Folded Light Bulb is World's Most Efficient..folded to resemble the stereotypical light bulb shape

NanoLight claims to be world's most efficient light bulb.
The NanoLight LED’s are directly attached to a printed circuit board that is folded to resemble the stereotypical light bulb shape





Until recently LED light bulb manufacturers have struggled to find a solution in the 75 to 100-watt range which successfully replaces the soon-to-be redundant, energy crunching 100 W incandescent bulb in terms of size and brightness. Three friends from the University of Toronto are the latest to offer a feasible product to match the classic 100 W bulb without compromising on electricity consumption with their proposed NanoLight LED light bulbs.


Gimmy Chu, Tom Rodinger and Christian Yan of NanoLight met during a university solar car project back in 2005. With a shared enthusiasm for sustainable products they joined forces again three years ago and aim to launch three models of the Nanolight in the near future through the funding platform Kickstarter. The trio hopes their products will prove that true 100 W equivalent LED lighting can be achieved and that NanoLight can make good its claim as “the worlds most energy efficient light bulb.”


NanoLight’s signature product is a 12 W LED bulb that provides the equivalent of a 100 W classic bulb and gives off 1600 lumens. Whilst the 60 W LED range has proved successful, manufacture of higher wattage equivalents that fit into current light fixtures has been difficult. LED lights produce less heat then traditional bulbs, but this heat becomes an issue that shortens the lifespan and efficiency of the LEDs when the volume is increased for a higher wattage effect.



The NanoLight products claim to have addressed the LED heat issues and are also billed as omnidirectional, which is not a feature of the average LED bulb. The NanoLight LED’s are directly attached to a printed circuit board that is folded to resemble the stereotypical light bulb shape. The product testing that can be seen in the videos below shows that the LEDs withstand the heat issues within this format.


Although manufactured electronic circuit boards are well established, the folded design of the NanoLight will provide challenges for the team. Using surface mounting technology, the individual components will be placed into predefined positions and will require a low temperature soldering process to secure the components. Once this has been achieved a process will take place to assemble the circuit board into its bulb shape and secure on the screw base light fitting which is the current available option

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The NanoLight operates at 133 lumens per watt - the above chart shows the company's own comparison to other light bulbs on the market

The alternative to a 100 W incandescent bulb has until recently been a compact fluorescent light, if you have the time for them to warm up to maximum light output. The LED is a much more pleasing alternative not only for using less harmful materials during manufacture, but also by providing an instant warm neutral white full light on request and lasting a lot longer with an estimated lifespan of 30,000 hours.



          




In addition to the 12 W NanoLight, a 10 W NanoLight (75 W equivalent) and a 12 W NanoLight (1800+ Lumens) are also in the pipe. These three models are available in 120V AC and 220-240V AC versions to cater to different geographic regions. The NanoLight team has also received high demand for a dimmable version and are already working on a prototype model that can achieve this.
Despite this, NanoLight estimates that over a period of 30,000 hours of usage an LED bulb can save a consumer around seven times the expense of an equivalent periods usage of incandescent bulbs.
Other recent (and heavyweight) entrants into the 100-watt equivalent LED market include the Phillips 22 W LED and the 20 W bulb from Osram Sylvania, a division of Germany's Siemens AG.
The video below provides more information on the production and testing of the NanoLights.

E-waste Management In India-Electronic waste (e-waste) comprises waste electronics.....................

E-waste Management In India
The aim of this article is to spread awareness among our readers about the various issues involved in generation and management of e-waste, particularly from Indian perspective.
What is e-waste?Electronic waste (e-waste) comprises waste electronics/electrical goods that are not fit for their originally intended use or have reached their end of life. This may include items such as computers, servers, mainframes, monitors, CDs, printers, scanners, copiers, calculators, fax machines, battery cells, cellular phones, transceivers, TVs, medical apparatus and electronic components besides white goods such as refrigerators and air-conditioners.

