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.
Let the wind blow for 80 million people: Europe's crazy clean energy plan
People aren’t always too pleased when on-shore wind turbines are installed due to aesthetics and sound, so why not just build a massive artificial island surrounded by wind turbines out in the sea? That seems crazy, but it’s exactly what a group of engineers from Denmark, Germany, and the Read More...
Half of Norway's new-car sales are now hybrids or electrics
Norway has achieved yet another milestone in electric-car sales. The Scandinavian country may be the friendliest for electric cars in the world, thanks to a combination of aggressive incentives, well-developed charging infrastructure, and a citizenry committed to lowering carbon emissions. Thanks Read More...
Tesla is getting competition in the market for affordable electric cars
In the near future, electric cars will no longer be the domain of the luxury-car owner. According to Automotive News, Volvo Cars’ North America CEO, Lex Kerssemakers, told reporters at the Geneva auto show that the company’s first fully electric vehicle will likely have a price range of about Read More...
We can officially collect solar energy without solar panels
The discussion on climate has persisted for decades since we first discovered that there is a man-made influence on the environment. From then, many researchers have come together to finagle innovations that reduce our industrial carbon footprint. One such innovation is the molecular leaf. Read More...
Three solar thermal plants in Chile could generate electricity 24 hours a day
The Chilean government recently gave the go-ahead on a massive solar thermal plant that is expected to produce electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week—a considerable feat for a plant that depends solely on solar energy. The plant, proposed for a site in Chile’s Tamarugal province, Read More...
9 big ideas to change the world for the better in 2017 and beyond
More on big, groundbreaking, world-changing ideas: Here’s a list put together by Fast Company. Global democracy driven by technology. A new fish-based food system to solve both hunger and climate change. How the aging population in the western world can be turned into an economic powerhouse. 100 Read More...
MIT presents: The first-ever Disobedience Award
Breakthroughs seldom come from continuing business as usual. That’s why it is so strange that most children are still pushed through very rigid educational systems that mostly teach what we already know. To get to a new solution, you have to step out of the system. “You don’t change the world Read More...
What rural Alaska can teach the world about renewable energy
I flew into Unalakleet, Alaska, on a late fall day. With about 700 people, Unalakleet is large by rural Alaska standards and serves as a regional hub. The village is on a sandy spit of land where a clear river meets the turbid water of the Bering Sea. Out the plane window the sun shone bright, Read More...
California paves way to self-driving car tests without humans
California, the largest U.S. car market, plans to allow testing on public roads of self-driving vehicles without human backup drivers by the end of the year, state officials said Friday. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles is seeking public comment on proposed regulations for driverless Read More...
Scientists harness solar power to produce clean hydrogen from biomass
A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has developed a way of using solar power to generate a fuel that is both sustainable and relatively cheap to produce. It's using natural light to generate hydrogen from biomass. One of the challenges facing modern society is what it does with its Read More...