Indonesians lay across railroad tracks in the belief the current wil cure them of their illnesses.
Despite the danger and the efforts by authorities in Jakarta to halt the craze, Indonesians with illnesses have been lying down across railway lines in the mistaken belief that a low-voltage electric current in the tracks will cure them as it passes through their bodies. (pics and video)
Ceramatec have created the disk, which can hold up to 20-kilowatt hours
A small disc could be the solution for the efficient and cheap storage of the sun’s energy. A Utah-based company has found a new way to store solar energy – in a small ceramic disk which can store more power for less. Researchers at Ceramatec have created the disk, which can hold up to 20-kilowatt hours, enough to power an entire house for a large portion of the day.
Continue reading… “Tiny Battery Traps Solar Power To Run An Entire House”
A simple, inexpensive device that delivers electrical current to the brain noninvasively could help stroke patients recover lost motor ability. According to a new study, the treatment–transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)–in combination with occupational therapy boosted recovery better than either treatment on its own.
Continue reading… “tDCS Helps Repair Brain Damaged By Stroke”
Mathematicians in Manchester are hoping electric fish can give them clues to solving a fiendishly complex mathematical problem – which could in turn lead to better treatment for patients with lung problems.
Continue reading… “Electric Fish Could Spark Innovations In Healthcare”
Delivering electrical stimulation to the spinal cord through tiny, platinum electrodes could ease the severe motor deficits of Parkinson’s disease as effectively as a much more intrusive procedure currently in clinical use, according to a new study in rodents. If the findings are confirmed in humans, scientists say, the procedure could dramatically improve treatment for the disease by making electrical therapies safer and more broadly available.
Continue reading… “Electrical Stimulation Through The Spinal Cord May Ease Parkinson’s Symptoms”
Fuel cells are, in principle, the most efficient way to convert hydrogen fuel into electricity. But they require expensive catalysts such as platinum to split hydrogen into ions and electrical current. Cheaper metals simply can’t withstand the harsh acidic environment of the fuel cell. Now researchers in China have developed a fuel cell that uses a new membrane material to operate in alkaline conditions, eliminating the need for an expensive catalyst. The power output of the new prototype, which uses nickel as a catalyst, is still relatively low, but it provides a first demonstration of a potentially much less expensive fuel cell.
Continue reading… “Platinum-Free Fuel Cells Eliminates Need For Expensive Catalysts”
With geeks all over the world testing the supremacy of technology and pushing its frontiers, simple yet useful devices are going through a major facelift. An innovation of today becomes an object of daily use in a matter of few years. This time, it’s the turn of lighting devices. General Electric Co. has come up with a machine that can prints sheets of light. The flexible sheets are coated with a layer of OLEDs and other chemicals which run 8-inch wide with a final layer of metal foil to guard the mixture. It emits a blue-white glow on having passed electric current through it.
Continue reading… “OLED Sheets Replace Conventional Lighting”
A New Job For Dirt?
It turns out wind power, solar power and lunar power are not the only possible renewable energy sources for our future. Dirt power might be next. There are already plans for use of it in places of Africa that are off-grid.
We first heard of dirt power back in May of 2008. Six Harvard University students (a.k.a known as Lebônê) won a $200,000 grant from World Bank at the Lighting Africa 2008 event in Accra, Ghana for inventing a way to turn soil into electricity using microbial fuel cells.
Continue reading… “Electricity from Dirt: Is it Possible?”
This summer, the first commercial electrical generator to draw power from the ocean tide began supplying Northern Ireland with energy.
Continue reading… “First Power Generator To Draw Energy From Ocean Tides”
Newspapers seeking to compete with the Internet are likely to become free and place greater emphasis on comment and opinion in the future, a survey of the world’s editors showed on Tuesday.
The report, conducted by Zogby International for the World Editors Forum and Reuters, revealed that newspaper editors were still optimistic about the future of their publications but believed they would have to adapt further for the digital age.
Continue reading… “Newspapers Need to be Free: Survey”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.