Star Trek-style shield above Earth

A team of scientists led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered an invisible “Star Trek”-style shield that blocks so-called “killer electrons” 7,200 miles above Earth.

The electrons, which travel at near light-speed, are capable of damaging space electronics and can put astronauts in danger.

World's First Underwater City Powered by Sustainable Energy

Shimizu Corp.’s vision of the modern-day Atlantis is divided into three parts, with the underwater city contained in a 1,600-feet-wide sphere that could house up to 5,000 residents and comprise mixed-use developments where people can live, work, and play.

Amazing! Keeping energy insted of battery million rechargeable

Graduate student Andrew Westover and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Cary Pint have  developed  a supercapacitor that stores electricity by assembling electrically charged ions on the surface of a porous material, instead of storing it in chemical reactions the way batteries do.

Automated Greenhouse in the box

The MEG system may become a scientific collaborative system, combining under one platform the most innovative micro-growing technology with open-source knowledge and information, thus aiming to improve our consciousness of Nature - through what we love to call Growing Automation.

Facebook Internet Drones

Yael Maguire, the engineering director at Facebook‘s Connectivity Lab, has revealed further details about the social media giant’s plans to expand internet access to communities worldwide. In order to achieve global connectivity, the company has been discussing using drones, or planes as they prefer to call them, that will constantly circle in the skies. In conversation with Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore, Maguire stated the planes would be “roughly the size of a commercial aircraft, like a 747.” As astounding as that revelation is on its own, it also raises regulatory questions. Not only are there unresolved issues around launching and airspace controls, but with an anticipated need for thousands of planes, the company says it is impractical for one person to control only one plane at a time as current legislation requires.

Don't Miss! Free Solar Power System

IBM Research and Swiss solar technology company Airlight Energy just unveiled a cutting-edge solar system that resembles a 10-meter-high sunflower! The High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Thermal (HCPVT) system can concentrate the sun’s radiation 2,000 times and convert 80 percent of it into useful energy, generating up to 12 kilowatts of electrical power and 20 kilowatts of heat on a sunny day—enough to power several average homes. Oh, and it can also produce clean, fresh water as a result of the process used to cool the solar cells!

First, the nitty gritty specs: The design features a 40-square-meter parabolic dish made of a patented fiber-based concrete. This concrete has mechanical characteristics similar to those of aluminum, but at 20 percent of the cost. The inside of the dish is covered with 36 elliptic mirrors made of recyclable, silver-coated plastic foil that is only slightly thicker than a chocolate wrapper. This mirrored surface area concentrates the sun’s radiation by reflecting it onto microchannel liquid-cooled receivers. Each receiver is covered with a dense array of one centimeter square photovoltaic chips that can produce up to 57 watts each on a sunny day. Seemingly thinking of everything, the team has also designed a large, inflated, transparent plastic enclosure for the mirrors and the receiver, which protects them from rain and dust and prevents birds and other animals from getting fried.

The concentrators use a direct hot-water cooling design that IBM already uses in its high-performance computers and supercomputers. However, with a bit of customization, the HCPVT system can also provide drinkable water and air conditioning from the hot water output produced. The team notes: “For example, salt water can pass through a porous membrane distillation system, where it is vaporized and desalinated. Such a system could provide 30–40 liters of drinkable water per square meter of receiver area per day, while still generating electricity with a more than 25 percent yield or two kilowatt hours per day—a little less than half the amount of water the average person needs per day according to the United Nations, whereas a large multi-dish installation could provide enough water for a town.”

But wait, there’s more! Airlight Energy and the IBM Corporate Service Corps are donating one of these systems to two deserving communities. Each winning community will receive a prototype HCPVT system from Airlight Energy, and be eligible for pro bono “enablement and transformation support” from IBM Corporate Service Corps. Applications from communities will be open in 2015 with winners announced in December 2015, and installations beginning in 2016.

Flower Solar Collector

When it comes to capturing the energy of the sun, what better model is there than photosynthetic plants? Researchers at North Carolina State University have cultivated a beautiful crop of germanium sulfide (GeS) “nanoflowers” that could be used to create next generation solar cells and ultra high-density energy storage systems. The nanoflowers have petals that resemble those of a geranium or marigold – although they’re only 20-30 nanometers thick and they’re capable of storing much more energy than traditional energy storage cells.

Park Gate Project

At first glance, this looks like a very cool and sustainable project. Conceived by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, Park Gate is a mixed-use development that showcases six curving towers with solar-powered canopies and a host of other green features. But in a city that has no freshwater supply and is already overburdened with vacant towers, does Dubai really need to develop yet another 4.7 million square feet? We think not.

From Dog waste (dog poo) to energy

A new project in Cambridge, MA dubbed the “Park Spark” has dogs powering the street lights in their own dog parks. Designed by Matthew Mazzotta, a visual artist with a degree from MIT, the project uses dog poop from the park to produce methane, which is then burned to light the park at night. The project was funded through the Massachusetts Institute for Technology and a partnership with the City of Cambridge, and it will hopefully spark a dog poo-fueled revolution of biogas-powered parks across the country.
Ever wonder what happens to all of those dog droppings deposited into public trash cans? The “waste” sits in the trashcan and continues to give off methane.  When the trash is picked up, the dog waste is sorted out and sent to the appropriate cleaning facility—where it continues to give off methane.

Crazy tennis court

This crazy tennis court have to add it to my list of questionable ideas. As part of a big media splash designed to drum up business for the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open in 2005, the turf court was put on top of the 1,000 foot Burj al Arab tower along the Persian Gulf. At these dizzying heights, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer were invited to play a friendly (and no doubt slow) round of tennis before the Open officially started.