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.
MIT’s thermal resonator generates power “out of what seems like nothing”
A brand new power-generating system from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers creates energy “out of what seems like nothing,” according to chemical engineering professor Michael Strano. Their system, which they’re calling a thermal resonator, harnesses daily swings in Read More...
Charging electric cars at night can bring huge environmental benefits
If drivers of electric cars plug in their vehicles when they get home from work and add to the evening electric peak, even the modest amounts of new generation will force us to build more energy capacity, which could lead to be more fossil fuel-fired plants. But if people wait until bedtime to Read More...
The Internet of growing things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is turning the ancient practice of farming into precision agriculture. Sensors implanted in the soil can tell you when and where to irrigate. Cameras attached to a drone flying over a field of soy beans can spot a mite on a leaf from 400 feet. IoT devices for cattle can Read More...
The more we know, the more mystery there is
Physicist Marcelo Gleiser muses over the paradoxes of scientific Read More...
Energy storage leap could slash electric car charging times
Researchers have claimed a breakthrough in energy storage technology that could enable electric cars to be driven as far as petrol and diesel vehicles, and recharge in minutes rather than hours. Teams from Bristol University and Surrey University developed a next-generation material for Read More...
How blockchain and batteries flipped a power-line developer to microgrids
Ed Krapels is a curious sort of electrical-transmission developer who thinks we don't need to develop more transmission. "We need less transmission in the future, but we need better-located and better-sited transmission,” the founder and CEO of Boston-based Anbaric Development Partners told me Read More...
Scientists are only now "discovering" what the Indigenous have known for years
Traditional or Indigenous knowledge on anything from the medicinal properties of plants to the migration patterns of caribou is valued by scientists when they support or supplement other scientific evience. But when the situation is reversed—when Traditional knowledge is seen to challenge Read More...
World's first all-hours solar fuel reactor could soon lead us to clean hydrogen
In a traditional solar fuel reactor, the process depends upon the solar thermal heat provided by the sun. When the sun disappears at night, so too does its energy. That’s why scientists have developed the world’s first solar fuel reactor that is able to function at night by relying on solar and Read More...
The cost of high-efficiency solar panels fell 37 percent in 2017
In 2017, the price for high-efficiency solar panels dropped from 72¢/W to 45¢/W, representing a 37 percent decline in cost. The falling price point is driven by several factors, including American consumer demand for higher solar efficiency to compensate for the higher-than-average energy Read More...
Here's why China is set to become a leader in self-driving cars
How self-driving cars become a part of the way we travel relies not on the technology, but rather, on the way society accepts self-driving cars. According to a new survey, the Chinese public is better poised to accept autonomous vehicles than Americans are, mainly because they trust the technology Read More...