Energy

Many countries are on a mission to lead the way towards a future where 100% of our energy demands are met by renewable sources. New wind and solar farms are springing up apace, with countries keen to attract developers to install new wind and solar farms and manufacturers working hard to reduce the cost of their technology.

Imagine a new carbon neutral system of generating energy which has the potential to meet up to 40% of our global demand for power? The source might come as a surprise – our coastal estuaries where salt and fresh waters meet.

Over the last few decades, aerial robots, or drones, have been used in military, scientific and commercial fields. This has been mostly for searching and rescuing, for observation, mapping, inspection or maintenance. These drones consume energy from batteries. Due to the short battery life, scientists and engineers have been carrying out further analysis of the issue, with extensive research.

The Sun is the abundant renewable energy source that we as humans have not harnessed to its full potential. Solar radiation powers all of the surface phenomenon on Earth; it warms oceans to cause currents, heats up the air and drives the water cycle, and it sustains life on Earth. Plants take in solar radiation and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars.

Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) is a high-resolution imaging technique that operates on the nanometer scale. Large molecules like DNA, proteins, and carbon nanotubes can be visualized in this manner. Of course, the instrumentation needed to look at really, really, really small objects usually take up a lot of space and are quite expensive; an education system can start at $10,000 USD and a fully expanded model for a materials science lab would cost upwards of $500,000+.

Where are toxic gases found?

Matter can have positive and negative mass Most of us, including non-scientists, have a basic knowledge of the laws of motion. We observe this every day, when we throw a ball to our child or drive our car down the street. We all understand that if we push something, it moves away from us. Whether or not we know that this is called Newton’s Second Law of Motion is irrelevant because the matter will continue to behave in this way regardless.

Electroluminescence is the phenomenon where light is emitted from a material in response to an electric current or field. This differs from incandescence, which is the emission of light due to heat; this is how conventional (non-fluorescent) light bulbs work. Light emitting diodes (LED) are actually a type of semiconductor that uses electroluminescence to generate light.

As scientists look for more ways of powering our future without reliance on fossil fuels, one potential avenue for generating energy is the development of foldable and wearable power sources. The idea is that these could be incorporated into clothes and other fabrics, providing a source of energy on the move.

The Supreme Court and Congress have shown us that laws in our society are far from permanent—if enough people want it, the law can be changed. In the realm of science, though, laws are paramount. A newly demonstrated concept is not considered true until it has been confirmed by many other studies—even then it is only considered a theory, or a rule. Only the most absolute, time-tested concepts become laws and are generally accepted as unchangeable facts of nature.

As it becomes more and more apparent that our days of relying on fossil fuels are numbered, scientists are investigating alternative ways of producing fuel to power the future. And the biological processes used by plants to create energy might just hold the answer.

In the classic science fiction novel, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Captain Nemo said, “…sodium batteries have been found to generate the greater energy, and their electro-motor strength is twice that of zinc batteries.” Boy, was he right! (Of course, Nemo was referring to ordinary batteries versus potential reversible, rechargeable ones)