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Berkeley Lab Scientists Generate Electricity From Viruses

By Guest PostMay 19, 2012Scienceberkeley lab, bone, byung yang lee, ceramics, crystals, dan krotz, DNA, electric charge, electric cigarette, electricity, electricity from viruses, futuristic scenario, m13 bacteriophage, mechanical energy, mechanical stress, nano building block, nano devices, nanoamperes, nanoscale, piezoelectricity, proteins, ramamoorthy ramesh, seung wuk lee, Technology

New approach is a promising first step toward the development of tiny devices that harvest electrical energy from everyday tasks

Imagine charging your phone as you walk, thanks to a paper-thin generator embedded in the sole of your shoe. This futuristic scenario is now a little closer to reality. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a way to generate power using harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.

The scientists tested their approach by creating a generator that produces enough current to operate a small liquid-crystal display. It works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses. The viruses convert the force of the tap into an electric charge. (more…)

New Graphene-Based Material Could Revolutionise Electronics Industry

By Guest PostApril 27, 2012Scienceconductive material, electricity, electronic device, ferric chloride, graphene, graphexeter, indium tin oxide, ito, molecule, monica craciun, saverio russo, Technology, university of exeter

The most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity has been invented by a team from the University of Exeter.

Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players.

GraphExeter could also be used for the creation of ‘smart’ mirrors or windows, with computerised interactive features. Since this material is also transparent over a wide light spectrum, it could enhance by more than 30% the efficiency of solar panels.

Adapted from graphene, GraphExeter is much more flexible than indium tin oxide (ITO), the main conductive material currently used in electronics. ITO is becoming increasingly expensive and is a finite resource, expected to run out in 2017. (more…)

Global Health: Students Build Wiki of Medical Devices Designed for Low-Income Countries

By Guest PostApril 20, 2012Education, Scienceamir sabet, anemia, appropedia project, autologous blood transfusion, blood sample, caitlin winget, communication vehicle, database, diime, dynamic compendium, education, electricity, filtering syringe, ghana, hemafuse, humboldt state university, iran, james azazili, kathleen sienko, knowledge, lonny grafman, medical device, megan bland, new wiki, nicaragua, open source inventory, policymaker, project, rachel strauss, salad spinner centrifuge, sofia merajver, startup, Technology, turkey, university of michigan, wiki appropedia, world

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In parts of the world without reliable electricity, a pedal-powered nebulizer could provide life-saving asthma treatments. Small wax-filled sleeping bags could keep premature infants warm. A salad spinner centrifuge for blood samples could help clinicians diagnose anemia.

University of Michigan researchers have cataloged more than 100 such technologies in a new wiki of medical devices designed for resource-limited settings. The Global Health Medical Device Compendium, an open-source inventory, is hosted by the popular appropriate technology wiki Appropedia. It is expected to serve as an important communication vehicle for end users, non-governmental organizations, researchers and others to help advance such technologies. (more…)

IBM and ZSE Create Virtual Green Highway for Electric Vehicles

By Guest PostApril 9, 2012Technologyaustria, bratislava, central europe, CO2, ecogrid eu, edison, ekz, electric vehicles, electricity, emission, energy grid, evs, green highway, guido bartels, ibm, slovakia, switzerland, transportation system, vibrate, vienna, zapadoslovenska energetika, zse, zse green highway

*E-Mobility Project Identifies EV Charging Station Options between Two Cities*

Armonk, NY and Slovakia – 09 Apr 2012: IBM today announced it has teamed with Západoslovenská energetika, a.s. (ZSE), the largest distributor and supplier of electricity in Slovakia, on a smart energy “feasibility” study that will help prepare the capital city Bratislava for electric vehicles (EVs).

Using e-mobility technology, the study will help identify the possibilities of connecting two neighboring metropolitan areas – Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria with a “green” highway. This highway will interconnect the two cities with a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles. (more…)

UCLA Engineering Researchers Use Electricity to Generate Alternative Fuel

By Guest PostApril 3, 2012Sciencecar, carbon dioxide, carbon source, chemical batteries, chemical energy, CO2, co2 fixation, dark reaction, electric vehicle, electrical energy, electricity, electro bioreactor, hydraulic pumping, hydrogen, isobutanol, james liao, liquid fuel, lithoautotrophic microorganism, photosynthesis, ralstonia eutropha h16, solar panels

Imagine being able to use electricity to power your car — even if it’s not an electric vehicle. Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have for the first time demonstrated a method for converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity.

Today, electrical energy generated by various methods is still difficult to store efficiently. Chemical batteries, hydraulic pumping and water splitting suffer from low energy-density storage or incompatibility with current transportation infrastructure. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Study Shows Significantly Higher Potential for Wind Energy in India than Previously Estimated

By Guest PostMarch 29, 2012Environmentamol phadke, berkeley lab, China, electricity, gw, India, jayant sathaye, julie chao, mnre, potential, ranjit bharvirkar, renewable energy, united states, western india, wind energy, wind power

A new assessment of wind energy in India by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that the potential for on-shore wind energy deployment is far higher than the official estimates— about 20 times and up to 30 times greater than the current government estimate of 102 gigawatts. This landmark finding may have significant impact on India’s renewable energy strategy as it attempts to cope with a massive and chronic shortage of electricity.

“The main importance of this study, why it’s groundbreaking, is that wind is one of the most cost-effective and mature renewable energy sources commercially available in India, with an installed capacity of 15 GW and rising rapidly,” says Berkeley Lab scientist Amol Phadke, the lead author of the report. “The cost of wind power is now comparable to that from imported coal and natural gas-based plants, and wind can play a significant role in cost effectively addressing energy security and environmental concerns.” (more…)

Fukushima Lesson: Prepare for Unanticipated Nuclear Accidents

By Guest PostMarch 12, 2012Environmentalexandra navrotsky, davis, decontamination, earthquake, edward h kraus, electricity, Environment, fission, fukushima, fukushima daiichi, fukushima reactor, human health, hydrogen gas, Japan, japanese government, knowledge, magnitude, nuclear fuels, nuclear power plant, nuclear waste, peter burns, radiation, radioactive fallout, rehabilitation, rodney ewing, seawater, tepco, tsunami, university of california, university of michigan, university of notre dame, uranium dioxide, zirconium alloy

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A year after the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers remain largely in the dark when it comes to fundamental knowledge about how nuclear fuels behave under extreme conditions, according to a University of Michigan nuclear waste expert and his colleagues.

In a review article in this week’s edition of the journal Science, U-M’s Rodney Ewing and two colleagues call for an ambitious, long-term national research program to study how nuclear fuels behave under the extreme conditions present during core-melt events like those that occurred at Fukushima following the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. (more…)

UCLA Engineers Create Tandem Polymer Solar Cells That Set Record For Energy-Conversion

By Guest PostFebruary 18, 2012Scienceabsorption, california nanosystems institute, cnsi, conductive, conversion, electricity, gang li, Japan, organic polymers, photovoltaic solar cells, polymer solar cells, shuji doi, solar energy, solar spectrum, sumitomo chemical, sunlight, tandem solar cell technology, tandem structure, yang yang

In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential. Organic polymers can be produced in high volumes at low cost, resulting in photovoltaic devices that are cheap, lightweight and flexible.

In the last few years, much work has been done to improve the efficiency with which these devices convert sunlight into power, including the development of new materials, device structures and processing techniques. (more…)

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