Ammonia could be the answer to emissions-free fuel for cars at just 75 cents a gallon

 filling up car

John Fleming and Tim Maxwell claim they can make ammonia for 75 cents a gallon.

John Fleming of SilverEagles Energy and Tim Maxwell from Texas Tech University, say they have developed a way to make ammonia that is cheap enough so that it could be used as fuel for cars. If their claims turn out to be true, many consumers might consider switching over because ammonia, when burned in an engine, emits nothing but nitrogen and water vapor out the tailpipe. And if that’s not enough incentive, they claim they can make the ammonia for just 20 cents a liter (approximately 75 cents a gallon).

 

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‘Sensing skin’ for concrete would detect tiny cracks

sensingskin

MIT researchers tested the ‘sensing skin’ by attaching it to the underside of a concrete beam, then applying enough force to cause tiny cracks to form in the beam under one patch of the skin.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in 2009,  assigned a grade of “D” to the overall quality of infrastructure in the United States, saying that ongoing evaluation and maintenance of structures was necessary to improve that grade. Since then, federal stimulus funds have made it possible for communities to repair some infrastructure, but high-tech, affordable methods for continual monitoring remain in their infancy. Instead, most evaluation of bridges, dams, schools and other structures is still done by visual inspection, which is slow, expensive, cumbersome and in some cases, dangerous.

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@Walmart Labs – Wal-Mart’s effort to become undisputed leader of social commerce

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDYpF7V0Xe8&hd=1[/youtube]

Wal-Mart is starting to turn heads in the tech world — and that may have important implications for the way we think about the future of the shopping experience. Once known for a soul-less retail store experience and a hyper-efficient supply chain that delivered “everyday low prices,” Wal-Mart has been fusing together innovations from the mobile and social networking worlds to create the foundation for a radically new type of hyper-personalized shopping experience.

 

 

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Solar Bottle Bulb – a cheap and sustainable way to light homes

solar bottle bulb

Illac Diaz, of non-profit My Shelter Foundation, brought the simple, cheap and innovative technology to the Philippines.

The slums in Manila are being transformed by a new twist on recycling.  Plastic bottles are now being viewed as a cheap and sustainable way to light homes instead of trash. 

 

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Doodling may help students learn science

doodle-4-google

Google holds a doodling contest for kids every year.

Google has a yearly doodling contest for kids ages k-12.  Why shouldn’t  teachers encourage kids to doodle while in class?  Well, there seems to be a method for this madness and educational researchers from three Australian universities have shared their studies in the August 26, 2011 journal Science.

 

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Less than 7% of smartphone users shop online through their phones

mobile shopping

Mobile shopping, so far is more buzz than buy.

As the number iPhones and other smartphones users continues to grows, companies selling everything from hardware to high fashion are touting all the new applications they’re rolling out that enable shoppers to do anything from check a store’s inventory while in the dressing room to order prescriptions.

 

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Seeing a Supernova could be the best part of Labor Day Weekend

After all the boozing and barbecuing on America day off from labor, take a sec to look up. What you’ll hopefully see is A supernova burning bright more than 21 million light years away.

The type 1a supernova is actually an exploding White Dwarf that scientists discovered last in the Pinwheel Galaxy, and it’s the youngest of its kind ever to be discovered…

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Scientists identify part of brain responsible for the impulse to conform

Brain-Art

Scientists have identified the part of the brain responsible for controlling whether we conform to expectations and group pressure.

The researchers found they were able to control whether volunteers conformed to social pressure by using powerful electromagnetic pulses that changed the activity of a small part of the brain.

U.S. high schools will add iPads while moving away from textbooks

classroom ipad

A sophomore at Burlington High School in Burlington, Mass checks out his iPad.

At western Connecticut’s suburban Brookfield High School, incoming freshman will soon be tossing out the heavy textbooks. They will soon be flipping electronic pages on a glossy iPad tablet computer.

 

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.