Collaborate Disseminate
We’ve already heard about hoses that get wrapped around existing hot water pipes, using heat radiated from the pipe to heat water inside the hose. A new wrap-around device, however, uses that same pipe-heat to generate electricity.Continue ReadingCateg… Continue reading Thermoelectric device wraps around hot pipes to generate electricity
As useful as renewable energy sources are, they need to be backed up by storage systems that hold energy for times when the Sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Ocean Battery is a new design for an energy storage system that functions a bit lik… Continue reading Ocean Battery stores renewable energy at the bottom of the sea
Every biography of Edison talks about how the secret to the incandescent lamp was to remove the air from the bulb. That’s true when you use conventional filaments, but a …read more Continue reading Experiments with a Nernst Lamp
Wireless power has the potential to be very useful, but range is a major hurdle. In a new proof-of-concept project, Ericsson and PowerLight Technologies have demonstrated a technique called optical beaming, using a laser to transmit power to a portable… Continue reading Wireless power transmission tech demo uses lasers to run 5G station
With the world shifting to electric vehicles, figuring out the best way to get a car charger for an electric vehicle installed is going to become common challenge for many of us. Here’s a look at what’s involved, and what factors to consider, when it c… Continue reading EV charger 101: It’s not just plug-and-play
Microbial fuel cells are a promising new technology for generating electricity, but so far they’re plagued by inefficiency. Now, researchers at UCLA have found a way to wring more energy out of them, by feeding the bacteria silver to make them more con… Continue reading Silver-infused bacteria build more efficient microbial fuel cells
Flexible electronics could open up some interesting possibilities in bendy displays, wearable devices or solar energy, but developing flexible energy storage devices to power them is another challenge entirely. Scientists in China have demonstrated a c… Continue reading Accordion-inspired supercapacitor blends flexibility and high capacity
The idea of using human movement to generate electricity is something we’ve seen applied to many areas, including footwear, roads and, just this week, motion-powered mesh that heals injured tendons. Among these possibilities is flooring that can genera… Continue reading Nanogenerator wooden flooring powers lightbulbs with footsteps
Plugging a phone in at night could one day seem quaint – eventually widespread wireless charging could keep our devices juiced up indefinitely. A new breakthrough has been made in that direction, as researchers in Japan have developed a system that can… Continue reading Wireless charging room takes plugs out of the picture
Engineers at Northwestern University have developed a new thermoelectric material that may be the most efficient one yet. The new and improved polycrystalline form of purified tin selenide has all the right properties to make it a practical material fo… Continue reading Extremely efficient thermoelectric material recycles waste heat