Engineering

Solar-powered desalination unit shows great promise

Despite the vast amount of water on Earth, most of it is nonpotable seawater. Freshwater accounts for only about 2.5% of the total, so much of the world experiences serious water shortages.

Engineering

Thermal power nanogenerator created without solid moving parts

As environmental and energy crises become increasingly more common occurrences around the world, a thermal energy harvester capable of converting abundant thermal energy—such as solar radiation, waste heat, combustion of ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Mirror-like photovoltaics get more electricity out of heat

New heat-harnessing "solar" cells that reflect 99% of the energy they can't convert to electricity could help bring down the price of storing renewable energy as heat, as well as harvesting waste heat from exhaust pipes and ...

Energy & Green Tech

Thermal storage units that repair themselves

In the future, paraffin wax could help to make underground thermal storage units more durable. Such systems are used, for example, to store solar energy over a longer period of time. In a new study, geologists from Martin ...

Engineering

Anti-solar cells: A photovoltaic cell that works at night

What if solar cells worked at night? That's no joke, according to Jeremy Munday, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Davis. In fact, a specially designed photovoltaic cell could generate ...

Energy & Green Tech

Self-powered system makes smart windows smarter

Smart windows equipped with controllable glazing can augment lighting, cooling and heating systems by varying their tint, saving up to 40 percent in an average building's energy costs.

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