Energy

Science

New York City’s Energy Consumption Mapped Out, Building-By-Building

12:30AM February 7, 2012 | Jamie Condliffe

Scientists have mapped the entire energy use of New York City, building by building. The interactive map, created by Bianca Howard, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at Columbia University, uses publicly available data to work out which buildings are using the most energy and how they are using it. More »


Science

This Warehouse Is The World’s Biggest Battery

1:20AM January 6, 2012 | Andrew Liszewski

There aren’t enough letters in the alphabet to classify this monstrous battery China’s built. D x 1000? Not even close. With arrays larger than a football field, it can store a whopping 36 megawatt hours of power. More »


News

This Turbine Spun So Freaking Fast It Exploded

8:20AM December 9, 2011 | Casey Chan

I’ve always found wind turbines to be hilarious, I mean, it just stands in the middle of nowhere, minding its own business, spinning peacefully. Not this exploded turbine though. This 100m tall, $US3 million(!) turbine spun itself so fast it EXPLODED IN FLAMES. More »


News

Greenpeace Breaks Into Nuclear Plant

1:06AM December 7, 2011 | Adrian Covert

On a quest to prove that security measures surrounding nuclear facilities are ill-considered, nine Greenpeace activists broke into a French nuclear power plant and hung a banner that said “HEY” and “EASY” on it. Even after Greenpeace told police about the stunt, it took them several hours to track them down. More »


Science

How Three Gorges Dam Powers Shanghai

3:30AM November 8, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

In case you haven’t noticed, China’s quickly becoming an production powerhouse. And to power these industries, China requires a massive, steady supply of power. Like the 18,300MW generated by the Three Gorges Dam’s massive turbines. More »


Gadgets

mPowerpad Keeps Insects And Dead Batteries At Bay

5:20AM November 4, 2011 | Andrew Liszewski

Solar powered backup batteries make the great outdoors even better by keeping all your toys running, and Third Wave Power makes a convincing case for its new mPowerpad with the inclusion of extra functionality like a flashlight, radio and ultrasonic insect repeller. More »


Gadgets

Your Kindle Gets Heavier As You Add Ebooks To It

1:40AM November 1, 2011 | Brent Rose

Moustachioed UC Berkeley computer science professor John Kubiatowicz told the New York Times that your Kindle gets heavier when you add ebooks. Don’t worry, though, you won’t feel it with your hand, or with any scale that we’ve ever created. More »


Science

The UK Wave Hub Powers 7500 Cornish Homes

2:30AM October 26, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

The English coast isn’t exactly suitable for large-scale solar projects but does have plenty of another renewable energy source: waves. This device turns all that kinetic energy into a vast swath of electricity. Here’s how. More »


Science

World’s First Solar Plant To Generate Electricity Even At Night

2:30AM October 12, 2011 | Andrew Tarantola

The most obvious criticism of solar energy is that it doesn’t work very well when the sun is down. The new Gemasolar heliostatic plant doesn’t have that problem, on account of a vat of molten salt that keeps it running through 15 hours of dark. More »


Gadgets

The Matrix Steps Closer To Reality With Fujitsu’s Hybrid Power Generation Device

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12:30PM October 9, 2011 | Logan Booker

Shown off at electronics trade show CEATEC 2011 in Tokyo this week, the Hybrid Power Generation Device is energy-capturing thin film — and a work-in-progress — from Fujitsu. According to Pocket-lint, the film can only claim a nanowatt from us humans, but it does open the door to an intriguing future of person-powered tech. More »