Big
green energy machines
Two ways to generate more power with less
damage to the environment: a compact, fast, powerful, zero-emission power plant
that burns methane and emits liquid carbon dioxide that can be sequestered underground;
and a continental supergrid that delivers electricity and hydrogen in an integrated
pipeline.
Less
is more with aerogels
Aerogels—consisting of tangled, fractal-like
chains of molecules—have the lowest density, highest thermal insulation, lowest
refractive index, and highest surface area per unit volume of any solid. Initially
used to catch space dust, they are now being considered for commercial purposes.
Democrats
and Republicans: What's the record on physical science?
Statistical data and interviews with presidential
science advisors and scientific society officials show that federal research
spending per physical scientist fell precipitously after the Cold War ended and
has remained flat ever since.
Growing
nanotrees
Forests of nanotrees can be produced by growing
a gallium-phosphide trunk on a gold seed and then branches and leaves from successively
smaller gold particles. Light could be absorbed by the leaves and moved through
the trunks, or branches and leaves could become light-emitting diodes.
