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.
Prefab homes for $150,000 that don't need any energy from the grid
Homes in the U.S are responsible for 13 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Building net-zero homes would help bring that number down. But, so far, building such energy efficient homes is expensive. One home-building company is changing this. Deltec homes is designing prefab Read More...
Honda starts Clarity sales in Japan
Clarity sales have begun in Japan Honda Motor has begun sales in Japan of its new fuel cell vehicle (FCV), the Clarity Fuel Cell. Combined with the improved efficiency of the powertrain and a reduced energy requirement for driving, a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen storage tank installed in this Read More...
Honda works with GM on fuel cell manufacturing, parts procurement
Honda Motor Company is in talks with General Motors over how to manufacture and procure parts for hydrogen fuel cell stacks as part of a technology development partnership, the Japanese automaker's chief executive said on Thursday. CEO Takahiro Hachigo announced the update on the collaboration Read More...
New grid storage technology helps integrate renewables
Developing cheap energy storage is a critical step in moving to renewables and away from fossil fuels as the primary source of electricity: it’s the only way such intermittent sources can supply power to the grid when the wind’s not blowing and the sun’s not shining. Duke Energy, Read More...
GE wants to use CO2 pollution to make huge solar batteries
For the past decade, environmentalist scientists have been trying to find solutions for two big problems: How to store solar energy for later use, and what to do with CO2 that’s been captured and sequestered from coal plants? Now scientists from General Electric believe they have an innovative Read More...
Solar provides energy independence to Palestinians in Gaza
The 1.95 million people of the Gaza strip get their power from Israel, Egypt and a small power plant. Power is notoriously unreliable with blackouts lasting from eight to twelve hours a day. But, increasingly, solar power is providing a degree of energy independence to the coastal enclave. For the Read More...
BMW marks 100th birthday with autonomous, zero-emission concept
BMW is now a century old. To celebrate, the brand has unveiled a concept car that emits nothing from its tailpipe and can drive itself. The automaker hasn't said just how the Vision Next 100 concept manages to go emission-free, but it did talk a lot about the car's exotic materials and Read More...
Saving energy: Heat people, not buildings
Why would we heat office buildings and make sure that the ceiling of offices maintains a perfect 73 degrees Fahrenheit while nobody is levitating? Heating and cooling offices requires a lot of energy while people are not always there. Better to heat or cool people than whole buildings seems a Read More...
How tech has blurred the lines of employment
Technology has pushed the “gig” worker into the business model spotlight. Thousands of apps allow independent contractors to connect with each other – and with their work. But, these relationships also come with risks, as gig industry leaders Uber and Lyft know. Both companies are dealing Read More...
We might run out of oil, so we should run cars on poop
The world has a poop problem. In the U.S., the challenge is biggest on farms: livestock produces more than a billion tons of solid waste a year, or roughly 87,000 pounds of shit a second. That's more than 130 times greater than the amount of human waste that goes into sewers. Farm Read More...