Science
From mathematics and AI to medicine and psychology, The Optimist Daily features the latest news on discoveries, technological advances, and breakthroughs in the world of science. Our Science section is here to engage and enlighten you.
Building new renewable energy cheaper than running existing coal power plants
Coal-powered plants could soon retreat from the energy game as technological breakthroughs allow renewables to show the industry what they’ve got. A new report concluded that 42 percent of global coal capacity is currently unprofitable, and the US could save $78 billion by closing coal-fired Read More...
Chinese company says it will soon cross $100 battery threshold
Envision Energy will produce batteries for $100 per kilowatt hour by 2020, the Shanghai company’s founder and CEO said at Stanford University, predicting the price will drop to $50 only five years later and end the reign of the internal-combustion engine. Envision’s analysts realized they Read More...
Volvo's self-driving trucks are ready to start work at a mine in Norway
Volvo has taken a significant step forward with its self-driving truck technology after inking its first-ever commercial deal that puts its autonomous vehicle — or six of them, to be precise — into action. The Swedish automaker has signed an agreement with Norwegian mining firm Brønnøy Kalk Read More...
MIT: the transition to electric vehicles faces better prospects than expected
The electric vehicle revolution could play a great deal in helping slow down global warming and potentially achieve a carbon-free future. The transition could actually happen sooner than expected as researchers at MIT have found that nearly 90 percent of America’s current personal vehicles could Read More...
India is among the leading nations in the world’s transition to clean energy
The world’s leaders in the clean energy transition are developing nations. India ranks second in the top after Chile, climbing three spots from the fifth position it held last year. This is due to an increase in clean energy installations and rising investments in solar power projects. On top of Read More...
Solar and storage minigrids are electrifying towns across the Philippines
The small Filipino town of Paluan on the island of Mindoro has been electrified with the installation of its own Tesla battery powered solar plus storage mini grid. The new mini grid provides power to local residents who had been living on just a few hours of unstable electricity that came and went Read More...
Six self-driving trucks will transport limestone in a Norwegian mine
An often-overlooked use for autonomous driving technology is in industrial applications, where raw materials have to be shipped from point A to point B. In what automaker Volvo calls its “first commercial autonomous solution transporting limestone from an open pit mine to a nearby port,” six Read More...
Small French town inaugurates world’s first solar road
A newborn town in France has opened the world’s first solar panel road. The one-kilometer-long street has 2,800 square meters of solar panels built into it, came at a price of $5.2 million, and took five years to produce. This is an important development for the solar industry and could Read More...
The green hydrogen revolution has started, and it won't be stopped
Hydrogen gas was first produced artificially back in the 16th century, while the first fuel cells and electrolyzers were made in the 19th century. Until recently, however, the price of electrolyzers – which produce hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with electricity – and fuel Read More...
Superconducting tape could lead to lower-cost wind power
Wind power is limited in part by how expensive it can be to make each turbine. You may need roughly a ton of rare earth metals per Read More...