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.
Cutting the cable: Kangaroo Island eyes switch to 100% renewable energy
Kangaroo Island is one of the great icons of Australian tourism. As Andrew Boardman, the chief executive of the Kangaroo Island council, says: “You can’t buy a name like that.” But now the third-biggest island in Australia, which lies just 120kms from Adelaide, wants to make its Read More...
Californians just saved $192 million via rooftop solar & energy efficiency
The solar-friendly voices at CleanTechnica.com have been saying it; solar advocates everywhere have been saying it; Californians have been saying it — solar saves. Solar saves money, saves the environment, and saves lives in this way. Yes, Californians just saved $192 million via rooftop Read More...
Businesses have seen the light with solar energy and it's finally paying off
A visit to a small hospital in northern Ghana changed Mahama Nyankamawu’s life forever. “It was dark, they had no electricity and the medicines they had had all gone bad,” recalled the 40-year-old, who went to the hospital after a car accident in 2014. The experience inspired Read More...
Scientists uncover material that can transform solar power
Solar panels are made with a form of silicon that does not come naturally. The silicon needs to be extracted it first and then heated up to separate it from the oxygen. This process requires lots of energy. Scientists have found a cheaper alternative: Perovskites. Perovskites are minerals that Read More...
Sweden opens world's first electric highway
Sweden opened a stretch of electric highway, becoming the first country to test electric power for heavy transport. A 22 kilometer (or roughly 13 miles) stretch of the E16 road—which connects Oslo, Norway, to Gävle, Sweden—is fitted with power lines overhead, developed by Siemens, Read More...
Germany's electric car discount scheme spurs new BMW i3 sales
BMW has recorded rising sales of the latest version of its electric car, the i3, following the Berlin government's push to subsidize electric cars, weekly German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) said. Citing company sources, FAS said that orders for the new i3 with a longer Read More...
How solar energy can be transformed into fuel
The sun is a clean and inexhaustible source of energy, with the potential to provide a sustainable answer to all future energy supply demands. There's just one outstanding problem: the sun doesn't always shine and its energy is hard to store. For the first time, researchers at Read More...
This ‘other’ form of solar energy can run at night, and it just got a big backer
Converting sunlight directly into electricity, the photovoltaic (PV) solar panel industry has dominated the solar generation market recently because of its astounding price drops. Prices have fallen 99 percent in the past quarter century and over 80 percent since 2008 alone. This has also helped to Read More...
Jordan sets green example with new shopping mall
In a sign that the renewable energy revolution is catching on in every corner of the world, Jordan presents a new shopping mall where the typical high-end boutiques, cinemas, and gourmet coffee shops are tucked into an intricate ecosystem of natural heating and cooling, water recycling and hundreds Read More...
Shaky plastic may give solar power a boost
Solar panels can produce “free” energy for a very long time. However, there’s one problem: The panels collect dust, and that reduces their efficiency. Scientists have now developed a “shaky plastic” that oscillates when exposed to sunlight. This plastic film can be used as a coating on Read More...