We already wrote about the Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, N.Y., which got the Living Building Challenge certification (this project is also LEED Platinum certified), and in this article we’re going to write about Eco-Sense, a private home in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, that’s been bestowed with “Petal Recognition” for conquering the Site,… »
Although systems that remove salt from saltwater (desalination systems) have existed for decades, they are typically large-scale installations that require lots of energy to operate. A team of researchers from MIT has designed a solar-powered desalination system that could be rapidly deployed in remote areas, such as desert locations or farms and small villages in… »
A new technique developed by Princeton University engineers for producing electricity-conducting plastics could dramatically lower the cost of manufacturing solar panels. By overcoming technical hurdles to producing plastics that are translucent, malleable and able to conduct electricity, the researchers have opened the door to broader use of the materials in a wide range of electrical… »
Physicists Morgan Kjølerbakken and Vibeke Jahr were working on sonar technology when they came up with the idea for what they call a super-microphone while they were at the University of Oslo, Norway. Kjølerbakken and Jahr have now patented the device, dubbed it AudioScope, and founded a company Squarehead Technology where they commercialized their idea…. »
Physicists at Rutgers University have discovered that energy-carrying particles generated by packets of light can travel on the order of a thousand times farther in organic (carbon-based) semiconductors than scientists previously observed. This boosts scientists’ hopes that less expensive plastic solar cells based on this budding technology may one day overtake silicon solar cells in… »
A new electro-fluidics design from the University of Cincinnati shows potential to improve the image capabilities of electronic devices. Similarly to the Qualcomm Mirasol display for color e-readers we described earlier, this display is able to display dynamic content while it is consuming low power. Its developers claim it will be able to provide high… »
A new invention could cut energy use in buildings by 25 percent by creating a better indoor climate. The CleanAir invention was recently patented by a researcher in atmospheric chemistry at the University of Copenhagen. The inventor, Matthew Johnson, has shown his invention to the general public for the very first time at the conference… »
Supermarkets have only been able to keep products on their meat counters for a few days, but a group of researchers from Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging is developing a technology to prolong that period. They have developed an antimicrobial active packaging film that destroys the microorganisms on the product surface, thereby increasing… »
