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.
How tech has blurred the lines of employment
Technology has pushed the “gig” worker into the business model spotlight. Thousands of apps allow independent contractors to connect with each other – and with their work. But, these relationships also come with risks, as gig industry leaders Uber and Lyft know. Both companies are dealing Read More...
We might run out of oil, so we should run cars on poop
The world has a poop problem. In the U.S., the challenge is biggest on farms: livestock produces more than a billion tons of solid waste a year, or roughly 87,000 pounds of shit a second. That's more than 130 times greater than the amount of human waste that goes into sewers. Farm Read More...
Ocean currents: Reliable clean energy beneath sea level
Oceans move slowly—on average 1-1.5 m/s. However, water is over 800 times denser than air, meaning that even slow ocean currents are comparable to strong winds. And winds are unpredictable whereas as oceans move constant in both direction and speed. A new Japanese design for a marine turbine is Read More...
America generates more energy from wind than you may think
Solar power has been hot news lately with numbers forecasting another strong year in added solar capacity, but what you may not realize is that wind power has also become a very big deal in the U.S these days. Last year, Iowa generated 31 percent of its power from wind resources, and several states Read More...
China aims to boost renewable energy with 'green certificates'
China plans to set up a market for renewable energy certificates to try to increase the use of cleaner energy as the world's largest greenhouse gas producer tries to reduce its reliance on coal. Power suppliers will be able to trade "green certificates" that represent the proportion of non-hydro Read More...
Solar energy surpasses every other energy source in U.S. in 2016
U.S solar is poised for not just another record year but a blowout year in the solar installations. Last year, solar set a new record with 7.3 gigawatts of total new photovoltaic capacity across residential, commercial, and utility-scale installations. According to new statistics just released by Read More...
How Canada can move to 100% clean energy
An environmental research team from the prestigious Stanford University in California has calculated exactly how Canada can move away from fossil fuels, transitioning to a totally clean-energy future through existing technologies. But the assertion that this transition is just over a Read More...
Nanotechnology changes the old fashioned light bulb into a leader in energy saving
Is the traditional light bulb preparing for a come back? Bright but inefficient incandescent bulbs have been on the way out for years, in favor of low-wattage LEDs. Researchers at MIT and Purdue University may have figured out how to change that trend. The six-researcher team says it has found a Read More...
China on track to beat climate targets as renewables soar and coal consumption drops
China has a long way to go to clean up its heavily polluted cities. But, at least, the trend is in the right direction. Figures for 2015 show that wind and solar energy surged and consumption of coal, which still provides two-thirds of China’s power, dropped. The country’s solar and wind energy Read More...
Solar cells inspired by moth eyes can harvest energy indoors
Sometimes researchers draw their finest inspiration for their inventions from animals or insects, like the Namib Desert Beetle, which inspired the self-filling water bottle. British researchers have found a clever way to harvest energy while inside: by imitating moths. They’ve created a Read More...