E-waste contains valuable materials such as copper, silver, gold and platinum which could be processed for their recovery.you are welcome to change your personal computer, cell phone, refrigerator, or for that matter any electronic or electrical gadget, but be careful while disposing of the old one. Throwing it into the dustbin is not the proper disposal of an electronic equipment which has attained obsolescence as per your judgement. It may end up adding to e-waste, which creates problems for the ecology in general and directly or indirectly for the living beings around there through air, water and soil pollution







What is e-waste?Electronic waste (e-waste) comprises waste electronics/electrical goods that are not fit for their originally intended use or have reached their end of life. This may include items such as computers, servers, mainframes, monitors, CDs, printers, scanners, copiers, calculators, fax machines, battery cells, cellular phones, transceivers, TVs, medical apparatus and electronic components besides white goods such as refrigerators and air-conditioners.

E-waste contains valuable materials such as copper, silver, gold and platinum which could be processed for their recovery.

Is e-waste hazardous?
E-waste is not hazardous per se. However, the hazardous constituents present in the e-waste render it hazardous when such wastes are dismantled and processed, since it is only at this stage that they pose hazard to health and environment.

Electronics and electrical equipment seem efficient and environmentally-friendly, but there are hidden dangers associated with them once these become e-waste. The harmful materials contained in electronics products, coupled with the fast rate at which we’re replacing outdated units, pose a real danger to human health if electronics products are not properly processed prior to disposal.
Electronics products like computers and cellphones contain a lot of different toxins. For example, cathode ray tubes (CRTs) of computer monitors contain heavy metals such as lead, barium and cadmium, which can be very harmful to health if they enter the water system. These materials can cause damage to the human nervous and respiratory systems. Flame-retardant plastics, used in electronics casings, release particles that can damage human endocrine functions. These are the types of things that can happen when unprocessed e-waste is put directly in landfill.
The scenario
The Basel Action Network (BAN) which works for prevention of globalisation of toxic chemicals has stated in a report that 50 to 80 per cent of e-waste collected by the US is exported to India, China, Pakistan, Taiwan and a number of African countries. This is done be-cause cheaper labour is available for recycling in these countries. And in the US, export of e-waste is legal.


e-waste recycling and disposal in China, India and Pakistan are highly polluting. Of late, China has banned import of e-waste. Export of e-waste by the US is seen as lack of responsibility on the part of Federal Government, electronics industry, consumers, recyclers and local governments towards viable and sustainable options for disposal of e-waste.

In India, recycling of e-waste is almost entirely left to the informal sector, which does not have adequate means to handle either the increasing quantities or certain processes, leading to intolerable risk for human health and the environment.
Dynamics of e-waste generation
Telecommunications and information technology are the fastest growing industries today not only in India but world over. Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) has collected the following statistics on the growth of electronics and IT equipment in India:
1. PC sales were over 7.3 million units during 2007-08, growing by 16 per cent. There is an installed base of over 25 million units.
2. The consumer electronics market is growing at the rate of 13-15 per cent annually. It has an installed base of 120 million TVs.
3. The cellular subscriber base was up by 96.86 per cent during 2007-08. Its installed base is estimated to cross 300 million mark by 2010.

With the unprecedented induction and growth in the electronics industry, obsolescence rate has also increased. People are phasing out/replacing their IT, communication and consumer electronics equipment including white and brown goods as shown in Table II.

As per a GTZ-MAIT sponsored study conducted recently by IMRB, e-waste generated in India during 2007 was around 332,979 MT besides about 50,000 MT entering the country by way of imports. The reasons for generation of this large quantity of e-waste were unprecedented growth of the IT industry during the last decade, and the early product obsolescence due to continuous innovation. Thus the net effect is the e-waste turning into a fastest growing waste stream.

However, the total e-waste avail-able in 2007 for recycling and re-furbishing was 144,143 MT. Of this, only 19,000 MT of e-waste could be processed.
Components of e-waste management
The major components of e-waste management are:
1. e-waste collection, sorting and transportation
2. e-waste recycling; it involves dismantling, recovery of valuable resource, sale of dismantled parts and export of processed waste for precious metal recovery

The stakeholders, i.e., the people who can help in overcoming the challenges posed by e-waste, are:
1. Manufacturers
2. Users
3. Recyclers
4. Policy makers

e-waste concerns and challenges
1. Accurate figures not available for rapidly increasing e-waste volumes—generated domestically and by imports
2. Low level of awareness among manufacturers and consumers of the hazards of incorrect e-waste disposal
3. No accurate estimates of the quantity of e-waste generated and recycled available in India
4. Major portion of e-waste is processed by the informal (unorganised) sector using rudimentary techniques such as acid leaching and open-air burning, which results in severe environmental damage
5. e-waste workers have little or no knowledge of toxins in e-waste and are exposed to health hazards
6. High-risk backyard recycling operations impact vulnerable social groups like women, children and immigrant labourers
7. Inefficient recycling processes result in substantial losses of material value and resources
8. Cherry-picking by recyclers who recover precious metals (gold, platinum, silver, copper, etc) and improperly dispose of the rest, posing environmental hazards
9. No specific legislation for dealing with e-waste at present


