Metrologists are measurement artists who are very precise -- in the case of the Boltzmann constant up to the sixth decimal place. Whoever is able to determine it very exactly will cause a small revolution in the field of worldwide temperature measurement: The temperature unit will then no longer be based -- as before -- on a chemico-physical material property, i.e. the triple point of water, but on an unchangeable fundamental constant.
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Wiring systems powered by highly-efficient superconductors have long been a dream of science, but researchers have faced such practical challenges such as finding pliable and cost-effective materials. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to make an old idea new with the next generation of superconductors.
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Scientists from the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have determined that an inexpensive semiconductor material can be "tweaked" to generate hydrogen from water using sunlight.
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A team of USC scientists has developed a robust, efficient method of using hydrogen as a fuel source. Hydrogen makes a great fuel because of it can easily be converted to electricity in a fuel cell and because it is carbon free. The downside of hydrogen is that, because it is a gas, it can only be stored in high pressure or cryogenic tanks.
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Kazuhiro Takase shows AFP around Japan's first geothermal plant at Hachimantai city in Iwate prefecture. The forces that make Japan one of the world's most quake-prone and volcanic countries, and sparked a nuclear disaster, could become part of its long-term energy solution, experts say.
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Solar power can be used in many extraordinary ways. One of the most majestic applications of solar thermal energy is the solar furnace. These are enormous installations that make use of solar thermal energy for extreme high heat processes (temperatures as high as 3500oC/6330oF).
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Many utilities across the country have been investing in renewable electricity generation and technologies that cut inefficient energy use. But evidence shows that these initiatives will not likely lead to a strong shift away from using fossil fuels over the next four decades unless more aggressive policies and investments materialize, according to a report released Wednesday.
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A giant and powerful digital camera is about to be shipped from a lab near Chicago to a telescope in Chile to study a mysterious part of the universe called dark energy. Dark energy makes up most of our universe, but scientists currently know almost nothing about it except that it seems to be making the expansion of our universe speed up.
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A CSIRO study has shown why the lights are going out in the Universe. The Universe forms fewer stars than it used to, and a CSIRO study has now shown why: the galaxies are running out of gas.
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The half-century-old, oil-fueled power generators here had been idle for more than a year when, a day after the nuclear accident in March, orders came from Tokyo Electric Power headquarters to fire them up.
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