Lifeboat Foundation

Southwest Research Institute worked with government and commercial collaborators to successfully develop and demonstrate full-scale turbomachinery for one of the world’s first supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power systems for a concentrated solar power (CSP) plant. The technology combines sCO2 power cycles with integrated thermal energy storage.

The project was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s APOLLO program, which was created to improve performance and reduced the cost of electricity from CSP plants. The 10MW sCO2 turbomachinery has successfully completed performance and endurance tests in a closed-loop environment.

SCO2 is carbon dioxide held above a critical temperature and pressure, which causes it to act like a gas while having the density of a liquid. It’s also nontoxic and nonflammable, having been used in dry cleaning processes, low-GHG refrigeration systems, as well as to decaffeinate coffee.

Study reveals why some attempts to convert the greenhouse gas into fuel have failed, and offers possible solutions.

If researchers could find a way to chemically convert carbon dioxide into fuels or other products, they might make a major dent in greenhouse gas emissions. But many such processes that have seemed promising in the lab haven’t performed as expected in scaled-up formats that would be suitable for use with a power plant or other emissions sources.

Now, researchers at MIT.

An international team of astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has detected a rocky planet, about half the mass of Earth, in an extraordinarily short 7.7-hour orbit around its parent star.

It’s a reminder that the science of extrasolar planet hunting seems to enter bizarro land with each new discovery. Planetary scientists still haven’t figured out how our own tiny Mercury — which orbits our Sun once every 88 days — actually formed and evolved. So, this iron-rich ultrashort-period (USP) planet, dubbed GJ 367b should really boggle their minds.

It’s completely rocky, unlike most previously detected gaseous hot Jupiters on extremely short stellar orbits. As a result, the tiny planet is estimated to have a surface with temperatures of 1,500 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt iron; hardly an Earth 2.0.

Continue reading “New sub-Jupiter-mass exoplanet detected by astronomers” »

A wind power company, SheerWind, from Minnesota USA has announced its new Invelox wind power generation technology. The company says its turbine could generate six times more energy than the amount produced by traditional turbines mounted on towers.via: News Direct

Source/image: News Direct

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsXGJ1O3ccQ

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THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION
On November 16, 2021, an experimental aircraft called the ‘Spirit of Innovation’, designed by Rolls Royce, would record an average speed of just under 556 km/h or 345mph over a 3km span. The Spirit of Innovation is the world’s fastest, all electric aircraft. It superseded the previous record set by the Siemens eAircraft Extra 330 LE Aerobatic aircraft in 2017 by over 213 km/h or 132 mph, and it also climbed over 60 seconds faster to 3,000 meters or about 10,000 ft.

Continue reading “The World’s Fastest Electric Airplane” »

Brooklyn, New York-based Tarform Motorcycles began sketching out designs for its slick-looking electric motorcycles almost five years ago. Despite pandemic-related setbacks that delayed production, the company is now beginning deliveries on its first electric motorcycles.

These aren’t just any run-of-the-mill bikes though.

Unlike many of the electric motorcycles we see today that take on a more conventional design intended to please the widest audience, Tarform focused on a more bespoke, hand-made direction from the beginning.

What if climate change and the housing crisis already had a solution? What if we just need to reevaluate our relationship with the Earth — and with our garbage? A day at the Earthship Biotecture can make anyone a believer in a brighter, greener future.

The need to rejuvenate amidst nature is crucial in stressful times to heal and grow. This has sparked a trend for a nomadic lifestyle without any compromises in living comfort. Yes, I’m talking about the growing popularity of towable trailers, RVs, caravans, and houses on wheels that promote an upbeat mobile lifestyle. So, how will things be, say, a decade or more from now?

Industrial designer Jason Carley imagines a future where the urban lifestyle will be punctuated by life on the road triggered by sky-rocketing living costs and the aging infrastructures that are dependent on ecologically disruptive fuels and technologies. Jason thinks of a time in the year 2035 where nomadic life will revolve around mastery of resources and an efficient mode of travel. Thus comes into the picture this towable trailer that gives love back to nature. Targeted for the young and resilient urban customers, the rig is an accessible retreat to escape from the stresses of life for a few weeks or even months.

The Throne goes further in its realization of a circular economy by composting the waste produced by users and using this compost locally. Eventually, the teams want to put the technologies and tools in the hands of local communities. When innovation is shared fairly and the carbon footprint created by logistics and shipping of these products can be greatly reduced. The Throne is just one example of the possibilities of what additive manufacturing can do for scaling sustainable design and development – it’s only waste if you waste it!

Designer: Nagami and To:.