Status of e-waste initiatives
The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) of the government of India is responsible for environmental legislation and its control. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an autonomous body under the MoEF, plays an important role in drafting guidelines and advising the MoEF on policy matters regarding environmental issues. Historically, in 2001 in cooperation with MoEF, the German Technology Cooperation (GTZ) began work on hazardous waste management in India through the advisory services in environmental management. Subsequently, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Testing and Research (EMPA) started to implement its global programme ‘Knowledge Partnerships in e-waste Recycling.’

Combining the knowledge and technical expertise of EMPA on e-waste management, coupled with the field experience of the Indo-German projects in managing hazardous waste in India, the Indo-German-Swiss e-waste initiative was born in 2004. The vision of this initiative is to establish a clean e-waste channel that is a:
1. Convenient collection and disposal system for large and small consumers to return all their e-waste safely
2. Voluntary system for modern and concerned producers to care for their product beyond its useful life
3. Financially secure system that makes environmentally and socially responsible e-waste recycling viable
The objectives of the initiative are:
1. Reduce the risks to the popula-tion and the pollution of the environ-ment resulting from unsafe handling
2. Focus on knowledge transfer to and skills upgrade of all involved stakeholders through trainings and seminars
3. Target mainly the existing informal recyclers allowing for their maximum but safe participation in future e-waste management by facilitating their evolution and integration in formal structures

The milestones achieved so far are:
1. Improved awareness:
• Three WEEE Care! Initiative workshops in Bangalore sup-ported by the Goethe Institute
• National e-waste workshop in Delhi, hosted by MoEF

2. Improved stakeholder engage-ment:
• Formation of the e-waste Agency (EWA) brings together industry, government and NGO to work on a sustainable e-waste management strategy for Bangalore
• First national e-waste workshop held, defined a way forward
• First national workshop on e-waste guidelines held, organised by MoEF

3. Improved estimates of e-waste:
• Rapid assessments in Delhi and Bangalore of the quantities being generated, and identification of the e-waste recycling hot-spots
• National-level desk study to assess e-waste quantities

A national-level assessment of electronics and electrical equipment waste (WEEE) by MoEF/CPCB/IRG/GTZ lists the top ten most polluting states and cities of India as shown in Tables III and IV. The figure are taken from the presentation of Dr Dilip B. Boralkar at National Conference on E-Waste Management, an Indo-German-Swiss E-Waste Initiative, at New Delhi on December 10, 2008.

The MAIT-GTZ study on e-waste found that 94 per cent of the organisations studied did not have any policy on disposal of obsolete IT products. Though many respondents (200 corporates and 400 households) were aware of e-waste, they were lacking in action.

Vinnie Mehta, executive director of the MAIT, in his presentation at National Conference on E-Waste Management (an Indo-German-Swiss E-Waste Initiative), listed the following legislations that cover different aspects of e-waste:
1. The hazardous waste (management and handling) rules, 1998 as amended in 2008 for toxic content—registration mandatory for recyclers
2. Municipal solid waste management and handling rules for non-toxic content
3. Basel convention for regulating trans-boundary movement
4. Foreign trade policy, which restricts import of second-hand computers and does not permit import of e-waste
5. Guidelines by Central Pollution Control Board (2008)
The guidelines notified in April 2008 identify and recognise:
1. Producers’ responsibility
2. RoHS (restriction on hazardous substances)
3. Best practices
4. Insight into technologies for various levels of recycling

Mehta said that the guidelines explicitly mention the need for a separate legislation for implementing producers’ responsibility. He said that e-waste is ‘distinct’ as it is an end-of-consumption waste while hazardous waste results from a distinct industrial process. The Environment Protection Act provides for separate regulations for waste with ‘distinct’ characteristics—Biomedical Wastes (M&H) Rules 1998, Batteries (M&H) Rules 2001, etc.

