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Categories: Energy: Alternative Fuels, Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published Efficacy of solar panels boosted
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers have now devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.
Published Low-energy process for high-performance solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Finding reliable, eco-friendly power sources is crucial as our world grapples with increasing energy needs and the urgent call to combat climate change. Solar energy offers one solution, with scientists devising ever more efficient materials for capturing sunlight.
Published Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
Published Path to easier recycling of solar modules
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The use of femtosecond lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for solar modules would make the panels easier to recycle, according to a proof-of-concept study.
Published Fading lights: Multiple threats to North America's firefly populations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends, including the number of growing-degree days related to temperature accumulations.
Published Scientists harness the wind as a tool to move objects
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a technique to move objects around with a jet of wind. The new approach makes it possible to manipulate objects at a distance and could be integrated into robots to give machines ethereal fingers.
Published Physicists show that light can generate electricity even in translucent materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions. Scientists have managed to prove this.
Published Fixin' to be flexitarian: Scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Greening the way we eat needn't mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to 'boring' vegetables. A gastrophysicist puts mathematical equations to work in calculating the umami potential of everything from seaweed and shrimp paste to mussels and mackerel.
Published Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.
Published New offshore wind turbines can take away energy from existing ones
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Interactions between wind turbines could reduce power output by 30% in proposed offshore wind farm areas along the East Coast, new research has found. In all, the farms could still meet 60% of the electricity demand of New England.
Published Key to efficient and stable organic solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has made a significant breakthrough in the field of organic photovoltaics.
Published How do birds flock? Researchers do the math to reveal previously unknown aerodynamic phenomenon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How do birds fly in a coordinated and seemingly effortless fashion? Part of the answer lies in precise, and previously unknown, aerodynamic interactions, reports a team of mathematicians. Its breakthrough broadens our understanding of wildlife, including fish, who move in schools, and could have applications in transportation and energy.
Published Positive perceptions of solar projects
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new survey has found that for residents living within three miles of a large-scale solar development, positive attitudes outnumbered negative attitudes by almost a 3-to-1 margin. Researchers surveyed almost 1,000 residents living near solar projects.
Published Frog species evolved rapidly in response to road salts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.
Published Lemur's lament: When one vulnerable species stalks another
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.
Published A flexible and efficient DC power converter for sustainable-energy microgrids
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new DC-DC power converter is superior to previous designs and paves the way for more efficient, reliable and sustainable energy storage and conversion solutions. The development can efficiently interface with a wide range of energy sources while enhancing system stability and simplicity at an unprecedented efficiency.
Published New research shines a light on how expert mapmakers see the world differently
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found differences between experienced Ordnance Survey (OS) mapmakers and novices in the way that they interpret aerial images for mapmaking, which could lead to improved training processes for new recruits.
Published Data-driven music: Converting climate measurements into music
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A geo-environmental scientist from Japan has composed a string quartet using sonified climate data. The 6-minute-long composition -- entitled 'String Quartet No. 1 'Polar Energy Budget'-- is based on over 30 years of satellite-collected climate data from the Arctic and Antarctic and aims to garner attention on how climate is driven by the input and output of energy at the poles.
Published Clearing the air: Wind farms more land efficient than previously thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wind power is a source of energy that is both affordable and renewable. However, decision-makers have been reluctant to invest in wind energy due to a perception that wind farms require a lot of land compared to electric power plants driven by fossil fuels. Research was based on the assessment of the land-use of close to 320 wind farms in the U.S. paints a very different picture.
Published Making crops colorful for easier weeding
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To make weeding easier, scientists suggest bioengineering crops to be colorful or to have differently shaped leaves so that they can be more easily distinguished from their wild and weedy counterparts. This could involve altering the crops' genomes so that they express pigments that are already produced by many plants, for example, anthocyanins, which make blueberries blue, or carotenoids, which make carrots orange. Then, they say, weeding robots could be trained to remove only the weeds using machine learning.