F1 is pretty much the pinnacle of automotive technology, and while a few things do trickle into mainstream production automobiles, the partnership between Williams Technology Center and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) to bring green tech from F1 to mainstream vehicles is quite a jump.

Williams and Qatar intend to put their brains together for bringing the energy recovery system KERS from Formula 1 racing to mainstream automobiles with application for buses, trains and cars.

KERS, as used in F1 is an energy recovery system, that recovers energy from braking and stores it to provide the drivers with brief bursts of extra power when required. It is not explicitly clear how the two companies intend to use the tech for mainstream vehicles.

The technology is expected to complete final testing in two-three years. While Williams and Qatar aren’t giving out details on expenses involved, they say the project will cost less than $50 million.

Source: Reuters

We’ve all heard of green rooftop gardens. But, did you know that a team of recent MIT graduates has developed what could prove to be an even better way to make a roof eco-friendly? These innovators are working to produce roof tiles that change color, depending on the temperature.

The tiles become white when it’s hot, and then turn black when it’s cold.

That means in the summer, these roof tiles would be white. They would reflect sunlight off the roof, keep your house cooler, and even help reduce air conditioning costs.

In the winter, the tiles would turn black. They would absorb energy from the sunlight and help keep your house warmer.

What causes the color change? The tiles consist of a common commercial polymer solution sandwiched between a black backing and a clear plastic cover. When the temperature is below a certain level, the polymer stays in solution, and the black backing shows through. When the temperature rises, the polymer condenses to form tiny droplets. These droplets scatter light , producing a white, reflective surface.

The MIT team, called “Thermeleon” (rhymes with chameleon), developed the tiles as part of MIT’s Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest (MADMEC). Thermeleon took first place in the contest and won $5,000.

But, don’t look for these roof tiles at your local building supply store  just yet.

First, Thermeleon needs to conduct further research about durability, affordability, and production. This research, in turn, will lead to the commercial development of these color-changing roof tiles.

Source: MIT

Photo credit: Patrick Gillooly

The United States Navy just completed the maiden voyage of the USS Makin Island.  The ship is of the WASP-class multipurpose amphibious assault ship.

Built by Northrop Grumman, this ship is designed to support both wartime and peaceful humanitarian support.  It was delivered to the Navy on April 16^th and is going to be commissioned on October 24^th in San Diego.

Underneath its hood (excuse the car comparison) it is drive by gas turbines and electric motors, making it the world’s first “green” naval vessel.  There is a nice video showing the new hybrid insides and all-electric drive.

This ship was designed to spend a lot of time off-shore to support operations such as troop landings and even relief of natural disasters such as massive destruction of tsunamis.

In keeping with modern technology, this proud ship even has its home web page and is also on Facebook.

Everyone loves pizza.

But, don’t you just hate having to store leftovers in those big, awkward boxes? Even when all of the pizza is finished, you still have to throw all that cardboard away.

Shouldn’t there be a more eco-friendly alternative to packaging one of the world’s favorite foods?

Now there is.

This Monday, October 19, ECO Inc., a Manhattan-based manufacturer of sustainable packaging, will launch its first product, the Green Box. The Green Box is a pizza box made from 100% recycled material that ingeniously breaks down into serving plates and a storage container.

On its website, ECO Inc. lists several benefits of the Green Box, including:

Manufactured at no additional cost.

Removable top breaks down into serving plates.

Bottom converts into storage container.

Storage container fits easily into the refrigerator.

Storage container and serving plates fit easily into standard trash bin.

Manufactured from recycled material.

The company even provides a video to illustrate how this new “pizza box of the 21st century” works.

‘Green Box’ Product Promo (Pizza Box) from Green Box on Vimeo.

Source: ECO Incorporated

The bizarre story of a Colorado family’s runaway balloon aircraft this afternoon got me to thinking:

How many helium-filled balloons are required to lift a human off the ground?

Here’s a YouTube video that offers some insight into that question. Enjoy!

Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt

Can a fan still cool you if it doesn’t have blades?

Apparently so, if it’s the new Dyson Air Multiplier ™ fan pictured above.

Dyson, a company well-known for advancing vacuum cleaner technology, has now developed a new generation of innovative bladeless fans. These fans use the simple principles of fluid dynamics –without the traditional fan blades –to multiply air flow 15 times, ultimately expelling some 119 gallons of air every second.

What more, since there are no blades, the Dyson Air Multiplier ™ fan is safe and easy to clean. Air flow is uninterrupted, and velocity is adjusted with a control similar to a dimmer switch.

How does it work? The Dyson website explains it like this:

1. First, an energy efficient, brushless motor draws air in using technologies similar to those at work in jet engines and turbochargers.
2. Airflow is accelerated as it passes over an airfoil-shaped ramp.
3. Air from behind the fan is drawn in by a process known as inducement.
4. Air from around the fan is also drawn in by a process known as entrainment. Altogether, the airflow is amplified 15 times.

You can watch an entertaining video of people reacting to this remarkable new fan here.

Technology like this isn’t cheap, however. The 12” version of the Dyson bladeless fan is available for $329.99. The 10” version will set you back $299.99

Source: Dyson

Ever wonder if there is water on the moon?

