking nature’s dew in a lab. Important btw in how we looking at H2O harvesting and improving how we advance green energy; however, I see usage of this research in other emerging technologies as well.


Understanding how droplet condensation happens plays an essential role for our fundamental insights of wetting behaviors in nature and numerous applications. Since there is a lack of study of the initial formation and growing processes of condensed droplets down to nano-/submicroscale, relevant underlying mechanisms remain to be explored. We report an in situ observation of vapor condensation on nano-/microtextured superhydrophobic surfaces using optical microscopy. An interesting picture of the vapor condensation, from the initial appearance of individual small droplets (≤1 μm) to a Cassie-Baxter wetting state (30 μm), are exhibited. It is found that individual droplets preferentially nucleate at the top and the edge of single micropillars with very high apparent contact angles on the nanotextures. Scenarios of two distinguished growing modes are reported statistically and the underlying mechanisms are discussed in the view of thermodynamics. We particularly reveal that the formation of the Cassie-Baxter wetting state is a result of a continuous coalescence of individual small droplets, in which the nanotexture-enhanced superhydrophobicity plays a crucial role. We envision that these fundamental findings can deepen our understanding of the nucleation and development of condensed droplets in nanoscale, so as to optimize design strategies of superhydrophobic materials for a broad range of water-harvesting and heat-transfer systems.

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