Collaborate Disseminate
Just like any other organisms, crop-destroying soil microbes die if they get too hot. With that fact in mind, scientists have developed a new system in which soil-heating microwaves are used to kill such pests. The technology could one day replace the … Continue reading Experimental system uses microwaves to cook crop pests in soil
Using a temperature-driven “wax motor,” researchers have created an adaptive roof tile system that helps keep a room at a comfortable 18 °C (65 °F). It delivers an extraordinary 3.1X reduction in cooling energy consumption, and 2.6X for heating.Continu… Continue reading Wax-actuated adaptive tiles radically cut heating and cooling energy
Fourth Power says its ultra-high temperature “sun in a box” energy storage tech is more than 10X cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, and vastly more powerful and efficient than any other thermal battery. It’s hoping to prove it with a 1-MWh prototype.C… Continue reading White-hot thermal grid battery aims to decimate lithium on price
It’s a basic fact that temperatures drop at night, and that can damage crops, equipment and infrastructure. A team of scientists has created a new film that selectively absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of infrared light to efficiently keep ob… Continue reading Selective warming film protects crops and infrastructure from cold nights
Contrary to what we all learned in elementary school science class, it turns out that heat may not be necessary to make water evaporate. Scientists at MIT have made the surprising discovery that light alone can evaporate water, and is even more efficie… Continue reading Water can evaporate with just light, no heat, says surprising study
Researchers have created a low-cost fiber that contracts in response to heat, resuming its shape when the heat is removed. Compatible with existing textile-producing machinery and not reliant on sensors or other hardware, the shape-shifting fiber could… Continue reading Shape-shifting fiber responds to heat, could produce morphing fabrics
Purifying polluted soil can be a very difficult process, often requiring the soil to be dug up and transported to an offsite remediation facility. Now, however, scientists have developed an eco-friendly method of treating it where it lays – by zapping … Continue reading HET tech shocks soil on location to remove pollutants
The desert-dwelling Namaqua chameleon has a pretty neat trick – it changes skin color to stay cool when outdoor temperatures rise, and stay warm when they drop. An experimental new coating could one day do the same thing for our homes.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading Bio-inspired color-changing coating could both warm and cool houses
Modern building techniques are relying more and more on passive elements to improve heating and cooling efficiencies, from placing windows in ways to either absorb sunlight or shade it out …read more Continue reading Hackaday Prize 2023: AutoDuct Smart Air Duct
In 2022, England spent £1.2 billion (about US$1.5 billion) repairing potholes. That’s no insignificant sum of money – and lord knows what they’ve cost the country as a result of an estimated 5,000 pothole-related accident injuries that have happened si… Continue reading Inside the UK project that hopes to put an end to potholes