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.
The new world's 'hugest' solar plant is in Mexico, not the U.S.
Mexico wants to produce 43 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2024, in only 6 years. It has 58 new power plants planned, the majority of them solar and the rest wind. Toward that end, in December it opened the Villanueva solar farm in the desert, with 2.3 million solar panels, Read More...
A complete transition to renewables would save Australians $20 billion a year
Australia has only recently started to embrace renewable energy. If they were to complete a total shift to renewable energy, it would pay for itself through cost savings within two decades, ultimately saving Australian $20 billion a year in combined fuel and power costs, a new report says. The Read More...
Algae could light up our cities at night
Proper lighting at night is important for safety in cities and along highways, but all of those lamps require a lot of electricity to keep them going all night. Many places have transitioned to LED lighting, the most energy efficient lighting currently available, to cut down on the energy use of Read More...
India added more energy capacity from renewables than coal last year
For the first time ever, India has added more production capacity from renewable energy in a year than from conventional sources like Read More...
Costa Rica plans to remove fossil fuels from transportation by 2021
When Costa Rica turns 200 years old in 2021, no mode of transportation in the central American country will be powered by gas or diesel. Or at least, that’s if all goes to plan. Costa Rica is well known for its environmental commitment, but the incoming president Carlos Alvarado is adamant that Read More...
Cheap hydrogen fuel may soon arrive after new discovery
Ammonia, a hydrogen-rich molecule, has recently surfaced as a source of the molecular hydrogen needed to generate electricity. Now, researchers have figured out how to extract that fuel and generate power without creating the usual pollutants that come from using ammonia. What's more, the cost of Read More...
FedEx Express delivers the goods with fuel cell-powered truck
FedEx Express is currently operating the first fuel cell electric delivery van for on-road use in North America. The zero emission van is a collaboration between Workhorse Group and Plug Power and is based on Workhorse's electric delivery van, using Plug Power's hydrogen fuel cell to Read More...
New semiconductor material could spark unlimited renewable hydrogen production
Researchers have created a semiconductor material that could pave the way to limitless hydrogen fuel. Using solar power to split water and produce hydrogen fuel is one of the most promising clean energy technologies being pursued, but so far it’s been held back by the lack of a stable Read More...
How to assess new solar technologies
Which is a better deal: an established, off-the-shelf type of solar panel or a cutting-edge type that delivers more power for a given area but costs more? It turns out that’s far from a simple question, but a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere has come up with a way to figure out the best Read More...
Electric busses can solve some of America’s biggest transportation problems
Personal vehicles are probably the most challenging vehicles to electrify cost-effectively. (Dragging one or two passengers around over long distances in a 2-ton vehicles takes a lot of energy.) Electric busses, on the other hand, are the ideal candidates for electrification as they can transport Read More...