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.
Lawmakers OK solar energy bill
BOSTON - The House, 152-1, and Senate, 35-0, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a bill that would raise the cap on solar net metering by 3 percent while decreasing the reimbursement rate paid to solar energy producers by 40 percent. The bill was hammered out by House and Senate Read More...
The wonder-buoy that may finally make wave energy feasible
A Swedish company may finally have found a way to harvest energy from the endless motion of the ocean. The company, CorPower Ocean, has created a buoy that converts the bobbing motion of waves into electricity with maximum efficiency. Whereas other wave energy devices can stretch hundreds of feet Read More...
A solar innovation that provides water, electricity & internet connectivity to 3000 people
This innovation delivers a hattrick of very needful things to the developing world. The Watly system is described as the "biggest solar-powered computer in the world," which combines solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery storage for powering the unit (and for charging external devices), with a water Read More...
Tesla’s Model 3 already has 325,000 prospective owners
Orders keep rolling in for the forthcoming Model 3 from The extraordinary response to the vehicle, which will not even be built until late next year, underscored the demand among consumers for a mass-market electric car that carries Tesla’s luxury-brand cachet. Tesla said in a blog post that Read More...
Google self-driving cars head to Arizona to test desert road conditions
Google continues to tap new testing locations for its self-driving cars, with the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona picked as the next spot, reports Reuters. Jennifer Haroon, head of business operations for Google's autonomous vehicles said that Arizona was attractive not just as a Read More...
How collective energy is helping communities go 100% renewable
The dynamic between utilities and customers is changing. Instead of residents reaching individual agreements with utilities, they’re now ganging together into buying groups where customer purchase power together from utilities that promise 100 percent renewable energy. Six states in the U.S. Read More...
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...