Energy – Page 102 – Things Are Good

Concentrating Power

A cheaper way to use solar power energy has been created that concentrates the sun intense rays on a very small focal point. The key is using the sun as heat, opposed to turning the light directly into electricity.

“It uses an old principleâ€”that concentrated light is a great heat sourceâ€”to achieve a level of efficiency on par with conventional power sources and far higher than traditional solar cells. Instead of converting sunlight directly into electricity, as those familiar rooftop solar panels do, it uses a concave array of mirrors to focus light on a central point, where the resulting heat causes compressed hydrogen to expand, driving a four-cylinder engine that turns a 25-kilowatt generator. “

Algae Clears the Air

A rocket scientists has found a way to use algae in smokestacks to clean the smoke, and what’s more the byproduct of the algae is biodiesel! This means that corporate profit lovers can clean the air and make money off of it.

The algae consumes 60% of CO2 emissions from the test stacks and the smoke contained 86% less nitrous oxide!

Virus Power

MIT researchers have found a way to incorporate virus into batteries. Using methods that elude me, they have essentially trained viruses to produce an electric current when accompanied by some nanotechnology.

“They modified the M13 virus’ genes so its outside layer, or coat, would bind with certain metal ions. They incubated the virus in a cobalt chloride solution so that cobalt oxide crystals mineralised uniformly along its length.

They added a bit of gold for the desired electrical effects.”

I Sing the Tree Electric

A company is looking to extract electric power from trees. The company, MagCap Engineering, is actually quite credible, especially if you look at their list of pervious clients which includes British Aerospace.

The engineering company “expects to find investors to help pay for the research needed to figure a way to increase the tree power from less than 2 volts to 12 volts sometime this year, creating an alternative to fossil fuels.” Early “prototypes” are going to be functioning late in 2006.

Things are Technically Good

We write a lot about technology around here, so when I say that this post is the mother of all tech-related posts, that’s saying a lot. Usually we report on one positive technology at a time; this time, we’re reporting on dozens.

The Tech Museum Awards exist to recognize and celebrate technology that benefits humanity. Nominations for the 2006 awards are currently being accepted, but in the meantime, check out the 2005 laureates. Amongst them:

Enviro Options
Enviro Options developed the Enviro Loo to make inroads into the enormous backlog of the sanitation requirement of the entire human race. The design is an attempt to produce a sanitation system that can be mass-produced, relatively cheaply. The technology is simple. It requires no chemicals… It is powered by radiant heat absorbed from sunlight and wind power. It requires minimal maintenance. It will not pollute ground water, and is user friendly.

Malnutrition Matters
Malnutrition Matters designed the VitaGoat system to benefit people in villages and rural areas of developing countries, by providing sustainable employment on a micro-enterprise basis and improving nutrition… The VitaGoat enables quick preparation of protein-rich foods such as soymilk and tofu that are highly beneficial for protein-deficient diets and especially for people living with HIV/AIDS.