Fuel

Science

Who Needs Petrol When Your Car Has Seaweed?

7:30PM January 23, 2012 | Jamie Condliffe

Some folks bang on about biofuels being the future of car fuels. In reality, though, they’re expensive, and that’s largely because they’re a pain in the arse to make. The solution might be seaweed. More »

Science

Kitty Litter Is Great For Catching Arsonists

8:10AM September 27, 2011 | Kwame Opam

So your house just burned down, taking everything you hold dear with it. You suspect it was your ex, but you have no proof. Luckily, British forensic scientists have found that cat litter is great for picking up traces of gasoline. Who knew? More »

Science

Fill Your Biodiesel Gas Tank With Alligator Fat

1:00PM August 18, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

If you’re in Florida with your biodiesel car, you absolutely must find a place that dispenses fuel derived from alligator fat. Not only is it eco-friendly, it’s a great conversation piece you can whip out at the next cocktail party. More »

Science

The Earth Has A Ring

7:30AM August 8, 2011 | Jack Loftus

Of anti-protons! While it’s not as visually cool as what Saturn has going for it, this is still an important development, even if we can’t technically “see” the ring with our primitive Earthling eyes. More »

News

Behold, The 71-Year-Old Human Gas Guzzler

9:40AM July 15, 2011 | Alyssa Bereznak

You’re not supposed to drink gasoline. It’s that toxic liquid gold we use to run our cars and machines, not a beverage option. You just don’t drink it. Period. That is, unless you’re this hardcore Chinese dude. More »

Science

Let Plastic2Oil Turn Your Discarded Plastics Into Fuel

11:38AM July 6, 2011 | Kelly Hodgkins

Canadian company JBI is setting the recycling industry on fire with its new Plastic2Oil plants that promise to convert non-recyclable plastics into fuel. More »

Geek Out

Why Hasn’t Air Travel Gotten Faster?

5:20AM June 25, 2011 | Casey Chan

Whenever I’m at the airport I wonder two things: why can’t they invent teleportation and how can aeroplanes still be so slow. We’ve been flying for decades and air travel hasn’t gotten faster. Why the heck is it still slow? More »

Geek Out

Don’t Inspect A Fuel Tanker With A Lighter If You Don’t Want To Catch On Fire

3:40AM June 24, 2011 | Sam Biddle

I would have assumed this was within the bounds of common sense, but, you know, you can never be too careful. Apparently the notion wasn’t obvious to this fellow, who blew apart an entire petrol station through his idiot-curiosity. More »

Science

Super Powerful Wind Turbine Taller Than Washington Monument

9:40AM May 11, 2011 | Max Behrman

Wind blows. And if there’s energy (and money) to be made from this fact of life, we may as well take advantage of it, right? That’s what Vestas is doing – and they’re using the V164-7.0 MW, a massive 187m wind turbine, to do it. More »

Science

Why Petrol Prices Go Up Much Faster Than They Go Down

1:30PM April 27, 2011 | Bob Sullivan msnbc.com

You might have heard over the weekend that skyrocketing fuel prices have finally “plateaued”. If petrol prices were like gravity, you would anticipate they would start plummeting soon. Raise your hand if you expect that. More »