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.
An entire region of China just ran on 100 percent renewable energy for 7 days
From Pittsburgh to Frankfurt, cities around the world are pledging to stop burning fossil fuels for electricity by 2050 or sooner. But the Chinese province of Qinghai has already reached that goal, according to news outlet Xinhua. For seven days — from June 17 to 23 — the Read More...
Hyperlane: A special lane for self-driving vehicles
A US company is proposing special lanes on roads purely for self-driving vehicles. The Hyperlanes would be controlled by a central computer allowing self-driving cars to travel along at speeds over 100mph (160kph). BBC Click spoke to Baiyu Chen, a co-founder of Hyperlane to find out more about how Read More...
Avis shares jump on Alphabet self-driving car partnership
Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google-owner Alphabet, has reached an agreement with Avis Budget Group under which the rental car company will manage Waymo's fleet of autonomous vehicles. Avis will provide storage and maintenance services for the Waymo fleet of self-driving vehicles in Phoenix, Read More...
Most Australians want renewables to be primary energy source, survey finds
The vast majority of Australians want to see the country dramatically increase the use of renewable energy, a new survey has found, despite attempts by the federal government to characterise renewables as unreliable and expensive. The Climate Institute’s national Climate of the Nation survey, Read More...
Vehicle to vehicle communication makes self-driving cars safer
Self-driving cars use GPS, satellite communication, for their navigation. But, as anyone with a satellite radio system in his car knows, there are sometimes brief moments of interruption in the communication. That can be very dangerous for self-driving cars. That's why researchers are testing an Read More...
Introducing: An all-electric aircraft with a range up to 600 miles
So far, clean, electric air transport has been limited by the energy density of batteries, but pioneering companies are beginning to meet the challenge. At the 52nd International Paris Air Show, the first prototype of a new all-electric aircraft concept with a range of up to 600 miles (965 km) Read More...
Indian solar to create 125,000 army of rooftop installers in five years
India’s 175GW by 2022 renewable energy target could create up to 330,000 jobs in the next five years, predominantly in the rooftop PV sector, according to a report from India’s Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Nearly Read More...
Autonomous air taxis will soon take the skies of Dubai
Forget cars, Dubai is looking up to the sky for new transport solutions. The city already has ambitious plans for a supersonic Hyperloop network, and now they will be testing an autonomous air taxi. Dubbed the Volocopter, this all-electric aircraft looks like a mini-helicopter with 18 rotors that Read More...
It’s so windy, and sunny, in Texas that there’s no market for natural gas
One of the fundamental flaws of wind-power is that wind gusts occur precisely when there’s the least demand for electricity; in the dead of night. That’s the case all across America, with exception of South Texas. In the bottom half of the Lone Star State, wind blows fiercely in the middle of Read More...
The end of car ownership
Cars are going to undergo a lot of changes in the coming years. One of the biggest: You probably won’t own one. Thanks to ride sharing and the looming introduction of self-driving vehicles, the entire model of car ownership is being upended—and very soon may not look anything like it has for Read More...