There are balloons full of energy under Lake Ontario. Actually, the balloons are full of compressed air and are part of a pilot project by Hydrostor, a Canadian energy firm. The company is testing the concept of storing compressed air in balloons under water, then releasing the air as strong wind to turn generator turbines...
Tag: Winter2016
Blocking pain wirelessly
Implacable pain from nerve damage, amputations and other irreversible conditions has long defeated medicine’s attempts to quell it. Now, researchers at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found something that works. Scientists implanted soft, stretchable micro-LED lights that, when switched on and off, can prevent...
Solar beats fossils south of the equator
In bids to build electrical generation plants in India and Chile, unsubsidized solar projects beat the bids of coal-fired utilities. The contest in Chile was open to all forms of power generation and drew a low bid of US 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour from a solar power firm. Coal-fueled bids didn’t win, place or show. ...
Leap forward for indoor gardens
Could the farmers’ market be replaced by a three-tiered indoor ecosystem? Grove Labs of Massachusetts has introduced the Grove Ecosystem, which is shaped like a 6-foot-tall bookcase but holds an aquarium and space to grow greens, herbs and fruits. In essence, the fish in the aquarium provide the fertilizer that helps the greens grow. To...