A study by Chris Cherry, assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering (University of Tennessee), found that solar power heavily reliant on lead batteries has the potential to release more than 2.4 million tons of lead pollution in China and India. Lead poisoning causes numerous adverse health effects, including damage to the central nervous system, …
Peidong Yang, a chemist with Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division, led the development of a solution-based technique for fabricating core/shell nanowire solar cells using the semiconductors cadmium sulfide for the core and copper sulfide for the shell. These inexpensive and easy-to-make nanowire solar cells boasted open-circuit voltage and fill factor values superior to conventional planar …
1. Only 11 nuclear reactors will be operating in Japan with a combined power generation capacity of 9.864 GW in early September, which represents 20% of the country’s total installed capacity of 48.96 GW spread over 54 reactors according to Platts calculations Tuesday. Platts calculations were made as Japan’s Kyushu Electric and Shikoku Electric are …
A new study (Mobile Payments Strategies: Opportunities & Markets 2011-2015) was performed by Juniper Research and they predicts that the total value of mobile payments for physical an digital items along with Near Field Communication (NFC) transactions and money transfers will hit a staggering $670 billion by the year 2015 which is up from $240 …
Emergence of immediate funds transfer as a general-purpose means of payment (16 pages) It is a Chicago Fed paper from Bruce Summers and Kirstin Wells. The main point is that immediate funds transfer needs national programs with support from a central body to succeed in a timely fashion. The most advanced means of transferring money …
While searching for new materials for electrical energy storage, a team of Drexel University materials scientists has discovered a new family of two-dimensional compounds proposed to have unique properties that may lead to groundbreaking advances in energy storage technology. The research team recounts transformed three dimensional titanium-aluminum carbide, a typical representative of a family of …
Japanese researchers say that they’ve discovered a simple way to make wind turbines up to three times as efficient. By placing a ‘wind lens’ around the turbine blades, they claim that wind power could become cheaper than nuclear. Kyushu University professor Yuji Ohya spoke of the merits of the 112-meter diameter structures being able to …
Neonatal mortality — deaths in newborns, aged 3 weeks and under — has declined in all regions of the world over the past two decades but in 2009, more than half of all neonatal deaths occurred in five countries—India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Furthermore, over the past 20 years, more …
Wall Street Daily – DBM Enery has developed a battery-powered electric car capable of driving 450 kilometers (279 miles) on a single charge. By comparison, the Nissan Leaf has a range of 160 kilometers (99 miles) per charge and Chevrolet’s Volt, about 70 kilometers (43 miles). DBM Energy’s new advanced battery – Kolibri – is …
1. For the first time in four months, U.S. nuclear generation in 2011 exceeded the monthly generation in 2010. Nuclear generation in July 2011 was 0.6 percent higher than the same month in 2010. For the first seven months in 2011, U.S. nuclear stations generated 452.3 billion kWh, 3.1 percent lower than 2010. The July …
Space flight now – Engineers are evaluating what steps are necessary to safeguard the International Space Station should the orbiting lab be temporarily evacuated in the wake of last week’s Soyuz rocket failure. NASA officials are hopeful Russia will return the venerable Soyuz booster to service in time to avert such a circumstance, which would …