Advocating a separate legislation for e-waste, he said that in his recent presentation to members of the parliament he has emphasised that e-waste value chain is rather complex as it involves multiple players—producers, distributors, retailers, end consumers, collection system and recyclers—while hazardous waste chain involves only the occupier/generator and the operator. Recovery of non-ferrous metals and reprocessing of used oil are the only two major activities in hazardous waste recycling, while e-waste recycling involves refurbishment for reuse, dismantling and precious metal recovery, which is a complex process.

Structure of the Proposed e-Waste Legislations

1. Title: E-waste (Management & Handling) Rules to be published under the Environment Protection Act 2. Objective: To put in place an effective mechanism to regulate the generation, collection, storage, transportation, import, export, environmentally sound recycling, treatment and disposal of e-waste. This includes refurbishment, collection system and producer’s responsibility, thereby reducing the wastes destined for final disposal. 3. Essence: The producer of electrical and electronic equipment is responsible for the entire life cycle of its own branded product and in particular the environmentally sound end-of-life management and facilitating collection and take back. 4. Responsibility of each element in the e-waste value chain: • Producers • Dealers • Collection agencies/collection Centres • Dismantlers • Recyclers • Consumer and bulk consumers 5. Procedure for authorisation of producers, collection agencies, dismantlers, recyclers and enforcement agencies 6. Procedure for registration/renewal of registration of recyclers 7. Regulations for import of e-waste 8. Liability of producers, collection agencies, transporters, dismantlers and recyclers 9. Information & tracking 10. Elimination of hazardous substances used in e-equipment 11. Setting up of designated authority to ensure transparency, audit and inspect facilities, examine authorisation/registration, etc

e-nam (EWA Newsletter for Awareness and Management) in its September 2008 issue has brought out the latest activities of EWA, MAIT-GTZ and others involved in the e-waste field. It has published extracts of an article titled ‘Progress on e-waste, but Too Slow’ by Mini Josheph Tejaswi. The statements of various experts quoted in the article are reproduced below:

Lakshmi Raghupathy, former director in the ministry of environment and forest and an expert in e-waste management, said that governmental regulations should make the producers solely responsible for the entire life-cycle—from manufacturing to recycling—of their products.

Nitin Gupta, CEO of Attero Recycling, said enterprises should be extremely careful and responsible while throwing their unwanted computers and storage devices.

Computer manufacturers in India are slowly getting active in e-waste management. “We are working with all stakeholders in the e-waste management eco-system,” said S. Shankar, director (manufacturing and supply chain) in HP. The company has initiated a three-pronged strategy: partner with e-waste recyclers, build awareness among individual/enterprise customers and work with NGOs, recyclers, collectors and dismantlers.

Anne Cheong, senior service specialist in Dell, said each manufacturer has an individual producer responsibility. “We start from home. We have proper recycling facility in all countries including India. We are exploring that in Karnataka as well.”

Though companies claim they are taking action, many don’t believe enough is being done. “Things are very slow. Corporates are yet to understand the importance of it,” said Wilma Rodrigues, founder member of Saahas, a development organisation. Decisions related to e-waste management, she said, are still taken by junior employees in organisations, with top executives not even looking at it. Almost every company has some mention on its website on e-waste management, but very few are doing anything. The country has twelve authorised e-waste recyclers including e-Parisara and Ash in Bangalore, Tessam in Chennai and Eco-Reco in Mumbai. Ramky Group is setting up the country’s largest integrated e-waste management facility in Bangalore in collaboration with GTZ, while Attero is building an integrated e-waste recycling plant in Utter Pradesh.

D.C. Sharma, vice president of Ramky Enviro Engineers, cautioned that no player should indulge in cherry-picking, collect whatever one thinks is worth and leave the hazardous portions out. Ramky is also building a transfer storage disposal facility (landfill) for hazardous waste at Dobbespet on Tumkur Road.

Finally, through improved e-waste management in the major Indian cities, the e-waste initiatives taken in the country will achieve better environ-mental conditions. Moreover, health conditions of workers active in the e-waste recycling sector will enormously improve at the local level. As an overall effect, the living conditions for the neighbouring population will be better. The already existing schemes of e-waste recycling and material recovery, mainly in the informal sector, will be transformed to transparent and workers- and environment-friendly methods. In the long term, the problem of improper e-waste recycling will disappear due to improved methods, implementation of a take-back system and consideration of the extended producer’s responsibility.

