Category: Environment
How smoke detectors work
[youtube http://www.youtube.com?v=oFUUQcpGR3k] Bill takes apart a smoke detector and shows how it uses a radioactive source to generate a tiny current which is disrupted when smoke flows through the sensor. He describes how a special transistor called a MOSFET can be used to detect the tiny current changes.
Forget About Melting Steel with Sunshine… How About Rocks?
The power of the sun is amazing, but with that amount of solar energy being focused into that small of an area, I’m not suprised at what it can do. According to the video, it can reach temperatures around 2,500 Degrees F / 1,370 Degrees C.
What’s up with the Sea Level? Why aren’t we underwater yet?
What truth is behind the idea that our coastal cities are going to drown? Â Yes, there has been a noticeable increase in the average sea level… Â But that increase is huge, roughly an increase of 2.77 millimeters per year. So how long would it take to duplicate the history channel Armageddon week image? Well, let’s […]
Solar cells get two electrons for the price of one, efficiency bonus
It may still be a lab experiment, but still, this could led to eventual mainstream adoption of solar power… Photoelectric current as function of photon energy was measured on single crystal TiO2 coated with a monolayer of PbS nanoparticles. The experiments conclusively showed that multiple electrons were generated and extracted from the nanoparticles for each […]
Rochester International Airport Hydrogen Fire & Explosion
There was a hydrogen fire and explosion at a renewable fuel station used by government vehicles near Rochester’s airport. The nearby freeway and airport was closed resulting in diverted flights. This may the first major incident at a hydrogen vehicle refueling station. GM has their major fuel cell development center nearby, in the town of […]
A tornado made of fire.
Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Tries to Build an Eco-Friendly House
… So the architect — and later your building engineer, too — each asks you to sign a document saying you won’t sue them when beavers eat a load-bearing wall and your entire family is crushed by forest debris. You make the mistake of mentioning this arrangement to your family, and they leave you. But […]