Energy

Hydristor: Believe the Hype?

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Inventor Thomas Kasmer has made a neat little device called the Hydristor, which, according to him, has the potential to change the world.

The Hydristor belongs in your car, it basically replaces the transmission. In all transmissions energy is lost, a automatic car has worse mileage than a manual car because an automatic transmission consumes more power. What makes the Hydristor more efficent is how it transfers the power to the drive train and how it absorbs power from braking forces that can later be used to power the vehicle.

The heavier the vehicle the more power the Hydristor can get from braking. As a result the feul efficency of all vehicals can improve, espically heavier vehicles like SUVs.

“In theory, it should work. The biggest advantage of his system is that it’s very small and compact. I don’t think I’ve seen a variable transmission as small and as simple as this.” This quote is from a good article on the Hydristor at PressConnects.com

Aluminum Amperage

- Adam Clare

The CBC Radio show Quirks & Quarks has an excellent podcast on using aluminum to power mobile electronic devices (mp3 link).

“Instead of pumping gasoline, for example, you get a shoe-box of aluminum powder…”

More detail can be found in the podcast or on the Quirks & Quarks archive page.

In related battery news, Panasonic has created a new technology called Oxyride that is supposed to be just as big as the use of alkaline in batteries. The new batteries are supposed to have 1.5 times the life of an alkaline battery and cost the same as a regular set of batteries according to BetaNews.

First Cars, Now Planes

- Adam Clare

The world’s first hydrogen plane has been tested. The plane has 15 meter wings and a top-secret fuel tank design. A predicted flight time of 24 hours can be achieved using the unmanned craft.

Wind Power Potential!

- Adam Clare

Map of Wind Power PotentialAccording to a Stanford University study there is enough wind to generate five times more energy than the world currently needs. The total output of power is predicted to be 72-terrawatts – and that’s a conservative number.

The researches placed 8,199 wind monitoring devices around the globe to reach their conclusion. Wind monitoring devices used in the study were located primarily in the developed world, as a result they had to generalize in the majority world.

Wal-Mart Tries to be Good

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Wal-Mart, known by most to be a horrible corporation, is trying to be environmentally conscious. CNN has an article on a new store Wal-Mart is opening that has a windmill and a roof that opens and closes based on sunlight.

Wal-Mart is doing this to save money and also to try to improve its reputation. I never thought that Wal-Mart would ever make it onto this site in this way, but it does make sense since energy is becoming more and more expensive. Wal-Marts have huge roofs that can be used for solar panels; their buildings are surrounded by huge parking lots that would allow wind to be generated for windmills.

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