It’s a sad state of affairs: your lawn is better at converting the sun into energy than that $23k solar array your neighbors just threw on their roof. Sun Catalytix wants to show that grass what’s what with a new process for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen — artificial photosynthesis. In a presentation at the ARPA-E conference (the Advanced Research Projects Agency — basically DARPA minus the military bent) Sun Catalytix founder Dan Nocera indicates that the process his company is developing could, with a photovoltaic array, four hours of sunlight, and a bottle of water, generate 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity. That’s enough to power an average home for a day — though hardcore gamers will probably need a bit more. The hope is that this will ultimately lead to cheap power for self-sufficient homes in the not-too distant future, but we’re still left wondering when that future’s going to come.
[Thanks, Jaden]
Continue reading Artificial photosynthesis could power your house, even if it’s not green (video)
Artificial photosynthesis could power your house, even if it’s not green (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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(PhysOrg.com) — With one bottle of drinking water and four hours of sunlight, MIT chemist Dan Nocera claims that he can produce 30 KWh of electricity, which is enough to power an entire household in the developing world. With about three gallons of river water, he could satisfy the daily energy needs of a large American home. The key to these claims is a new, affordable catalyst that uses solar electricity to split water and generate hydrogen.
Hello again 2-B-2 Architecture! If you read Yanko Design on the regular, you know that 2-B-2 has had more than a couple projects featured. Why? Because they’re friggin awesome. And what have we got here? More awesome. The project you’re about to experience shares the same name as the mythical creature whose main goal in life is to borrow three fiddy!* Yes, yes indeed, it is “Nessie,” our underwater ally! And she’s all lit up.
*Name that reference!
This lamp concept is very obviously looking toward the monster of underwater proportions of the past (and maybe the present?) Indeed it is the Lock Ness monster. Nessie is translated here into a lamp that can be hung from any wall or ceiling. Three different kinds of lamp can be added: the head, the case (body bits), and the tail.
Another wild one from 2-B-2.
Designer: 2-B-2 Architecture
The title of this post is pretty boring but it describes exactly what this concept is; a Light Tree. The artificial tree is covered in solar cells that power ultra-bright LEDs at the base. The light diffuses thru water which fills the entire cavity of the tree for that “glowy” look. The upper extremities hold seeds to REAL PLANTS, like OMG! I was getting worried about the total artificiality of this concept but at least you’ve got some green shrubbery in there.
Designer: Omar Ivan Huerta Cardoso
It’s becoming startlingly apparent that in the future buttons will be obsolete. Their kind are being systematically eradicated by high-brow designers worldwide, most recent being Kazuo Kawasaki at Minebea, who has created Cool Leaf. It’s basically a mirrored surface with backlit keys and a capacitive coating, creating a beautiful appearance that looks decidedly not-fun to use, particularly that keyboard (stylishly dubbed “Φ-QWERTY”). But, it is practical in some respects, thanks to the whole thing being waterproof and easily cleaned. So these might indeed be the keyboards of the future — for doctors and nurses, anyway.
Cool Leaf input devices create the keyboard of the future circa 1982 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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