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.
Three solar thermal plants in Chile could generate electricity 24 hours a day
The Chilean government recently gave the go-ahead on a massive solar thermal plant that is expected to produce electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week—a considerable feat for a plant that depends solely on solar energy. The plant, proposed for a site in Chile’s Tamarugal province, Read More...
9 big ideas to change the world for the better in 2017 and beyond
More on big, groundbreaking, world-changing ideas: Here’s a list put together by Fast Company. Global democracy driven by technology. A new fish-based food system to solve both hunger and climate change. How the aging population in the western world can be turned into an economic powerhouse. 100 Read More...
MIT presents: The first-ever Disobedience Award
Breakthroughs seldom come from continuing business as usual. That’s why it is so strange that most children are still pushed through very rigid educational systems that mostly teach what we already know. To get to a new solution, you have to step out of the system. “You don’t change the world Read More...
What rural Alaska can teach the world about renewable energy
I flew into Unalakleet, Alaska, on a late fall day. With about 700 people, Unalakleet is large by rural Alaska standards and serves as a regional hub. The village is on a sandy spit of land where a clear river meets the turbid water of the Bering Sea. Out the plane window the sun shone bright, Read More...
California paves way to self-driving car tests without humans
California, the largest U.S. car market, plans to allow testing on public roads of self-driving vehicles without human backup drivers by the end of the year, state officials said Friday. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles is seeking public comment on proposed regulations for driverless Read More...
Scientists harness solar power to produce clean hydrogen from biomass
A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has developed a way of using solar power to generate a fuel that is both sustainable and relatively cheap to produce. It's using natural light to generate hydrogen from biomass. One of the challenges facing modern society is what it does with its Read More...
How Morocco tapped into Africa's renewable energy potential
Providing reliable, affordable and sustainable access to energy has become a core focus of the international development community and is the seventh goal of the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Roughly 1.2 billion people, or 17 percent of the global population, are energy poor, Read More...
Elon Musk offers to fix Australia's energy problems in 100 days—or its free
Following a string of electricity blackouts in the Australian state of South Australia, Elon Musk has offered a solution that seems to good to be true. On Twitter, the head of Tesla said he can fix the state’s energy problems by installing a network of Tesla’s Powerwall 2 batteries, all in 100 Read More...
Tesla powers the island of Kauai with solar panels and batteries
Yes, Tesla is a car manufacturer. However, electric cars need batteries. That's why Tesla's CEO Elon Musk is also in the business of generating and storing solar electricity for entire islands as he continues on his mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. This week Read More...
Pssst…wanna get a cheap solar energy loan?
If the US Department of Energy goes down, it will go down swinging. The agency is facing massive budget cuts but this week it still managed to push out funding for a seed grant that will enable the San Francisco-based solar organization RE-volv to bring its unique crowdfunded solar financing Read More...