MetaFilter posts tagged with power

2009 Solar Decathalon

thewalrus — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:20:07 -0800

For the second time in two years a team from Germany has won the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathalon. This year's entry was a cube shaped house entirely covered in 300W and 70W solar panels generating a peak of 11.1kW. The DoE has published a complete product directory of all the subsystems and components used to build each house. Another notable design is the Canadian Team North house designed for optimal solar+insulation performance in high latitude climates.

Bringin' 'em down. Or, over.

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:01:20 -0800

From Sheffield, England to Yongbyon, North Korea, nuclear plant cooling towers are coming down! And pretty much without a hitch. Things didn't go quite so well, though, for an old flour factory in Turkey, which just rolled over onto its roof. D'oh!

Power to the people

Paragon — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:01:33 -0800

Kropla's World Electric Guide - outlets / power plugs of the world (map), along with an index of international voltages and frequencies for travellers. Plugs in the future: modular, stylish, smart, eco-friendly, rotating, collapsible, or gone entirely.

Fight the Power Turns Twenty

Burhanistan — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:00:35 -0800

1989, The Number. Public Enemy's anthem Fight The Power turns twenty.

If it's got to be clean [energy] , it's got to be Tide

dersins — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:12:49 -0800

The Wave Motors of California. "Still embedded somewhere in the shores of California, buried by more than a century of sand, are lost hydroelectric machines." Further reading.

Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch

Prospero — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:25:08 -0800

Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch ROM (for NES) released. (Via.)

Electricity Grid in the U.S. Penetrated by Spies

Roach — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:20:37 -0800

According to an article posted in today's Wall Street Journal, the electricity grid in the U.S. has been compromised by foreign spies, leaving it vulnerable to disruption. Last year, the CIA acknowledged that the system had been compromised and that the goal had been extortion. In response, the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission issued new cybersecurity specs for the power grid, to which companies such as GE have begun responding. But could it be that the new security efforts are motivated by government officials who stand to gain by this attempt at drastically increasing government control over the Internet? Note: Paranoid views of last blog post do not necessarily reflect those of this poster, but I thought it a valid concern as we deal with this huge security concern, especially in light of the recent flap over Presidential powers to control the internet.

Solar Towers are a magnificent alternative to solar cells.

brenton — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:39:58 -0800

A solar updraft tower generates electricity with nothing more than a greenhouse and a tall chimney. A 195 meter tall prototype in Spain cheaply operated at 50 kW for years. Now there are plans to build others, including a 40 MW tower, 750 meters tall (near twice as tall as the current tallest structure in the EU). Two others, a 200 MW tower in Australia (previously discussed) or a 400 MW tower in Namibia could become the tallest structure of any kind if built: 1km and 1.5km tall, respectively. Yet even those are dwarfed by the theoretical super chimney which could stand 5km tall and 1km wide. Such a tower would use the Earth's atmosphere itself as the greenhouse, could cause rain, reduce global warming and generate over 300,000 MW of "green" electricity. EnviroMission has a fantastic video demonstration of their Solar Tower.

The Guide to Highly Efficient Things

netbros — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:01:49 -0800

Meta-efficiency is the analysis of efficiency at a more comprehensive level. Metaefficient Review assesses products considering not only their energy efficiency but also the embodied energy, toxicity, affordability, and usability. In the architecture and building section you can find articles such as The Largest Building In The World To Be Green. The renewable power section includes information about Solar Canopies For Parking Lots that provide shade for customers, while generating up to a half-megawatt of electricity. New zero emissions electric scooter bicycles can be found in the transportation section. Metaefficient has been at this for five years, so there are hundreds of articles and product reviews in the archives. Metaefficient is the brainchild of Justin Thomas.

The Cruelty of Nature

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:57:16 -0800

For your viewing pleasure, a rat staring contest.

The power of virginity

Pater Aletheias — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:05:12 -0800

Virginity at age 22. Two approaches: 1. Sell it. "It became apparent to me that idealized virginity is just a tool to keep women in their place. But then I realized something else: if virginity is considered that valuable, what’s to stop me from benefiting from that?" 2. Keep it. "It is puzzling and disturbing to me that regnant feminism has never acknowledged the empowering value of virginity."

Washington to Obama

Glibpaxman — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:09:04 -0800

America has come a long way. There is the official version of history or the peoples' version. There are artifacts and rankings. They had some quirks and were occasionally men of their time. If you prefer audio or visual references those are available as well. Common knowledge has it that one GW was our first President but the title of first is under dispute. 230 years later another GW is making a run for worst. That is also under dispute by the nations best brains. For better and worse, the story of the Presidency is the story of America.

Hot Rocks

Artw — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:06:09 -0800

Google goes geothermal with EGS.

