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.
New fuel cell demonstrates exceptional power density and stability
A team of researchers led by Northwestern University professor and fuel cell pioneer Sossina Haile has created a new fuel cell offering both exceptional power densities and long-term stability at optimal temperatures, a discovery that heightens the viability of incorporating fuel cells into a Read More...
Timberland wants to rebuild Haiti’s cotton industry with help from the blockchain
The clothing-brand Timberland has been involved with Haiti’s agriculture for the past eight years, helping the country to avert serious deforestation by helping plant millions of trees across 19 nurseries. Now the brand is looking to become not just a sponsor of Haiti’s agriculture, but also a Read More...
Old coal mines may just be crucial for storing energy in the future
A UK-based startup has come up with a crazy idea for storing mass amounts of energy, but it might just work. The company plans to suspend a 3,000-tonne cylindrical weight in disused mine shafts from 150m to 1,5000m deep. The weight is attached to a series of winches that can lift it, and when Read More...
Madagascar has a hi-tech waterless toilet that charges your phone
Traditional flush toilets aren’t an option in many parts of the world, but neither is leaving people with unsafe and unhygenic choices. Now, one company is piloting a new loo that’s waterless, off-grid and able to charge your Read More...
Top clean cars and trucks of 2018
Some of the cleanest cars you can buy today are powered by electricity, though the emissions of an electric vehicle (EV) varies depending on where it is plugged in. Even though parts of the U.S. still partially rely on coal fired power, the average EV sold in the U.S. produces the emissions Read More...
Wind energy leader ventures into solar and batteries
Vestas is the world’s biggest manufacturer of wind turbines. It is now offering solar power and storage (batteries) as well as it seeks to sell hybrid renewable plants to generate electricity around the Read More...
Life beyond oil: Saudi Arabia is spending billions on renewable energy
There are not so many examples of “empires” successfully transitioning to new eras with new technologies. The companies that ran the shipping lines around the world, were not the same as the one pioneering the new airline industry. Oil made—and still makes—Saudi Arabia very wealthy. But the Read More...
We can now harvest electricity from Earth's heat using quantum tunneling
Researchers have come up with a way we could harvest energy from Earth by turning excess infrared radiation and waste heat into electricity we can use. The concept involves the strange physics of quantum tunnelling, and key to the idea is a specially designed antenna that can detect waste or Read More...
“Super wood" sports the strength of steel
Titanium alloys are some of the strongest materials we can build with, but they can be expensive and heavy. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have come up with a way to make an alternative that literally grows on trees. Using a new "densification" process, the team managed to Read More...
Why farmers should swap tobacco plants for solar panels
Tobacco has been a key cash crop since America was first discovered, but a new analysis says that the tobacco farmers of today could make even more money harvesting sunlight. Researchers looked at tobacco farms and calculated the point at which farmers could make more money farming energy given the Read More...