Energy

Scientists Find Why Conductance Of Nanowires Vary

A Georgia Tech physics group has discovered how and why the electrical conductance of metal nanowires changes as their length varies. In a collaborative investigation performed by an experimental team and a theoretical physics team, the group discovered t ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 8 2007 - 10:00pm

Alaskan North Slope Well Could Be Key To Unlocking Vast Energy Resource

Drilling is complete on an Alaskan North Slope well, cofunded by the Department of Energy, that could prove to be an important milestone in assessing America's largest potential fossil energy resource: gas hydrate. Gas hydrate is an ice-like solid th ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 21 2007 - 11:55pm

Geologist Troubleshoots Silica Problem At Geothermal Plants

In the debate over alternative energy resources, geothermal technology has received scant media attention. Advocates call it one of the cleanest, sustainable energy resources available. However, steep construction, equipment and drilling costs have preven ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 13 2007 - 11:33am

Progress Toward Artificial Photosynthesis?

Plants can do it: they simply grab carbon dioxide out of the air and covert it into biomass. In this process, known as photosynthesis, the plants use light as their energy source. Chemists would also like to be able to use CO2 as a carbon source for their ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 15 2007 - 12:46am

New “Biofuel Cell” Produces Electricity From Hydrogen In Plain Air

A pioneering “biofuel cell” that produces electricity from ordinary air spiked with small amounts of hydrogen offers significant potential as an inexpensive and renewable alternative to the costly platinum-based fuel cells that have dominated discussion a ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 26 2007 - 3:25pm

Removing A Hydrogen Fuel-cell Roadblock

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory are employing some modern day alchemy in an effort to find a material with properties of rare and high-priced palladium. If they’re successful, it could remove a major roadblock from the path ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2007 - 11:06am

New Developments In 'artificial Photosynthesis'

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory are trying to design catalysts inspired by photosynthesis, the natural process by which green plants convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbohydrat ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2007 - 3:26pm

Giving Platinum A Golden Boost For Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Platinum might outweigh gold in the jewelry market, but as part of an ongoing effort to produce efficient and affordable fuel cells, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory are studying how gold atoms might ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 27 2007 - 4:43pm

Nanostructuring And Battery Performance

Researchers at Delft University of Technology can predict how nanostructuring – the extreme reduction of structure – will affect the performance of Li-ion batteries. The nanostructuring of battery materials is likely to be common practice in the future, b ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 2 2007 - 10:12am

Revisiting Peak Oil- Part One

  Peak oil is loosely defined at the point in time when half of all the oil reserves in the earth have been extracted and burned.   This means that we are half way through the oil consumption cycle and move into extracting the remaining 50%. ...

Article - David Houle - Oct 1 2007 - 6:32pm