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.
China is making it harder to produce fossil fuel cars
China announced today that carmakers who want to produce fossil fuel-powered cars must first obtain a new energy vehicle score by producing zero-emission and low-emission cars, as first reported by Bloomberg. The new rule applies to automakers who make or import over 30,000 fossil fuel cars a Read More...
Transparent solar panel enables first solar-powered smartwatch
Solar-powered watches are nothing new, but being more power-hungry beasts, solar-powered smartwatches are a different story. A San Francisco-based startup called LunaR now claims to have bridged the divide by developing a smartwatch that never needs to be plugged in for a recharge as it draws all Read More...
Water evaporation could be a promising source of renewable energy
Although it's still in its early stages, scientists believe that energy from evaporation is comparable to that of wind and solar power. In fact, they predict that if we were able to harvest evaporation energy from the existing lakes and reservoirs in the US — excluding the Great Lakes in the Read More...
Forget vacuums, Dyson is going to start making electric cars
Dyson had made a name for itself by inventing all sorts of new approaches to vacuuming your house, and now it seems that the company is looking to innovate in a whole new “clean” industry. This week, founder James Dyson announced that his company is making a major play in the electric car Read More...
Boeing is hosting competition to build the world’s first personal flying machine
Strap in. Boeing is sponsoring the GoFly competition, which aims to create the first personal flying device with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Read More...
This beautiful A/C system works without electricity
A new terracotta device can turn hot air into a cool breeze, pushing temperatures inside a room from over 107 Fahrenheit down to 97. According to its creator—Monish Siripurapu, founder of the Indian architectural firm Ant Studio—it works using hundreds of terracotta cones, wind, water Read More...
Peer-to-peer renewable energy markets are the future
To overcome the inconsistencies of renewable energy, we must make sure our energy systems utilize energy more efficiently. And the best way to do that is through peer-to-peer energy markets. In such a market, multiple residential solar panel systems can be connected to move excess energy from one Read More...
Could computational modeling solve what’s to come in the post-antibiotic era?
Ever since penicillin was accidentally discovered in 1928, numerous antibiotics have been created that have spared millions of lives from immeasurable suffering around the globe. The only problem is bacteria has a knack for developing resistance against antibiotics, and now we have entered an era Read More...
Wind power is now cheaper than nuclear—the energy revolution is happening
In March I went to see Henrik Poulsen, the boss of Dong Energy, in Copenhagen. Never heard of him or his company? You are not alone, but the chances are he is keeping your lights Read More...
A solid pathway toward hydrogen storage
An inexpensive and useful layered superconductor compound also may be an efficient solid-state material for storing hydrogen. The Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Materials Network (EMN) consortium approach to accelerate material discovery and development is starting to pay Read More...