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.
Japanese engineers plan to introduce flying car at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Haven’t you thought about it when you were stuck in an endless traffic jam: The flying car. That dream is fast becoming a reality. AeroMobil, a Slovakian company, which unveiled a prototype in 2014, while Terrafugia in the U.S. is aiming to complete its TF-X flying vehicle by 2018. Read More...
No more batteries: Electric cars charged wirelessly by the roads they drive on
Electric cars are the solution for air pollution in cities. But they need batteries that, so far, limit their radius and they are heavy and expensive. But what if the street provides electricity for the car to run? We are familiar with street cars or trams that are powered by cables. The next step Read More...
The electric car you can charge next to your phone
Li Xiang was earning 10 times more than his parents from part-time jobs when he left school in 1999 to focus on a website before starting Autohome Inc., China’s premier car-buying portal. Now, he plans to not just sell vehicles, but design and build them too. QuickTake Cleaner Cars Chehejia, Read More...
San Francisco nabs significant federal funding for hydrogen and fuel cell efforts
San Francisco’s embrace of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for local transportation just got a big boost from the federal government. The Energy Department’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will direct nearly $4.5 million in funding for San Read More...
Global renewable energy employment rose 5% in 2015
More clean energy also brings more jobs. A boom in solar and wind power jobs in the U.S. led the way to a global increase in renewable energy employment to more than 8 million people in 2015, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). In 2015 almost 800,000 Read More...
Apple explores charging stations for electric vehicles
Apple is investigating how to charge electric cars, talking to charging station companies and hiring engineers with expertise in the area, according to people familiar with the matter and a review of LinkedIn profiles. For more than a year, Silicon Valley has been buzzing about Apple's plan to Read More...
World record: 25% of the new cars in Norway are electric
Norway leads the world when it comes to the introduction of electric cars. In the first three months of 2016 25 percent of all newly registered autos in the country were plug-in electric vehicles. The Netherlands, Europe’s second-biggest per capita buyers of electric vehicles, trails with 1.8 Read More...
Off the (failing) grid in North Korea, where solar energy is a hot commodity
Think of it as a North Korean Best Buy — a shop stuffed with refrigerators, karaoke machines, laptop computers and flat-screen TVs. But with a square footage closer to a typical American 7-Eleven than a big-box store, the Pothonggang Information Technology Center has to be selective about Read More...
Scotland strengthens leadership in wind energy with $4 billion investment in offshore farm
Scotland confirms its status as a world leader in wind energy with a £2.6 billion ($3.8 billion) offshore wind farm investment. The Beatrice Offshore Windfarm will power 450,000 homes and is described the project as "one of the largest private investments ever made in Scottish infrastructure." Read More...
Sunshine can provide all U.S. electricity through solar-thermal energy
Interest in a 19th-century technology, solar thermal energy, is rising. Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to create heat and steam to power turbines to produce electricity. A Silicon Valley company says it can provide all of the electricity needs of the U.S., including a switch to electric Read More...