A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
Audi researchers have managed to do something that at first blush sounds impossible, or at least, highly illogical: Without using any petroleum whatsoever, they’ve created a small batch of synthetic gasoline. Continue reading… “Audi made synthetic gasoline without using any petroleum”
A flawed prediction for oil and gas?
One comment about the oil and gas industry comes up quite a bit from very well educated people in a number of disciplines related to the climate issue – “The oil and gas industry has only got 20 years”. A few years back, a report by the WWF took a similar but slightly less aggressive line, through the publication of an energy model forecast which showed that the world could be effectively fossil energy free as early as 2050.
Continue reading… “Future predictions for the oil and gas industry”
Synthetic gas would be much better for the environment.
We are still massively dependent on fossil fuels even though they are a limited resource. But, a team of scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago have figured out a way to make synthetic gas inexpensively, using carbon dioxide and carbon nanofibers.
Continue reading… “Scientists develop process to make inexpensive synthetic gas”
Helium is a very low-density gas.
Jimi Hendrix once said, “I have this one little saying, when things get too heavy just call me helium, the lightest known gas to man.” He was almost right. We know of helium, conventionally, as the lighter-than-air gas that we fill balloons, blimps and zeppelins with in order to quickly and easily “defy gravity” here on Earth. (Video)
Continue reading… “The world is running out of helium”
For every additional pound of passenger weight, the United States uses up another 39 million gallons of fuel each year.
Obesity raises health costs as we all know with more frequent visits to the hospital, more prescription drugs, and a greater risk for developing diseases like diabetes. What is less known are the economic costs of obesity. What are increased costs obesity puts on the public infrastructure, the GDP or on the federal deficit?
Continue reading… “Americans waste more than a billion gallons of gas every year because of obesity”
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30952921[/vimeo]
Featured invention at the DaVinci Inventor Showcase 2011
Turn your last breath of oxygen into minutes for Escape and Rescue. The Butterfly Smoke Seal will help protect lives by stopping poisonous gas and smoke from entering though the door in case of a fire. Poisonous gas and smoke is the #1 killer of children 14 and under. It’s been said that if a butterfly crosses your path it will bring you luck.
Continue reading… “Butterfly Smoke Seal – a safety must-have for anywhere a fire can arise”
Harnessing wast for power.
This concept design for a “microbial home” centered around a methane digester hub that feeds gas from your food into various appliances has a nice, bodgy, Rube Goldberg feel. We can call it methanepunk (not perfect, but better than “fartpunk”)…
Continue reading… “Microbial home: fuelling the kitchen with methane from waste”
TrES-2b is so dark that it reflects less than one percent of the starlight falling on it.
TrES-2b, a planet orbiting a distant star is darker than coal, reflecting less than one percent of the starlight falling on it, according to a paper published on Thursday.
Continue reading… “Mysterious new planet is blacker than coal”
Agave can be a fuel?
It fuels your party, your buzz and your hangover the next day, but believe it or not tequila may soon be fueling your car. That’s because the agave plant extract used to make liquor can also be used to make an ethanol like alcohol which can serve as vehicle fuel, won’t interfere with food crops, and can even be grown in the desert…
Someday, our cars may hit the bottle more often than we do, but at least it won’t be hitting our wallets very hard.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
The less you have to brake, the better your fuel economy.
With gas at nearly $4 per gallon you don’t need to buy a new car to get better mileage on your road trip this summer. Popular Mechanics put fuel-sipping advice to the test by outfitting an ordinary ten-year-old car with an extremely accurate fuel economy gauge and trying out all the gas-saving driving tactics we could think of. Here are six strategies that work, plus more quick tips for better MPG.
Continue reading… “Six strategies to get better gas mileage this summer”
Here’s one way to bring location-based checkins to the masses — use them to shave off a few dollars at the gas pump…
Continue reading… “Foursquare Checkins Get Customers Gas Discounts”
Americans paying more for food and gas.
U.S. consumer inflation rises as Americans are paying more for food and gas. This trend that could slow economic growth in the months ahead according to a new report.
Continue reading… “Rising Food and Gas Prices Could Slow Economic Growth”
