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.
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...
New GE startup shows that the time of clean energy fuel cells has come
Fuel cells where invented over a century ago. But apart from the use in space shuttles and space labs, the clean energy technology still awaits a real breakthrough. But the age of the fuel cell may finally be dawning. On Tuesday General Electric launched a startup to bring clean, reliable, Read More...
The ultimate web resilience: go the cockroach way
Hard to imagine that cockroaches could be an inspiration to innovation? Cockroaches survive in the most difficult circumstances. They can live without air for extended periods of time. They even continue to live—for some time—without their heads. That resilience is the inspiration to a new Read More...
American cars are finally becoming more fuel-efficient
American cars guzzle some 9 million barrels of oil per day. And the American car industry has been notoriously late with implementing fuel-efficiency standards. But faced with a US EPA and Department of Transportation mandate that cars must have an average fuel–efficiency of 54.5 MPG by 2025 the Read More...
Clean energy investments up 33% in second quarter
This line we want to see go up and up. And it has been doing exactly that even during the financial crisis showing that clean, renewable energy is the way of the future. Total clean energy investment in the second quarter topped at $63 billion, which makes it the strongest quarter in the past two Read More...
Scientists advocate for more research on consciousness
Consciousness has been a domain that science so far hasn’t really dared to enter. It’s part of the realm of religion and philosophy. We know we are conscious. But how does that work? And what does it mean? More and more research in physics points to interconnection between the smallest Read More...
‘Energy Duck’ could provide solar and hydro power to Copenhagen
Contestants in the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative in Copenhagen, Denmark have submitted a mock up of a giant duck that could power the European city with hydro and solar power. The giant duck would be fitted with solar panels to provide power during the daytime, and hydroelectric turbines on Read More...
App finds the most scenic route through a city
Most of us use apps to find our ways through cities. And when we do we look for the shortest route. But what if it were possible to find the most beautiful route through a city? That’s the objective of a new mobile application built by Yahoo Labs in Barcelona, Spain. The app works like any other Read More...