Energy, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 30, 2008

The Energy Debates: Ethanol

Editor's Note: The Energy Debates is a LiveScience series about the pros, cons, policy debates, myths and facts related to various alternative energy ideas. We invite you to join the debate by commenting directly on each article. The Facts Instead of relying on just gasoline, many cars are now also...

Nov 30, 2008

Vote: The Best Alternative Energy Idea

In The Energy Debates, we examined the pros, cons, policy debates, myths and facts related to all these alternative energy ideas: Biodiesel, Clean Coal, Electric Cars, Ethanol, Geothermal Energy, Hybrid Vehicles, Hydrogen Vehicles, Nuclear Power, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, Power from Flowing Water & Waves, Solar Energy at Home, Solar...

Oct 31, 2008

Solar Cells Set New Performance Mark

Researchers have announced a solar energy breakthrough that could lead to its more widespread use with their achievement of the highest efficiency ever for one type of solar cells. The photovoltaic cells, called dye-sensitized solar cells or Gräztel cells, could expand the use of solar energy for homes, businesses and...

Aug 31, 2008

How an Eggbeater Could Power the Future

Editor's Note: Each Wednesday LiveScience examines the viability of emerging energy technologies — the power of the future. From Holland, the country famous for its windmills, comes a new design for home wind power. Looking like an eggbeater, it spins quieter and at lower wind speeds than a lot of...

Jan 31, 2008

'Green Collar' Jobs Seen As Prosperous

When 1,800 workers lost their jobs after a Maytag appliance factory and headquarters closed last year in the small town of Newton, Iowa, a wind turbine blade company saw opportunity - an available, skilled workforce in the middle of one of America's hardiest wind energy production regions. TPI Composites Inc....

Dec 31, 2007

New Antifreeze Improves Ice Cream

A few sharp ice crystals ruin ice cream's silky texture, as all connoisseurs know. An edible, tasteless antifreeze may soon come to the rescue. The non-toxic antifreeze, made from a gelatin protein, could be added to any frozen food to prevent unappetizing ice crystals from forming, without otherwise affecting the...

Dec 31, 2007

Seagull Blood Used to Detect Oil Spills

Blood tests can tell a doctor a lot about a patient's health. Now, seagull blood might help scientists monitor the health of ecosystems ravaged by oil spills. A new study shows that pollutants from oil spills can be sampled from the blood of yellow-legged seagulls long after clean-up efforts conclude....

Sep 30, 2009

Lamp Runs on Human Blood

What if, every time you wanted to switch on a light, you had to bleed? Would you think twice before illuminating the room, and in turn, using up energy? That's the idea behind the blood lamp, invented by Mike Thomspon, an English designer based in The Netherlands. The lamp contains...

Sep 30, 2009

Brilliant! Roof Tiles Change Color to Save Energy

On a blazing summer day, a black roof gets miserably hot, while a white roof reflects the sun and keeps a home cooler. In winter, the warmth generated by a solar-radiation-absorbing black roof can save energy. That's well-known and simple enough. Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways. Well ......

Aug 31, 2009

Powerful Ideas: To Hot Rocks in Earth, Just Add Water

Researchers will inject cool water and pressurized water into a “dry” geothermal well during a five-year, $10.2 million study aimed at boosting the productivity of geothermal power plants and making them feasible nationwide. “Using these techniques to increase pathways in the rock for hot water and steam would increase availability...

Feb 28, 2009

Powerful Ideas: Humans as Renewable Sources

Editor's Note: This occasional series looks at powerful ideas — some existing, some futuristic — for fueling and electrifying modern life. This is the first article in the series. Already abandoned that New Year's resolution to lose a little flab? Recent innovations could inspire an exercise kick with the prospect...

Feb 28, 2009

The Chemistry of Life: Where Oil Comes From

Editor's Note: This occasional series of articles looks at the vital things in our lives and the chemistry they are made of. Oil, the lifeblood of U.S. transportation today, is thought to start with the remnants of tiny organisms that lived millions of years ago, but the exact chemical transformation...

Jan 31, 2009

New Shock Absorbers Generate Electricity

A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smoothes the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say they can produce up to a 10 percent improvement in overall...

Jan 31, 2009

Plastic Bag Recycling Up Across U.S.

Driven by greater consumer access to recycling programs and new markets for recycled materials, plastic bag and film recycling increased across the U.S. in 2007, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). The latest National Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bags and Film Report by Moore Recycling Associates, Inc. estimated 830,180,000 pounds...

Jan 31, 2009

Extreme Green: Reusable Toilet Wipes

The New York Times reported yesterday that the softness sought in toilet paper by Americans is wiping out forests. After all, paper doesn't grow on trees. Oh wait, it does. and that's the problem. While toilet tissue can be made from recycled paper, U.S. customers demand soft and comfortable, said...