Three clever innovations for a greener future
By Danny Freedman
Posted 01.28.2009 at 12:57 pm
A Funnel For Sunlight
Solar panels convert the most light into electricity when the sun shines directly on them, but as soon as it wanes, so does efficiency. A new antireflective film coating could help panels collect sunshine at 96 percent efficiency from nearly any angle. Developed by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the film consists of seven layers of nanoscopic silicon and titanium-oxide rods arranged in increasing densities, with the topmost nearly as porous as air.
Three clever innovations for a greener future
By Danny Freedman
Posted 01.28.2009 at 12:57 pm
A Funnel For Sunlight
Solar panels convert the most light into electricity when the sun shines directly on them, but as soon as it wanes, so does efficiency. A new antireflective film coating could help panels collect sunshine at 96 percent efficiency from nearly any angle. Developed by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the film consists of seven layers of nanoscopic silicon and titanium-oxide rods arranged in increasing densities, with the topmost nearly as porous as air.
Radio tags thwart theft of Arizona’s iconic plant
Two thieves could face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and possibly years in jail after pulling off one of the highest-profile heists in Arizona history. Their loot: 17 saguaro cacti they uprooted two years ago from Saguaro National Park near Tucson. The 35- to 70-year-old plants each stand five to seven feet tall (saguaros grow to well over 40 feet, but young plants like these are easier to steal) and can fetch $2,000 apiece from landscapers. "We have an active patrol," says the park's chief ranger, Bob Love.
Radio tags thwart theft of Arizona’s iconic plant
Two thieves could face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and possibly years in jail after pulling off one of the highest-profile heists in Arizona history. Their loot: 17 saguaro cacti they uprooted two years ago from Saguaro National Park near Tucson. The 35- to 70-year-old plants each stand five to seven feet tall (saguaros grow to well over 40 feet, but young plants like these are easier to steal) and can fetch $2,000 apiece from landscapers. "We have an active patrol," says the park's chief ranger, Bob Love.
Two Philadelphia doctors are championing an unconventional new treatment for keeping cardiac-arrest victims alive, with as little brain damage as possible: just give them hypothermia
At 3 p.m. last June 22, Pam Barco’s heart stopped. The 46-year-old ER clerk at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was near the end of her shift when she felt dizzy, put her head down on her desk, and suddenly stopped breathing. A nearby co-worker saw Barco slump over and shouted, “Staff emergency!” Minutes later, a dozen doctors and nurses surrounded Barco’s body. They shocked her with a defibrillator. No response. They shocked her twice more. Nothing. Then: Beep. Beep. Beep.
Two Philadelphia doctors are championing an unconventional new treatment for keeping cardiac-arrest victims alive, with as little brain damage as possible: just give them hypothermia
At 3 p.m. last June 22, Pam Barco’s heart stopped. The 46-year-old ER clerk at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was near the end of her shift when she felt dizzy, put her head down on her desk, and suddenly stopped breathing. A nearby co-worker saw Barco slump over and shouted, “Staff emergency!” Minutes later, a dozen doctors and nurses surrounded Barco’s body. They shocked her with a defibrillator. No response. They shocked her twice more. Nothing. Then: Beep. Beep. Beep.
Spotting fake wine with an atom smasher, and growing perfect grapes
Robot Sommelier
Is your $30,000 bottle of Chateau Petrus Bordeaux truly a rare vintage, or is it just $30 merlot? Counterfeits plague rare-wine auctions, but researchers in Spain have built a handheld "electronic tongue" that detects them instantly. It measures the signature chemicals, acidity and sugar content in a drop of wine (typically one bottle from a case) and runs those against a database of certified vintage wines to catch fakes that might fool human tasters.
Spotting fake wine with an atom smasher, and growing perfect grapes
Robot Sommelier
Is your $30,000 bottle of Chateau Petrus Bordeaux truly a rare vintage, or is it just $30 merlot? Counterfeits plague rare-wine auctions, but researchers in Spain have built a handheld "electronic tongue" that detects them instantly. It measures the signature chemicals, acidity and sugar content in a drop of wine (typically one bottle from a case) and runs those against a database of certified vintage wines to catch fakes that might fool human tasters.
This telescope finds the stars for you
By Ker Than
Posted 01.23.2009 at 4:37 pm
Take a guided tour of the cosmos, led by a robotic telescope. Meade’s ETX-LS is the first scope to automatically point itself at interesting celestial bodies, no human help required. As an extra benefit for beginners, it plays an informational audio clip through its speaker (or a video clip if you plug it into a monitor) once it locks on a worthy star.
This telescope finds the stars for you
By Ker Than
Posted 01.23.2009 at 4:37 pm
Take a guided tour of the cosmos, led by a robotic telescope. Meade’s ETX-LS is the first scope to automatically point itself at interesting celestial bodies, no human help required. As an extra benefit for beginners, it plays an informational audio clip through its speaker (or a video clip if you plug it into a monitor) once it locks on a worthy star.
No question is too dire for our experts
By Christopher Mims
Posted 01.23.2009 at 4:08 pm
Texas-size asteroids make for exciting summer blockbusters, but when it comes to long-term damage, they're not the most menacing threat out there. Lurking at the edge of our galaxy are giant molecular dust clouds -- agglomerations of hydrogen gas, small organic molecules and minerals -- roughly 150 light-years across. If our solar system hit one, it would take 100,000 years to pop out on the other side.
No question is too dire for our experts
By Christopher Mims
Posted 01.23.2009 at 4:08 pm
Texas-size asteroids make for exciting summer blockbusters, but when it comes to long-term damage, they're not the most menacing threat out there. Lurking at the edge of our galaxy are giant molecular dust clouds -- agglomerations of hydrogen gas, small organic molecules and minerals -- roughly 150 light-years across. If our solar system hit one, it would take 100,000 years to pop out on the other side.
Popular Science's fifth annual survey of just how bad it gets
It might seem sad, after years of study, to wind up gathering sewer rats or burning great, stinking heaps of urine samples and bloody gauze. But that’s the path some professionals choose—and you’re lucky they did.
Popular Science's fifth annual survey of just how bad it gets
It might seem sad, after years of study, to wind up gathering sewer rats or burning great, stinking heaps of urine samples and bloody gauze. But that’s the path some professionals choose—and you’re lucky they did.
Explorer David de Rothschild promotes ocean cleanup on a plastic-bottle raft
By Arnie Cooper
Posted 01.23.2009 at 11:31 am
Given the choice, you probably wouldn't risk sailing 11,500 miles from San Francisco to Sydney in a boat handmade of 20,000 plastic water bottles. But David de Rothschild, the founder of the nonprofit educational organization Adventure Ecology, sees such a vessel as the perfect way to "beat waste" by promoting new uses for recycled plastic while dramatizing the problem of ocean debris. Next month, de Rothschild and a crew of scientists will sail the Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran, to environmental hotspots including Bikini Atoll, the former atomic-bomb testing site, and Tuvalu, an island rapidly disappearing under rising seas.
