Lifeboat Foundation

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

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.

Continue reading “Graphene oxide supercapacitor commercial prototype targeted within 2 years” »

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

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.

Continue reading “Nano-sized hydrogen storage system increases efficiency” »

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Continue reading “Astonishing geomagnetic spike hit the ancient kingdom of Judah” »