Focusing 192 lasers on one little target
(articles.sfgate.com) - In experiments at the lab's National Ignition Facility, the scientists successfully fired an array of 192 laser beams at a helium-filled target no larger than a BB shot and instantly heated it to 6 million degrees Fahrenheit. The gas vanished in a tiny explosion.
The scientists said that result marked the More...
Stabilizing the electric grid with megawatt-scale storage
(arstechnica.com) - Even if we weren't going to be increasingly reliant on renewable power, which is prone to fluctuations, it would make a lot of sense to add energy storage to the electric grid. That was the message provided by Imre Gyuk, who heads the US Department of Energy's program for energy More...
Storing a Lightning Bolt in Glass for Portable Power
(physorg.com) - Materials researchers at Penn State University have reported the highest known breakdown strength for a bulk glass ever measured. Breakdown strength, along with dielectric constant, determines how much energy can be stored in an insulating material before it fails and begins to conduct electricity.
New Way To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Developed
(sciencedaily.com) - The design of efficient systems for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, driven by sunlight is among the most important challenges facing science today, underpinning the long term potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable fuel. But man-made systems that exist today are very inefficient and often require additional use More...
AT&T plugs into grid, powers smart meters' conversations
(arstechnica.com) - Smart meters can now get a little more talkative through a deal between AT&T and SmartSynch, a firm that creates networked utility meters designed to provide two-way communication between an operator and a customer's services and appliances.
While several smart meter firms have already hooked into the cellular grid for backhauling More...
Scientists aim to replicate the sun
(upi.com) - Scientists in California say they're trying to replicate the power of the sun by firing laser beams at a tiny pellet of hydrogen.
Physicists at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore say the nuclear fusion experiments may offer the world a clean source of energy, The Times of London reported Sunday.
The More...
On call street lamps let you light up the town with your cellphone
(dvice.com) - A few towns in Germany may have come up with a solution. They have modified their lighting grids using a system called Dial4Light, so that local residents can use their cellphones to selectively turn on the lights street by street. After 15 minutes, a timer plunges the street back into More...
Biggest Solar Deal Ever Announced — We're Talking Gigawatts
(blog.wired.com) - The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is planned for the desert outside Los Angeles, according to a new deal between the utility Southern California Edison and solar power plant maker, BrightSource.
DIY Home Power Usage Meter
(picobay.com) - This post details a real-time web based household power usage chart. The end result is a live chart in a web page that updates every 10 seconds with the instantaneous power usage for my entire house.
