Environment

Solar Powered Hydrocarbon Production

Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated a proof of concept solar power hydro-carbon production system which uses mirrors to heat reaction chambers that harvests CO2 and H2O from the air and converts them into liquid fuels like kerosene or methanol. If the technology was scaled up, 3.8 square kilometers of desert filled with these mirror converters could fuel a daily return flight from New York to London.

Supervolcano Generator

NASA have a backup plan to cool Yellowstone's supervolcano in case it gets close to erupting, by drilling holes in the sides and pumping super-cooled water through the volcano chamber. The exiting water would be heated to around 350°C on the way out from cooling the volcano and on the way into a geo-thermal plant to generate electricity. A win-win, at the cost of $3.46B.

Glow In The Dark Plants

Scientists at MIT have successfully injected nanoparticles into plants to give them glow in the dark properties, for the second time. The strontium aluminate nanoparticles are coated in silica so as not to damage the plant. Just 10 seconds of exposure to LED or sunlight cause the plants to glow green for up to an hour, at a brightness ten times more than the previous experiment. The plan is to be able to use these glowing plants as passive lighting in outdoor areas, thus reducing the need for street lighting.

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