A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ufvLPWqgI[/youtube]
If you need a power source when you are camping you might want to consider the PowerPot by Power Practical, winner of the Inventor of the Year Award at the 2012 DaVinci Inventor Showcase. The PowerPot turns heat into useful electricity. It will power lights so you can see what you’re cooking, recharge a cellphone, or run a little Bach while you’re contemplating the flames (or really whatever music you’re into).
“We have normality. I repeat, we have normality.
Anything you still can’t cope with is therefore your own problem.”
Quote of the Day: “Personally, I don’t think there’s intelligent life on other planets. Why should other planets be any different from this one?” – Bob Monkhouse
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
Silicon-based transistors must be powered all the time.
Experts predict that in less than 20 years we will reach the physical limit of how much processing capability can be squeezed out of silicon-based processors in the heart of our computing devices. But a recent scientific finding that could completely change the way we build computing devices may simply allow engineers to sidestep any obstacles.
Continue reading… “Why computing will never be limited by Moore’s Law”
Wow, it looks like they took out way more than his tonsils!
Quote of the Day: “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.” – Woody Allen
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
The PowerPot can be used anywhere at any time.
The PowerPot is an amazing new product! It is a 5-15 watt electrical generator that is capable of charging any USB device! It’s waterproof, fire-resistant, and extremely portable, weighing in at just 12 ounces! Take it anywhere and use it day or night to charge cell phones, GPS devices, speakers, lights/lanterns, and more!
The PowerPot is one of the featured exhibitors at the DaVinci Inventor Showcase, which takes place on Oct 13, 2012 at the Denver Merchandise Mart.
After the jump, inventor David Toledo opens up about how he created a thermoelectric power generator for the masses, sourcing components for high temperature applications, and how he figured out all of the electronics needed for using the electricity generated by the PowerPot.
Continue reading… “Cook up deliciously portable power with PowerPot”
Powerful new power options.
Irrigation canals are the blood vessels of agriculture, delivering water throughout America’s farmland. Pretty soon, they may well deliver a bit of electricity too, thanks to the Hydrovolt micro-generator.
The Hydrovolt C2, designed and built by the same-named Washington state company, is a compact car-sized device that sits on a irrigation canal’s floor and utilizes the steady, uninterrupted flow of water to power its turbine, which is situated perpendicular to the flow, like a paddle boat wheel. As the wheel turns, it cranks an on-board generator that produces a charge. The device is neutrally buoyant so it can generate power on the water’s surface as well, without impeding the flow or affecting the water quality.
Continue reading… “Hydrovolts tap canal currents for 12 kW of power apiece”
Solar wins again.
If you like the idea of getting free energy from the sun, but don’t want to deal with the complications of installing a solar array on your roof, Umbrosa has created a lovely backyard sun shade that does double-duty—turning those rays into electricity.
As umbrellas go the Eclipse’s design is striking, but it isn’t really an umbrella at all…
Continue reading… “Stylish Sun Shade Is the Easiest Way To Harness Solar Power For Your Home”
Living ‘off the grid’ can entail going without some common luxuries.
Eric Valli spent 3 years taking photos of people in the United States who have “decided to live light on the earth.” The photographs are terrific. It looks like Valli spent time with two clans: a frontier/settler type group, and another group that look almost like cave people. I wish he had included more information about them!
Continue reading… “Photos of people living off-the-grid in the United States”
Wind can create both power and water?
Throughout the developing world, millions of people struggle with a shortage of clean water and steady electricity. This wind turbine could solve both problems in one shot by pulling both power and water straight from the wind.
The WMS1000 Wind Turbine was invented by Marc Parent and is built by the French start-up Eole Water. Sitting atop a 24-meter mast, the machine generates electricity with a conventional 30kW direct-drive turbine in a 12-ton nacelle with a 13-meter blade diameter. The WMS1000 can self-regulate the energy it produces, allowing it to provide a steady stream of power even in gusty or choppy winds. Installing an array of the turbines, which each have a service life of 30 years, creates a small-scale, decentralized power grid perfect for remote areas…
Continue reading… “Dual-Action wind turbine generates power and water”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Working with many early stage inventors, I often have the privilege of seeing some truly remarkable inventions and innovations. A few days ago I was shown a technology that snugly fits into that remarkable category, one that has the potential to radically transform the way cars and other vehicles are powered. In fact, vehicles using this power source will never need to stop and refuel.
Continue reading… “Creating a ‘Ripple in the Force’ of the Power Industry”
Solar cells thinner than a thread of spider silk.
On Wednesday, researchers from Austria and Japan unveiled solar cells thinner than a thread of spider silk that are flexible enough to be wrapped around a single human hair.
Continue reading… “Scientists develop solar cells thinner than spider silk”
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell
Monday, Chemicals giant Solvay announced the successful entry into service in Flanders of what it said was the largest fuel cell of its type in the world.
Continue reading… “New ‘super battery’ could power over 1,000 homes”
