Scientific Prospects: Inventions

Iraqi teen tackles maths puzzle, but not the first university

Sun, 31 May 2009 05:49:17 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant, who figured out a solution to a complex maths puzzle, was not the first person to come up with a successful formula, Sweden's Uppsala University said in a statement Thursday. Swedish media, including the website of the Dagens Nyheter daily, reported Thursday that Mohamed Altoumaimi had found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli... [read more]

Brunton Makes A portable Solar Chargers

Sun, 24 May 2009 08:18:05 GMT

Brunton makes a good range of flexible solar cells that use CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) instead of the usual silicon. The Brunton Solaris 26 is a flexible solar charger that generates 26 watts but measures only 21.5” by 37.5″ and folds down to 11″ by 8.5” by 1”. Solaris chargers can charge a laptop or digital video camera. They can power a satellite or cell phone. It takes between... [read more]

New Materials Harder Than Diamond

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:45:00 GMT

Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called wurtzite boron nitride (w-BN) has a greater indentation strength than diamond. The scientists also calculated that another material, lonsdaleite (also called hexagonal diamond, since it’s made of... [read more]

Air Cars: A New Wind for America's Roads

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:48:07 GMT

A new carmaker has a plan for cheap, environmentally friendly cars to be built all over the country An air-powered car? It may be available sooner than you think at a price tag that will hardly be a budget buster. The vehicle may not run like a speed racer on back road highways, but developer Zero Pollution Motors is betting consumers will be willing to fork over $20,000 for a vehicle that can motor... [read more]

Solar Powered Air Conditioner Released

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:37:32 GMT

A company called GreenCore Air has released an air conditioner than can be powered by a single 170 watt solar panel. The GreenCore air conditioning unit can heat and cool a 600 square foot room. It runs on DC power, so there is no need to put an AC inverter between the solar panel and the air conditioner. This eliminates the power losses associated with converting AC to DC. When the... [read more]

The Digital Book

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:33:00 GMT

Abstract Can a book that doesn't come from comprehensibly materialized textual means still be considered a book? What happens when, in the form of an electronic publication on the World Wide Web, a typical book-type volume is designed to be networked and includes multi-media? As the physical object itself disappears, one of the conditions required for the existence of book science faces extinction... [read more]

Pen Phone Design Is The Smallest

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:11:11 GMT

There have been pen phone concepts before, even a few working products, but none as slim and small as this one sent us by an anonymous tipster. He told us this "design A" is not a finished product yet, and added that the undisclosed company he's working for wants to gauge interest in such a device. While most users will connect the phone to Bluetooth earpieces, those two target-shaped areas on... [read more]

Did you know

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:44:53 GMT

In 1878 Thomas Edison invented the first electric light bulb. This single invention proved to be so popular that it caused a major recession in the oil industry. Since 1856 kerosene lamps were used in homes and street lamps. Historians state that the introduction of kerosene initiated the oil industry. Sales and production of kerosene trickled to a standstill as electricity and the electric light bulbs... [read more]