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.
The world’s tallest wind turbine has been built in Germany
The taller a wind turbine is, the more efficient it is. In fact, for every three feet increase in turbine height, annual energy output increases up to 1 percent. With that in mind, a German company has built the world’s tallest wind turbine, standing at 178 meter (584 ft). The single turbine is Read More...
These greenhouses generate electricity and grow food at the same time
Greenhouses that grow food are good. Solar panels are great. Put them together, and you have a match made in heaven. In California, researchers have created ‘smart greenhouses’ that can capture solar energy for electricity without reducing plant growth. These innovative solar greenhouses Read More...
One of the world’s biggest oil companies is spending $1bn on renewable energy
One of the world’s biggest oil companies is pumping more than $1bn (£763m) a year into alternative forms of energy from algae engineered to bloom into biofuels and cells that turn emissions into electricity. The funds from Exxon Mobil are for more than a hundred of research projects on Read More...
Self-driving cars could make jaywalking legal
A report released this week from the National Association of City Transportation Officials, a nonprofit representing cities on transportation issues, lays out a vision for the future of city streets as autonomous vehicles arrive. Some cities look to NACTO for recommendations, but it's unclear if Read More...
New smart grid platform could help to decentralize the grid
A Dutch company has created a platform that allows a central grid to be divided into smaller cells that can operate independently. The platform tackles a massive issue as it can be quite a painful process for electrical grids to integrate renewable energy. What makes this platform so unique is that Read More...
Samsung is looking for new uses for your old Galaxy phones
Samsung has created a new program called Galaxy Upcycling that will provide ideas and resources for how to reuse an old phone. Some early examples include a permanent display for a connected fish tank, a miniature tablet-powered arcade cabinet, and–if you somehow have a few dozen phones to Read More...
Nearly 200 million European households were powered by wind on Saturday
As major storms blew over Europe this past weekend, new records were broken in wind energy production. On Saturday, it was reported that a record 24.6 percent of total electricity came from wind power sources in the 28 countries of the European Union, the majority of it being supplied from onshore Read More...
This autonomous train requires no tracks and emits no emissions
A self-driving train that runs on virtual tracks has officially hit the streets of Zhuzhou in China’s Hunan Province. The autonomous train requires no tracks, and could ease emissions and traffic for a fraction of the cost of building a subway or streetcar system. The 100 percent electric train Read More...
Tesla wants to put Puerto Rico back on the grid
This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. It was a transaction concocted on Twitter—and in a few short weeks, declared official: Tesla is helping to bring power back to Puerto Read More...
The science of meditation explained by two experts
Meditation is popularly presented as a panacea for many of the world’s ailments. But to what extent does science support the hype? Two longtime meditators and established authors Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson, explored six thousand studies conducted over the last few decades, and decided Read More...