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.
Bikes may have to talk to self-driving cars for safety's sake
Proponents of self-driving cars say they'll make the world safer, but autonomous vehicles need to predict what bicyclists are going to do. Now researchers say part of the answer is to have bikes feed information to cars. A few years ago on Google's campus, Nathaniel Fairfield arranged an unusual Read More...
Scotland sets renewable energy record for wind power
Wind power output in Scotland has helped set a new record for the first half of the year, according to an independent conservation group. Analysis by WWF Scotland of data provided by WeatherEnergy found wind turbines provided around 1,039,001MWh of electricity to the National Grid during June. Read More...
Toyota could finally start mass producing electric cars thanks to China
Toyota has long been one of the most reticent large automakers when it comes to producing all-electric vehicles. It had no problems with hybrids, e.g. the Prius, but the Japanese automaker would only produce the bare minimum when it came to zero-emission mandates, e.g. the Rav4 EV in California, Read More...
Germany expects to add 900 MW of new offshore wind capacity in 2017
Germany’s offshore wind boom is accelerating. The Federal Republic has already brought online a total of 626 megawatts (MW) of new offshore wind capacity in the first six months of 2017 and industry groups said in a recent joint statement that they expect to see total installations of 900 MW Read More...
Charging your phone on a street bench in Budapest
Roads can be used to capture solar energy. There are many initiatives in that direction including solar roadways, Wattway, solar bike paths and Pavegen. A Budapest startup joins these projects with a very practical approach. The company has developed a modular, self-contained paving panel that Read More...
Electric vehicle sales are up 45 percent over the last year
Electric vehicles (EVs) are fast outgrowing their reputation as a niche market, according to InsideEVs’ recent report of EV and hybrid car sales in the United States. The most notable data from the report is the 45 percent increase in EV sales from July 2016 to Read More...
L.A. spends $138 million on electric buses, wants emission-free fleet by 2030
Southern California’s biggest transit agency retired its last diesel bus six years ago, capping a 15-year process to replace tailpipes that belched black smoke with quieter, cleaner engines powered by natural gas. Now, Los Angeles County transportation leaders are working toward a bolder Read More...
Lyft creates self-driving car unit
Lyft said Friday that it is setting up its own unit to develop autonomous vehicle technology, but its approach will be different from other companies and partnerships working on self-driving cars. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing service said it will open its network, inviting automakers and Read More...
India introduces electric buses that can swap batteries at ‘gas stations’
India is moving fast towards the electric car future. The country has committed to only sell electric cars from 2030 onwards. And here’s a promising project of one of the country’s leading truck-makers with an ambitious upstart to develop a battery swapping system for electric buses. The Read More...
Can geothermal energy from the earth compete with the sun?
A new startup is drastically reducing the cost of installing geothermal systems to provide residential buildings with heating and cooling from the ground. Once installed the systems provide free heating and cooling. But the investment at $80,000 and upwards has been an obstacle for widespread Read More...