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.
Perovskite: paint that turns any surface into a solar panel
The sun shines everywhere. So how can we easily capture the energy the rays of sun bring wherever they hit the earth? The answer is perovskite. What? Perovskite is a mineral composed of calcium titanium oxide that scientists at the University of Sheffield have now turned into a “spray on solar Read More...
Cycling desks: exercising while you’re charging your phone
Cycling desks found at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, and in a train station in Lyon, let you exercise while you charge you digital device. The desks are called WeBikes and were conceived of by Patricia Ceysens, a Flemish government minister. The desks look like any stool and table arrangement but Read More...
Solar sponge turns suns energy into steam
A sponge designed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology converts water into steam by using the sun’s rays. The sponge is made up of a layer of graphite flakes on top and porous carbon foam underneath that acts as an insulator. The sponge floats on top of water and when sun hits the graphite a Read More...
Facebook initiative provides free Internet access to developing countries
It’s critical for a more just and fair world that developing countries get swiftly connected to the Internet. Last year Facebook started internet.org, an initiative that works with industries around the world to lower the barriers to bringing developing nations online. This week the project Read More...
Wind cheaper than oil, coal or natural gas in Denmark in 2016
Investments in wind power that Denmark started making over 40 years ago are now starting to pay dividends—and large ones at that. Analysts at the Danish Energy Association predict that by 2016 wind power will overtake coal and natural gas as the country’s cheapest source of energy. Two new Read More...
Peruvian bank gives Lima a energy efficient light show
The intersection of architecture and energy efficient lighting is on display in Lima, Peru where a collaboration between Phillips and the Peruvian bank, Banco del Crédito de Peru’s has created one of the world’s largest interactive LED displays. People passing by can touch a big screen in Read More...
California could be powered by 100% clean energy by 2050
There are plenty ambitious renewable energy projects and studies. But this new one by Stanford University is particularly interesting as it's about the 8th largest economy in the world—California—becoming totally clean energy based 35 years from now. The study, published in Energy, concludes Read More...
Cable-less fiber optic design creates connections out of thin air
Radio waves work without cables. So do cell phones and wifi. However we still need wires to transmit light or electricity. That may change. The first experiments with wireless power transmission are being done and now researchers at the University of Maryland have developed a fiber optic laser that Read More...
Phone dock designed to keep chargers out of the landfill
You know how a device’s lifecycle goes: You upgrade every few years and while you might be able to sell your old device, the charger and all it’s accessories go in the trash. In fact, Americans throw away about 100,000 tons of electronics chargers annually. To limit this problem of excessive Read More...
Self-cooling solar cells increase efficiency and lifespan
The biggest hurdle solar cells have to overcome is overheating because converting sunrays to electricity—unsurprisingly—is a very hot process. When solar panels get hot their efficiency dramatically decreases. Engineers from Stanford University have found a solution to this problem by adding a Read More...