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.
Cost of solar energy falls every time the sun rises
Installing solar panels on your roof is not just for tree-hugging environmentalists. The increasing ease of the process and the financial returns have made going solar practically mainstream. Washingtonians are embracing solar power in a big way. In the District, residential solar installations Read More...
San Francisco will require new buildings to install solar panels
All new buildings in San Francisco with 10 floors or less must install rooftop solar panels starting in 2017. The Better Roofs Ordinance is expected to add 50,000 solar panels and avert 26.3 million tons of carbon dioxide annually—equivalent to emissions from 5,000 cars driven for a year. San Read More...
How autonomous cars are driving the city of the future
The idea of self-driving cars is plastered across the media. But a lot of the talk is about a futuristic, Jetson-style approach at a fairly superficial level. Some pieces go deeper, but there’s a dearth of investigation on the subject. And it’s becoming reality faster than anyone Read More...
India sees solar-based energy future that is cheaper than coal fired power
India’s energy minister Piyush Goyal embraces a renewable future. During the presentation of his new plan for renewable energy in the country, he said that energy generated from solar would now probably be cheaper than from a newly built coal plant. The plan outlines a vision for solar-based Read More...
The Netherlands moves to ban sale of fossil fueled cars by 2025
The Dutch parliament has adopted a motion to ban non-clean car sales by 2025. It stipulates that the sale of new cars on diesel or gasoline would be banned from 2025 onward, while existing fossil fuel cars would still be allowed. The motion still has to pass the Read More...
Turn your pee into power with a fuel cell
British researchers have developed a fuel cell that produces energy out of urine. The cell uses biological processes to generate electricity, and would cost only one pound sterling. The researchers see that the fuel cell could be a lifeline to people in remote areas, generating cheap, renewable and Read More...
Self-driving car completes 1,200-mile roadtrip across China
Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ford Motor Co.’s partner in China, said it completed a 1,200-mile road trip to test a self-driving car as part of its ambitions to produce highly automated vehicles by 2020. The car set off from the company’s headquarters in Chongqing and reached Read More...
Global electric car sales on the rise
After four years of steady growth, U.S. plug-in electric car sales were essentially flat last year. Low gas prices and increased demand for SUVs had a dampening effect on the segment, which still accounts for a very small fraction of U.S. new-car sales. However, in other parts of the world, it was Read More...
Will the Tesla Model 3 be the first truly self-driving car?
On the evening of March 31st, Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s sinuous Model 3, the company’s first “affordable” electric-car model. After touting the sedan’s punchy acceleration, two-hundred-and-fifteen-mile battery range, and sweeping, seamless glass roof, he mentioned its Read More...
U.S. wind energy blew away records in 2015
U.S. wind energy output hit record levels last year, producing nearly 5 percent of the nation’s electricity, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Employment in the sector also rose 20 percent in 2015, with 88,000 workers now employed in wind energy Read More...