Experience exchange on national and international levels, including know-how transfer, is being facilitated through the various initiatives. Thus, a dialogue platform for Indian and European e-waste experts has been created, opening the doors for future industries to be developed and cooperation activities to be per-formed for technology and knowledge transfer.

Graphene from gases for new, bendable electronics

Graphene from gases for new, bendable electronics.




Flexible, translucent and ultrathin, layers of carbon atoms called graphene are also excellent electrical conductors that could find use in flexible computer displays, molecular electronics and new wireless communications. Making high-quality graphene sheets is usually a slow, painstaking process, but now several research groups have discovered ways to make patterned graphene circuits using techniques borrowed from microchip manufacturing, which can be scaled up for mass production.


Layers of graphene — carbon atoms arranged in a chicken-wire pattern one atom thick — can be manually peeled away from the graphite in pencils using adhesive tape. In contrast, the new technique causes carbon atoms in a vapor of hydrocarbons to settle onto a nickel surface and arrange into graphene’s characteristic pattern of hexagons.
Using standard chip-making techniques, circuit designs are etched into the nickel surface. As the graphene layers form, they take on the shape of the circuit template, researchers report in the Jan. 15 Nature.


“Finding a suitable material that’s transparent yet conducting and thin is a big deal,” says Philip Kim, coauthor of the study and a condensed matter physicist at Columbia University. Kim and his colleagues showed that the vapor-deposited graphene retains the excellent electrical properties of manually peeled graphene, even when bent on a flexible surface

Graphene-based nitrogen dioxide gas sensors.


graphene could selectively absorb/desorb NO_x molecules at room temperature. Chemical doping with NO₂ molecules changed the conductivity of the graphene layers, which was quantified by monitoring the current–voltage characteristics at various NO₂ gas concentrations. The adsorption rate was found to be more rapid than the desorption rate, which can be attributed to the reaction occurred on the surface of the graphene layer. The sensitivity was 9% when an ambient of 100 ppm NO₂ was used. Graphene-based gas sensors showed fast response, good reversibility, selectivity and high sensitivity. Optimization of the sensor design and integration with UV-LEDs and Silicon microelectronics will open the door for the development of nano-sized gas sensors that are extremely sensitive.






. 2. The current–voltage characteristics under N₂ and NO₂ gas ambients at room temperature.




 3. The time response and decay of graphene-based gas sensors when a NO₂ ambient (1% concentration) was used.



A new study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demonstrates how graphene foam can outperform leading commercial gas sensors in detecting potentially dangerous and explosive chemicals. The discovery opens the door for a new generation of gas sensors to be used by bomb squads, law enforcement officials, defense organizations, and in various industrial settings.


The new sensor successfully and repeatedly measured ammonia (NH₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) at concentrations as small as 20 parts-per-million. Made from continuous graphene nanosheets that grow into a foam-like structure about the size of a postage stamp and thickness of felt, the sensor is flexible, rugged, and finally overcomes the shortcomings that have prevented nanostructure-based gas detectors from reaching the marketplace

 

The human battery: anything that achieves motion creates energy.

The human battery: anything that achieves motion creates energy.



As time passes we expect consumer goods, especially electronics, to get smaller, faster, and more powerful. Nowadays, however, much of the emphasis is on making technologies more efficient. It’s using masses of human beings as heat sources for buildings and perhaps one day capturing the kinetic energy created by cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians to power whole sections of cities.

It is, in essence, solving our energy crisis one human at a time. And this economizing approach ­­­­­­­­­­­– to produce more from less – could have a tremendous impact on future products and brands. That’s because anything that achieves motion creates energy. IBM Distinguished Engineer Harry Kolar predicts that in the coming years, “advances in renewable energy technology could make it possible for us to draw on power generated by everything from our running shoes to the ocean’s waves.”
Naturally, enslaving humans to function as energy sources recalls the movie “The Matrix,” where machines converted humans into batteries to fuel their repressive robotic civilization. While Sci-fi fantasy,

 it is based on scientific principles. The average person tosses off 100 watts of excess heat just by standing around and stores as much energy in fat as a one-ton battery. Architects in Paris have taken this ambient energy, added to it heat produced from the friction of metal wheels on metal tracks generated in Paris’s Rambuteau Metro station and supply heat to 17 apartments in a nearby public housing project. This approach has also been tested in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Central Station, where a quarter-of-a-million travelers pool their ambient warmth to heat a 13-story office building nearby. And in inside the gargantuan Mall of America in Minneapolis, which is heated from human activity, sunlight streaming through windows, and light fixtures, it might be subfreezing outside but a downright balmy 70 inside.

