Energy

Cold Fusion Viable Again? Sure, If You Say So

Researchers at the ACS meeting in Salt Lake City say they have new evidence for the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), the process once called "cold fusion." One group describes what it terms the first clear visual evidence that LE ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 23 2009 - 3:16pm

Gas Hydrates: Burning Some Ice May Keep All Of It From Melting

In the future, natural gas derived from chunks of ice that workers collect from beneath the ocean floor and beneath the arctic permafrost may fuel cars, heat homes, and power factories. Government researchers are reporting that these so-called "gas hy ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 23 2009 - 3:30pm

Biodiesel Fuel From Algae Can Be Economical, Say Researchers

Chemists reported development of what they termed the first economical, eco-friendly process to convert algae oil into biodiesel fuel — a discovery they predict could one day lead to U.S. independence from petroleum as a fuel. One of the problems with curr ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2009 - 6:52am

Nanogenerator Uses Body Movement To Charge IPhones And IPods

You may soon be able to say goodbye to batteries for your Blackberry or cell phone.  Instead, they will get power from just a wave of your hand. In research presented at the ACS meeting in Salt Lake City, scientists describe technology that converts mechan ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2009 - 9:45pm

Diatoms: Ancient Life May Point The Way To Future Solar Energy

Engineers at Oregon State University say they have discovered a way to use ancient life forms, diatoms, to create one of the newest technologies for solar energy- systems that may be surprisingly simple to build compared to existing silicon-based solar cel ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 8 2009 - 8:58pm

Green Energy Boost- Researchers Crack Code For Binding Lignocellulosic Biomass

Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have discovered a potential chink in the armor of fibers that make the cell walls of certain inedible plant materials so tough. The insight ultimately could lead to a cost-effective and energy-efficient strategy f ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 22 2009 - 11:37am

Hydrogen From Water Using Solar Cells (Uber Clean Energy) Gets A Titanium Dioxide Boost

A research team from Northeastern University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has discovered that a residue of a process used to build arrays of titania nanotubes (that wasn’t even previously noticed), plays an important role i ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 23 2009 - 1:09pm

Super Efficient Bacteria Chlorophyll Molecules Revealed (Now Bring On Real Solar Energy)

An international team of scientists has determined the structure of the chlorophyll molecules in green bacteria that are responsible for harvesting light energy. The team's results one day could be used to build artificial photosynthetic systems, such ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2009 - 8:58pm

A Shale Solution To The Looming Energy War?

Rising shale gas production in the United States and Canada as well as potential natural gas supplies from Iraq could be pivotal in curbing Russia's ability to organize an "energy weapon" against European consumers, according to a new study ...

Article - News Staff - May 7 2009 - 4:34pm

Biomass To Electricity Is Better Energy Than Ethanol

Biofuels such as ethanol offer an alternative to petroleum for powering our cars, but growing energy crops to produce them can compete with food crops for farmland, and clearing forests to expand farmland will aggravate the climate change problem. How can ...

Article - News Staff - May 7 2009 - 4:40pm