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.
EasyJet wants to fly electric airplanes in 10 years
Of all the industries that are pushing to become more environmentally friendly, the airline industry has been one of the least active. That may soon change after one of Europe’s largest airlines, EasyJet, announced that it wants to build and operate electric-powered planes within the next decade. Read More...
‘In the next three years 30 percent of Europe’s electricity could be wind powered’
Europe is overhauling its energy infrastructure faster than expected. In two recently released reports, researchers suggest that 30 percent of the electricity consumed in Europe could be generated from the wind by 2030, potentially avoiding the release of 421 tons of CO2 emissions. On top of that, Read More...
Electric car owners 'can drive for free by letting energy firms use battery'
Electric car owners will be paid for letting an energy company use their vehicle’s battery in a pioneering scheme to increase take-up of the cleaner vehicles and help power grids manage the growth in green Read More...
Elon Musk's big battery for South Australia already half complete
When Elon Musk promised South Australia that he could fix their power network by creating the world’s largest battery in 100 days or the service would be delivered for free, many thought he was bluffing. Now it seems the energy guru is set to get paid with construction on the battery already half Read More...
Renewable energy investors see opportunity in Puerto Rico’s demolished gird
There is a silver lining in the destruction that Hurricane Maria left behind on Puerto Rico. While the island’s antiquated electric system lies in ruins, renewable energy investors see a golden opportunity in the crisis to use federal funds to re-invent the US territory’s grid as a Read More...
Autonomous vehicles will completely change your relationship with cars
Vehicles may be faster and more eco-friendly than when they were first invented, but the basic blueprint has remained the same: They’ve always been boxes with four wheels operated by a human steering the wheel. With autonomous vehicles on the horizon, though, we can expect our relationship with Read More...
How smart grid technology could help Puerto Rico
A week after Puerto Rico was struck by Hurricane Maria, nearly all of the U.S. territory’s residents are still without power. It will take years to recover from the disaster, but experts hope Puerto Rico’s future electrical grid will be more resilient in the face of the next powerful storm to Read More...
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...