ARE WE AT THE TRESHOLD OF SUPERFAST BATTERY CHARGING??

THE NEVER ENDING PROBLEM OF SLOW CHARGING BATTERIES COULD WELL BE AT AN END SOON Yes there are criticisms of electric vehicles, probably the most commonly-heard is that their batteries take far too long to recharge – after all, limited range wouldn’t be such a big deal if the cars could be juiced up while [...]

POWER GENERATION FROM FOOTSTEPS. IMAGINE A POPULATED CITY ON THE MARCH…CITY

A NEW TWIST ON POWER WALKING ELECTRICITY GENERATED FROM WALKING ON THESE TILES Can you imagine the power of 50,000 steps a day? Well, Laurence Kembell-Cook, the director of Pavegen Systems imagined it and created Pavegen tiles – a low carbon solution that aims to bring kinetic energy harvesting to the streets. Not surprisingly, the [...]

NEW MATERIAL CONVERTS HEAT DIRECTLY INTO ELECTRICITY

NEW ALLOY CONVERTS HEAT DIRECTLY TO ELECTRICITY The heat given off by electronics, automobile engines, factories and other sources is a potentially huge source of energy, and various technologies are being developed in order to capture that heat, and then convert it into electricity. Thanks to an alloy that was recently developed at the University [...]

POWER NUCLEAR REACTORS COULD USE THORIUM AS A SAFER OPTION

THORIUM FOR NUCLEAR REACTORS AS A SAFER OPTION The world’s growing need for energy, the limits of our supply of fossil fuels and concern about the effects of carbon emissions on the environment have all prompted interest in the increased use of nuclear power. Yet the very word “nuclear” carries with it an association of [...]

INTERNATIONAL PLANE FLIGT USING SOLAR POWER

SOLAR PLANE READY FOR FIRST INTERNATIONAL AIRFLIGHT Solar Impulse is on standby for its first international flight this week. Brussels has been chosen as the destination for the first venture outside Swiss borders, which follows the solar powered aircraft’s maiden flight and first overnight flight last year and will mark another important step towards the [...]

GLADWRAP BATTERY-WHAT NEXT??

The transparent battery: The possibilities are certainly endless.Perhaps invisible phones. July 29, 2011 – 11:28AM Seeing clearly … Stanford’s transparent lithium-ion battery. Photo: LA Times In the category of people making things you didn’t know you need, researchers at Stanford University have just created a thin, flexible, totally transparent lithium-ion battery. It is about the [...]

FLEXIBLE SENSOR GENERATES POWER TO DRIVE BATTERIES

RUBBER SENSOR WHEN FLEXED GENERATES ELECTRICITY Engineers from Princeton University have developed power-generating rubber films that could be used to harness natural body movements such as breathing or walking in order to power electronic devices such as pacemakers or mobile phones. The material, which is composed of ceramic nanoribbons embedded onto silicone rubber sheets, generates [...]

TYPING ON YOUR LAPTOP GENRATES POWER TO DRIVE YOUR COMPUTER

TYPING ON YOUR KEYBOARD TO GENERATE BELECTRICITY Everlasting batteries and self-powered portable electronics have come one step closer to reality, according to the results of new research by Australian scientists from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). The researchers successfully measured a piezoelectric thin film’s capacity for turning mechanical pressure into electricity. It may [...]

TINY NUCLEAR BATTERIES THE SIZE OF A SMALL COIN

NUCLEAR MINIATURE BATTERIES DEVELOPED This might sound dangerous, but nuclear batteries have been safely powering devices such as pace-makers, satellites and underwater systems for years. They have an extremely long life and high energy density compared to batteries using chemicals. However, they are costly and also very large and heavy. Now researchers at the University [...]

ENERGY EFFICIENT CARBON FIBRE ELECTRIC MOTORBIKE

Brammo Empulse motorbike employs carbon prepreg to reduce weight 23 May 2011 This year’s lower weight Brammo Empulse electric racing motorbike features structural components made from Amber Composites carbon fibre prepreg. Manufactured by Oregon-based electric vehicle company Brammo Inc, the Empulse sports some design improvements this year, including a new seat assembly and tank made [...]