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.
Cars now talk to cars, if you’re into that sort of thing
Excellent news for the gas-sipping, headlight-blinking, gossipy autos among us. Cadillac’s flagship 2017 CTS sedan will talk to other cars. Well, other 2017 Cadillac CTS sedans, but it’s a start. If the government gets its way, all cars will talk to each other one day soon. Engineers call the Read More...
Google's new sun map will tell you whether your roof needs a solar panel
Google has long stated its ambitions to run its global operations solely on renewable energy, and now it wants to lead by example. The company has updated its interactive Sunroof map that helps people estimate whether it makes sense to install a solar panel on their roof. In a new blog Read More...
How Daylesford's community-owned windfarm took back the power
From the fertile spud-growing country of Hepburn Shire, 90km northwest of Melbourne, has sprung what many hope will become a revolution in renewable energy in Australia. On Leonards Hill, just outside the town of Daylesford – famed for its natural springs – stand two wind turbines that Read More...
Let the wind blow for 80 million people: Europe's crazy clean energy plan
People aren’t always too pleased when on-shore wind turbines are installed due to aesthetics and sound, so why not just build a massive artificial island surrounded by wind turbines out in the sea? That seems crazy, but it’s exactly what a group of engineers from Denmark, Germany, and the Read More...
Half of Norway's new-car sales are now hybrids or electrics
Norway has achieved yet another milestone in electric-car sales. The Scandinavian country may be the friendliest for electric cars in the world, thanks to a combination of aggressive incentives, well-developed charging infrastructure, and a citizenry committed to lowering carbon emissions. Thanks Read More...
Tesla is getting competition in the market for affordable electric cars
In the near future, electric cars will no longer be the domain of the luxury-car owner. According to Automotive News, Volvo Cars’ North America CEO, Lex Kerssemakers, told reporters at the Geneva auto show that the company’s first fully electric vehicle will likely have a price range of about Read More...
We can officially collect solar energy without solar panels
The discussion on climate has persisted for decades since we first discovered that there is a man-made influence on the environment. From then, many researchers have come together to finagle innovations that reduce our industrial carbon footprint. One such innovation is the molecular leaf. Read More...
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...