Disaster Capitalism

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:35:26 -0800

"Like the dotcom bubble, the disaster bubble is inflating in an ad-hoc and chaotic fashion." Journalist Naomi Klein discusses how corporations and governments are working together more closely than ever, using the mandate of catastrophe — whether natural or man-made — to further concentrate power in fewer hands, with less oversight: from illegal sales of American police technology to China to avert hypothetical tragedies during the Beijing Olympics, to the privatization of water supplies in post-tsunami Sri Lanka.

All Night Long

chuckdarwin — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:51:13 -0800

MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for later use. "If you can only have energy when the sun is shining, you're in deep trouble. And that's why, in my opinion, photovoltaics haven't penetrated the market," Daniel Nocera, an MIT professor of energy, said in an interview at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, office. "If I could provide a storage mechanism, then I make energy 24/7 and then we can start talking about solar." Solar has been growing as a power source in the United States -- last year the nation's solar capacity rose 45 percent to 750 megawatts. But it is still a tiny power source, producing enough energy to meet the needs of about 600,000 typical homes, and only while the sun is shining, according to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Most U.S. homes with solar panels feed electricity into the power grid during the day, but have to draw back from the grid at night. Nocera said his development would allow homeowners to bank solar energy as hydrogen and oxygen, which a fuel cell could use to produce electricity when the sun was not shining. "I can turn sunlight into a chemical fuel, now I can use photovoltaics at night," said Nocera, who explained the discovery in a paper written with Matthew Kanan published on Thursday in the journal Science.

Coal.

brownpau — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:51:56 -0800

Coal. Cheap, Abundant, Clean.

"Why not put the girls to work?"

weston — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:00:12 -0800

The Solar Bra really doesn't make sense if your undergarments are going to stay under. Adrienne So examines the kinetic angle. Or, maybe this is as simple as breathing.

KABOOM!

Weebot — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:06:11 -0800

Jonathan Golob at Dear Science.org has a series of posts up about nuclear power. Topics include: The physics behind nuclear power, the inner workings of a reactor, nuclear radiation, nuclear waste, the disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and the future of nuclear power. Also in a truncated podcast form. Bonus links: Jonathan Golob's columns at The Stranger. And his Top 5 Nuclear Weapons.

The Arrival of Energy Positive Buildings

rongorongo — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:06:26 -0800

A positive energy building is one that produces more power than it consumes (yes they have been around for a while). The Masdar Headquarters in Abu Dhabi – due for completion in 2010 claims that it will be the first to do this on a substantial scale (mainly thanks to use of solar energy). David Fisher's spectacular “Dynamic Architecture” building in Dubai will aim to achieve the same goal using wind. Scaling up on the ambition stakes France has pledged all of its new housing will fit into this category by 2020.

"For starters, I can drive that loader."

Guy_Inamonkeysuit — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:06:36 -0800

You know you want one. It's closer to being a reality than ever before. But how close exactly is that? Maybe closer than we think. The Japanese have been working exo-skeletons for years... and so have the boffins at Berkeley. Robert Heinlein talked about them in Starship Troopers (not the movie). Extant versions are not free standing but seem to be of great assistance to the physically impaired, such as people with ALS. Or to marauding penguins...

Biocrude

caddis — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:04:40 -0800

Pond scum saves the planet? In the beginning, there were algae, but there was no oil. Then, from algae came oil. Now, the algae are still there, but oil is fast depleting. In future, there will be no oil, but there will still be algae. ^ Power your ride with pond scum. In some iterations you don't even need light. (we have talked about this before and the fact that CO2 powers the algae production is not insignificant) More details here.

The Wind Over the Waves

thatwhichfalls — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:24:17 -0800

Is offshore wind power the renewable energy of the future? Herman Schellstede is no stranger to the Gulf Coast. The son of an engineer who helped build the first offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, Schellstede has spent the past 40 years designing offshore oil platforms, drilling rigs and pipelines. But now he’s using his expertise in marine engineering to build a different kind of offshore structure: a wind farm

Cities of God

hadjiboy — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:22:37 -0800

Slum (youtube: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Dwellers (mp3): how the other billion lives.

Old Boys, Old News

GrammarMoses — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:15:04 -0800

MeFi's celebration of the Ivy League continues with "The Facebook of Wall Street's Future," a New York Times map of social and professional connections in the tradition of They Rule (previously on Metafilter here, here , here and here). For those who might have trouble accessing the NYT site, I've also uploaded the graphic here.

Ballistic Jaw Propulsion of Trap-Jaw Ants

dhammond — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:57:21 -0800

The trap-jaw ant, best known for its powerful jaws which hold the land speed record for movement at 145 miles per hour, is brilliantly captured in a short film shot at 100,000 frames per second. [via]