Jan

9

A Higher Form of Life to Produce Electricity

January 9, 2012 | 1 Comment

Case Western Reserve University scientists have taken step closer to the self-powered cyborg, by creating a living electricity producer. The past decade has seen ingenious devices described in the literature to accomplish the goal.  Methods for converting chemical or mechanical energy are either present in, or generated by living organisms for generating electricity, and are [...]

Jan

3

A Look At 2012s Big Hopes – Fuel Cells

January 3, 2012 | 1 Comment

The New Year may well be the breakthrough year for fuel cells.  The astonishing innovation and marketing locomotive of Apple Computers with the i- you name it – product list leading us into new uses for electronic devices, has let slip they will preview a fuel cell idea at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show. Apple [...]

Dec

30

The Case For Better and Cheaper Batteries

December 30, 2011 | 1 Comment

Nothing is more persuasive than consumer expectations for determining planning and investment.  To help with that Pike Research conducted a web-based survey of 1,051 U.S. consumers in the fall of 2011 using a nationally representative and demographically balanced sample to consumer demand, preferences, and price sensitivity for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and electric vehicle charging [...]

Dec

23

A Partial Fix For the Fuel Cell Problem

December 23, 2011 | 2 Comments

Most folks don’t realize the depth of the economic problem that fuels cells pose for mass adoption.  Often there are price quotes running in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.  That’s because the catalysts of choice are the noble metals platinum or palladium.  These are very rare metals, more so than gold and [...]

Oct

20

DC Wiring for the Home

October 20, 2011 | 3 Comments

The Brits are first with a DC (Direct Current) system for the home.  It’s time and welcome.  It should become an international standard as soon as possible. The energy losses from converting alternating current (AC) of the grid to DC can be up to 45 percent. Most small electronic devices run on, or with converted [...]

Sep

27

Piezoelectric Power Grows Ten Times

September 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has discovered a new material that has 10 times the piezoelectric effect of crystals and ceramics making it suitable for perhaps hundreds of everyday uses.  A 10-fold increase is going to have impact. ORNL’s Volker Urban and colleagues at Technical University Aachen in Germany noticed the reverse piezoelectric effect [...]

Aug

18

Iron as a Catalyst Is Improved Again

August 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Iron as a catalyst is making news, especially in Europe where the element is suspected to have a role in the catalyst for the Rossi E-Cat.  That might be the case as scientists at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique Varennes, Québec, Canada (INRS) have published a paper in Nature Communications showing an iron [...]

Jul

26

Ready For a New Fuel Mix in a Dual Fuel Engine?

July 26, 2011 | 4 Comments

An award-winning University of Wisconsin-Madison team led by professor Rolf Reitz will showcase at the Wisconsin State Fair a student hybrid vehicle for advanced fuel technology that harnesses the advantages of both diesel and gasoline.  The fuels are mixed in the combustion process. Now this is something serious to watch.  The UW-Madison Hybrid Vehicle Team [...]

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