Six billion people on the planet and we’re the ones using all of this energy. The more we skim from our fellow humans, the less we’ll waste producing it, and in recent years there have been several inventions to help usher in this new energy-independence era. Shoes in development can collect energy from a tiny generator inserted into the soles and a wearable vest can power medical sensors to check high blood pressure and other symptoms that could be dispatched wirelessly back to a doctor or hospital.

Human organs could help power devices like a pumping heart driving a pacemaker or knee brackets replacing a soldier’s battery packs by harvesting energy from his movement. One gym in Portland, Oregon, boasts elliptical machines and stationery bikes that convert leg churning into electricity to help power the building. Dance clubs are powering LED-light shows by harvesting power generated by hundreds of dancers. Princeton University engineers developed a small wearable chip that can capture the energy created by our natural movements to juice small gadgets like a smartphone and other device. (Bonus: each person turns into a giant Mophie!)

Meanwhile, in Durham, England, a crematorium announced it would take the waste heat from the burning of corpses and sell the energy to a local power utility. Each incinerated body creates 150 kilowatt-hours, which is “enough to power 1,500 televisions for an hour.” And on a grander scale, sidewalk panels to stash the kinetic energy of thousands of pedestrians could power streetlights while speed bumps in fast food parking lots could “capture kinetic energy from vehicles that would otherwise be lost when drivers hit the brakes to pick up their Whoppers.”
Imagine if you could secrete panels like these under roads and sidewalks in places like New York City. You might not be able to power Times Square, but you could generate electricity from activities that once wasted it – and go a long way to help forge a more energy-efficient society.

Half-a-loaf-of-automotive-aerodynamics(AA)

Half-a-loaf-of-automotive-aerodynamics

what is aerodynamics?Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object as defined by wikipedia.

Aerodynamics of automobiles:

drag:
drag is a fluid dynamics term, sometimes called as air resistance or fluid resistance. It is defined as "forces that oppose the relative motion of an object through a fluid. Drag forces act in a direction opposite to the oncoming flow velocity". (wikipedia)

Shape and flow	Form drag	Skin friction
	0%	100%
	~10%	~90%
	~90%	~10%
	100%	0%

lift:
A fluid flowing past the surface of a body exerts a surface force on it. Lift is defined to be the component of this force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. It contrasts with the drag force, which is defined to be the component of the surface force parallel to the flow direction.(wikipedia)

Note: In aircrafts Lift/drag ratio is expected to be higher. But this is not the case in automobiles where lift is to be reduced and drag too to be reduced. What is especially required in an autombile such as a racing car is the downforce (as opposed to the lift required in aircrafts).

Upper: non-aerodynamic car; Lower: aerodynamically improved design
From: http://www.generalamherst.com

A diffuser is seen in most racing cars:

Rear diffuser of Porsche - Courtesy: Wikipedia

Rear spoiler of Toyota - Courtesy: Wikipedia

Front Air Dam of Mazda - Courtesy: Mazda

Please visit hotrod for a fine detailed description of the role of aerodynamics in automobiles!









 

Human Power is the Future

Human Power is the Future.

Engineers have developed a device that may change the way that we power many of our smaller gadgets and devices. By using out natural body movement, they have created a small chip that will actually capture and harness that natural energy to create enough energy to power up things such as a cell phone, pacemaker and many other small devices that are electronic.

The chip is actually a combination of rubber and ceramic nanoribbons. When the chip is flexed, it generates electrical energy. How will this be put to use? Think of rubber soled shoes that have this chip embedded into them and every time a step is taken, energy is created and stored. Just the normal walking around inside the office during a normal work day would be enough to keep that cell phone powered every day.

An application that has pacemaker users excited is the fact that this chip could be placed in proximity of the lungs and it would create natural power for their pacemakers. Currently, the only way to replace the battery is to go through another surgery, but the natural motion of the lungs would create enough movement to continuously power the device via this chip. Finally, only one surgery would be needed and unless there was actually a problem with the pacemaker itself, there would no longer be the need to go under the knife again.

