New research ideas to save the world..

zod

The Department of Energy on Monday named the first winners of a program aimed at generating breakthroughs in clean-energy technologies.

Liquid Metal Grid-Scale Batteries : If successful, this battery technology could revolutionize the way electricity is used and produced on the grid, enabling round-the-clock power from America's wind and solar power resources, increasing the stability of the grid,

Bacteria for Producing Direct Solar Hydrocarbon Biofuels : a bioreactor that has the potential to produce a flow of gasoline directly from sunlight and CO2 using a symbiotic system of two organisms. First, a photosynthetic organism directly captures solar radiation and uses it to convert carbon dioxide to sugars.In the same area, another organism converts the sugars to gasoline and diesel transportation fuels.

CO2 Capture using Artificial Enzymes : new synthetic enzymes that could make it easier and more affordable to capture carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and factories.

Low Cost Crystals for LED Lighting: : crystal growth technology could dramatically lower the cost of developing light emitting diodes (LEDs), which are 30 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs and four times more efficient than compact fluorescents

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10382863-54.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvUujZVYJuY

cnocbui

Do you know, I would much rather they found a cure for cancer.

If I were to have permanently lost a hair on my head every time during my life I have read or heard about some breakthrough discovery that could shortly lead to a cure for cancer, I would be totally and permanently bald by now.

I hope they all come true, but the key words are:

breakthroughs (• a significant and dramatic overcoming of a perceived obstacle...)

If

Potential

Could

Could

djpbarry

cnocbui wrote: »

Do you know, I would much rather they found a cure for cancer.

We'd all love to see a cure for cancer (and every other human affliction for that matter). Should all other research efforts be put on hold until such time as we have rid the world of disease?

cnocbui

djpbarry wrote: »

We'd all love to see a cure for cancer (and every other human affliction for that matter). Should all other research efforts be put on hold until such time as we have rid the world of disease?

Of course not. The reference was an an apropos example for the unfortunate propensity for promising scientific endeavors to fail to deliver on initial expectations.

I want fusion power yesterday, by next year would be nice, a century after I am dead and gone - slightly more likely.

Efficient LED's like the recently released Cree XP-G series hold fantastic promise. If only they could get the cost per lumen down a bit. If someone can produce a genetically modified algae that excretes hydrocarbons as a waste product, the Spanish will own the EU. Until then, I wish they would take their trawlers elsewhere.

Capt'n Midnight

cnocbui wrote: »

Efficient LED's like the recently released Cree XP-G series hold fantastic promise. If only they could get the cost per lumen down a bit. If someone can produce a genetically modified algae that excretes hydrocarbons as a waste product, the Spanish will own the EU. Until then, I wish they would take their trawlers elsewhere.

Better lights will help, but better insulation would be a far greater help. You can have passive houses which need no heating apart from the waste heat from domestic appliances. The US could replace it's Nukes if businesses were insulated to the best domestic standards.

There are algae that are up to 50% hydrophobic hydrocarbons. This means it's easy to separate it from water, unlike ethanol where a large fraction of the energy produced is wasted trying to dry it out.