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.
A fleet of trucks just drove themselves across Europe
While self-driving cars from Google or Ford get most of the credit for capturing the public imagination, commercial uses for autonomous or nearly autonomous vehicles have quietly been putting the concept to work in a business setting. This week, about a dozen trucks from major manufacturers like Read More...
Hyundai leads way in hydrogen fuel-cell cars
Korean carmaker Hyundai is about to leap from budget option to one of the car industry’s technical powerhouses in the space of two generations. While the German premium brands continue to develop, tease and promise hydrogen fuel-cell cars, Hyundai is already promising to deliver its Read More...
A renewable energy boom in developing countries as solar beats coals
Some world leaders have long said it’s hard to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet because they need to use cheap, dirty coal to keep energy affordable. That argument is quickly losing its salience as the cost of renewable energy sources like wind and solar continue to fall. Last Read More...
Rapid decline of coal use leads to drop in UK emissions
Coal in the UK is burning at its lowest level in at least 150 years, and its led to a significant 4 percent drop in Britain’s annual carbon dioxide emissions. With the rapid rise in renewable energy, the Drax power plant switching to biomass and the closing of old polluting coal-power stations, Read More...
China to halt coal development in 15 regions
While most of the world was diverting from coal last year, 155 planned coal plants in China were approved by the government in 2015 alone. Now it seems China is having some doubts about those plans. In response to growing fears that the country’s coal power sector is suffering from worsening Read More...
China pushes for mandatory integration of renewable power
Power transmission companies in China have been ordered by the government to provide grid connectivity for all renewable power generation sources to end a bottleneck that has left a large amount of clean power idle. China has become the world’s biggest wind and solar power user, but a large Read More...
India is planning to be a 100 percent electric car nation by 2030
Clean energy initiatives mostly come from rich countries. Developing nations—for understandable reasons—are first focused on bringing energy, any kind of energy, to their rapidly increasing populations. From that perspective, it is especially promising for the international efforts to fight Read More...
Silicon valley looks to artificial intelligence for the next big thing
SAN FRANCISCO — As the oracles of Silicon Valley debate whether the latest tech boom is sliding toward bust, there is already talk about what will drive the industry’s next growth spurt. The way we use computing is changing, toward a boom (and, if history is any guide, a bubble) in collecting Read More...
While you’re charging your EV, BMW is preparing for a hydrogen future
Don’t let $2 gas fool you, the alternative fuel revolution is well under way. A vast majority of car makers offer at least one hybrid model, and the number of electric cars on the market grows annually. However, hydrogen technology is still lagging behind because it’s plagued by an Read More...
Israeli company aims to replace batteries with highly efficient solar cells that don’t need sunlight
The ultimate renewable energy dream is a solar cell that directly powers phones and computers eliminating the need for batteries. An Israeli company has now developed solar energy technology so efficient that it may indeed make batteries obsolete. The product, developed by the firm 3G Solar Read More...