This technology is an incredible development in that it can have so many different applications. The engineers at Princeton were able to combine the materials in a way that created an electric charge when pressure is applied to the chip. It actually converts about 80% of the mechanical energy into electrical energy. In the case of the pacemaker, this means a constant power source as the lungs would obviously continuously apply the pressure that was needed to create the energy.
Additionally, the new power chip is pretty much ready to go in regards to being an implant device. Because of the materials that it is made up of, the body should readily accept it without fear of rejection. When we think of how many varieties of medical devices that are available and require power sources, this is a truly amazing invention.

While it would appear that the technology itself is very futuristic, once it is able to be mass produced, it is probably reasonable to assume that the chips will not actually be all that expensive because of the materials that are being used in its construction. They may be a bit pricey when they first hit the market, but as they become more widely used and available, that price tag should come down.
Similar technology has already been introduced in other products, but nothing that has the flexibility of this product. Human power is nothing new, but to be able to have medical devices implanted that require nothing more than normal breathing or walking is quite amazing.

Hydrogen Gas Production Doubled with New Super Bacterium

Hydrogen Gas Production Doubled with New Super Bacterium.

Hydrogen gas is today used primarily for manufacturing chemicals, but a bright future is predicted for it as a vehicle fuel in combination with fuel cells. In order to produce hydrogen gas in a way that is climate neutral, bacteria are added to forestry or household waste, using a method similar to biogas production. One problem with this production method is that hydrogen exchange is low, i.e. the raw materials generate little hydrogen gas.

Now, for the first time, researchers have studied a newly discovered bacterium that produces twice as much hydrogen gas as the bacteria currently used. The results show how, when and why the bacterium can perform its excellent work and increase the possibilities of competitive biological production of hydrogen gas.

There are three important explanations for why this bacterium, which is called Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus, produces more hydrogen gas than others. One is that it has adapted to a low-energy environment, which has caused it to develop effective transport systems for carbohydrates and the ability to break down inaccessible parts of plants with the help of enzymes. This in turn means it produces more hydrogen gas. The second explanation is that it can cope with higher growth temperatures than many other bacteria. The higher the temperature, the more hydrogen gas can be formed,” summarizes Karin Willquist, doctoral student in Applied Microbiology at Lund University. She will soon be presenting a thesis on the subject.

The third explanation is that the CS bacterium can still produce hydrogen gas even in difficult conditions, for example high partial hydrogen pressure, which is necessary if biological hydrogen gas production is to be financially viable.
On the other hand, the bacterium does not like high concentrations of salt or hydrogen gas. These affect the signaling molecules in the bacterium and, in turn, the metabolism in such a way that it produces less hydrogen gas.
“But it is possible to direct the process so that salt and hydrogen gas concentrations do not become too high,” points out Karin Willquist.
When hydrogen is used as an energy carrier, for example in car engines, water is the only by-product. However, because the hydrogen gas production itself, if it is carried out by a conventional method, consumes large amounts of energy, hydrogen gas is still not a very environmentally friendly energy carrier.
Reforming of methane or electrolysis of water are currently the most common ways to produce hydrogen gas. However, methane gas is not renewable and its use leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions. Electrolysis requires energy, usually acquired from fossil fuels, but also sometimes from wind or solar power. Hydrogen gas can also be generated from wind power, which is an environmentally friendly alternative, even if wind power is controversial for other reasons.
“If hydrogen gas is produced from biomass, there is no addition of carbon dioxide because the carbon dioxide formed in the production is the same that is absorbed from the atmosphere by the plants being used. Bio-hydrogen gas will probably complement biogas in the future,” predicts Karin Willquist.
Today there are cars that run on hydrogen gas, e.g. the Honda FCX, even if they are few in number. The reason for this is that it is too expensive to produce hydrogen gas and there is no functioning hydrogen infrastructure.
“A first step towards a hydrogen gas society could be to mix hydrogen gas with methane gas and use the existing methane gas infrastructure. Buses in Malmö, for example, drive on a mixture of hydrogen gas and methane gas,” says Karin Willquist.
Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus was isolated for the first time in 1987 in a hot spring in New Zealand. It is only recently that researchers have really begun to realize the potential of the bacterium.