NASA does.

In fact, NASA is so curious that it’s going to “bomb” the moon tomorrow morning in hopes of creating a debris cloud that can be analyzed for water content.

NASA will use the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that it launched earlier this summer. Tomorrow, the LRO –which is now positioned for impact on a lunar pole –will separate into two parts, sending its Atlas V’s Centaur upper stage rocket towards the moon.

The impact of the Centaur will create a debris plume predicted to rise above the lunar surface. Four minutes later, the shepherding spacecraft will fly through the debris plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before it, too, impacts the lunar surface and creating a second debris plume.

Here’s a video with animation that helps explain the mission:

Projected first impact at the lunar South Pole is currently: Friday, Oct 9, 2009 at 7:31 am EDT (4:30 a.m. PDT).

NASA says the debris plumes are expected to be visible from Earth- and space-based telescopes 10-to-12 inches and larger.

In addition, a NASA TV Broadcast is planned for the LCROSS impacts starting at 6:15 a.m. EDT/3:15 a.m. PDT, Oct. 9, on NASA TV and www.nasa.gov/ntv.

The 1.5 hour broadcast includes:
•    Live footage from spacecraft camera
•    Real-time telemetry based animation
•    Views of LCROSS Mission and Science Operations
•    Broadcast commentary with expert guests
•    Prepared video segments
•    Views of the public impact viewing event at NASA Ames
•    Possible live footage from the University of Hawaii, 88-inch telescope on Mauna Kea.

The live LCROSS Post-Impact News Conference will be 10 a.m. EDT/7 a.m. PDT on NASA TV and www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Source: NASA

Atomic Powered Cellphone

They have actually used this to power a touch screen hand-held video player/cell phone.

Now before you start protesting the use of atomic power (that will be a debate in future multi-part series), I am talking about using the protons (I know it still sounds like an atomic reactor) in the methanol molecule and removing the hydrogen to create power.

What you are left with is water and a little carbon dioxide.

The device is called a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) and uses a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) to create power.

This is certainly better than grabbing power from a thermopile inside your wood-burning stove.  Yes, that works too, but is not as portable or environmentally friendly.  Even worse would be taking power from the public grid.

In its present form it is a bit bulky, but much less than carrying around one of those original 2-pound Motorola Flip Phones.  Plus, the thought of giving your cell phone a drink would be hard to explain.

“But officer, I was recharging my cell phone with this bottle of alcohol!”  Before long, there would be a law prohibiting your cell phone from drinking while driving.

Here is an idea: why not use this drinking battery at home where no one cares whether you take a nip or two (for the cell phone of course since methanol alcohol is poisonous to us mortals).  Just set it on your table and charge your cell phone instead.

This idea is also good for your eyes: no more of those ugly wall warts hanging from your wall outlets.

What is that?  You say carbon dioxide is not green?  Try this experiment at home:

Take a bottle of soda.  Remember those fizzy bubbles are carbon dioxide.

Connect a hose to the top of the bottle.

Gently shake or vibrate the bottle so the gas is expended from the soda.

Put a big plastic bag over your herb garden and allow the CO2 to build up inside.

You will see growth like no other fertilizer can give you and you will see a lot of green.  Be sure to let in some oxygen once in a while as plants need oxygen as well as carbon dioxide to grow.

After that try pumping CO2 into the soil and see what happens.

Google Earth Application Maps Carbon's Course

Google Earth now has an application to show Earth’s carbon dioxide cycle and can show carbon dioxide in different layers of the atmosphere. Google recently held a contest to show scientific data using KML, the data format used for Google Earth. Tyler Erickson from Michigan Tech Research Institute responded to the call, and with help from NASA-funded researcher Anna Michalak of the University of Michigan, created an application to display the carbon cycle.

Complex computer models are used to trace carbon dioxide emissions and absorption. A network of 1000-foot towers throughout the USA helps measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Layers of the gas are represented using different colors, for example, the red streaks show carbon dioxide at high altitudes that is immune from ground influences, while the green tracks show CO2 in the lowest part of the atmosphere.

It took Erickson 70 hours of programming to create the working, application with constantly changing data for Google Earth. The information will help provide a better understanding of the carbon cycle, and may help educate the public and the scientists on how carbon dioxide emissions can be traced.

[via NASA]

Chandrayaan-1 moon mission is over, project Director M Annadurai said today

“The contact was lost at 01.30 IST as the deep space network (DSN) at Byalalu, about 40 km from Bangalore, received the data from the lunarcraft during the previous orbit up to 00.25 IST,” according to an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) statement.

Radio contact with India’s first lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1 was abruptly lost on Saturday, ISRO Spokesman said.

All communication links with the only indian satellite orbiting the moon have been lost. The US $ 80 million spacecraft had experienced a technical problem when one of its sensor malfunctioned.

Chandrayaan is India’s first mission to the Moon launched by Indian space agency ISRO.

“The spacecraft has completed 312 days in orbit, making over 3,400 orbits around the moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors like terrain mapping camera, hyper-spectral imager, moon mineralogy mapper and so on, meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission,” the statement added.