Technology Archives - Page 13 of 18

900hp Ferrari Hybrid Sounds Like a Prius…Being Eaten by a LeMans-ster

This article originally published on Gas2

When the 900 hp “LaFerrari” Ferrari Hybrid first broke cover back in March, everyone who could read a spec. sheet knew that the car would be a monster. One thing automotive enthusiasts didn’t know, however, was what the LaFerrari would sound like – which is a pretty big deal for Ferrari’s fans and corporate culture! Would the new LaFerrari make the same kind of V12 that made the classic Daytona, 512 BB, and Testarossa into legends? Would the new Ferrari hybrid have the same high-pitched wail of the iconic Ferrari F40?

Would the new Ferrari Hybrid – horror of horrors! – sound like a Prius?

Wonder no more, Ferrari fans. Plug your headphones in, turn up the volume, and listen to the decidedly LeMans-ready wail of Ferrari’s latest: the 900+ hp LaFerrari!

Enjoy!

Charge your Mobile Battery with your own Body Heat

These shorts and sleeping bag charge your mobile devices Smart materials in the Power Shorts use kinetic energy created by the wearer's movements to charge mobile phones Modules attached to the fabric of the Recharge Sleeping Bag capture thermal energy from a sleeper's body to create an electric charge Products have been developed by Vodafone and Southampton University By Victoria Woollaston Festival goers need never run out of phone battery again thanks to a new range of denim shorts and sleeping bags that use body heat and movement to generate electricity. The Power Shorts and Recharge Sleeping Bag can charge a phone's battery by harvesting energy from the human body using kinetic and thermoelectric technology. The wearable phone chargers have been designed by mobile phone company Vodafone with help from the University of Southampton. Vodafone has teamed up with the University of Southampton to create wearable phone chargers for festival goers. Th…

Hydrogen Fuel That’s Green Thanks To Microorganisms Found Living In Salt Flats?

Image Credit: DOE/Argonne National Laboratory The pink color of salt lakes is caused by salt-loving microorganisms, called halobacteria. from CleanTechnica. Bacteriorhodopsin — an intriguing protein found within the membranes of the ancient microorganisms living in the desert salt flats of California and Nevada — may allow for the cheap, efficient production of “environmentally friendly” hydrogen fuel from nothing but sunlight and saltwater, according to new research from the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. By combining bacteriorhodopsin with semiconducting nano-particles, the researchers were able to create a new system that utilizes light to spark a catalytic process that results in hydrogen fuel being produced. The great potential of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, with regard to light-based reactions, has long been known to those in the scientific community, at least as far back as the early 1970s, when researchers learned that,…

Solar-Powered Modular Relocatable Building Wins Top Eco Award

This article originally published on RenewEconomy Blue Planet Buildings, a Sydney based “solar energy building company” has won the Australian Business award for Best Eco Product in 2013 for a solar-powered, modular and relocatable building. Blue Planet says its structures have special solar panels built into the roof to power appliances such as air conditioners, computers and hot water systems, emit no carbon and in fact generate carbon offset credits. CEO Mark Ottery says the company has begun manufacturing and supplying the buildings for construction companies, government authorities, mine sites and farms – both in Australia and overseas. The buildings an be used both on or off grid (battery storage is available), are flat packed, making them easy to transport and install – and can be erected in less than an hour. Ottery says they are “clean, green, energy efficient and cheap to run.” Solar-Powered Modular Relocatable Building Wins Top Eco Award was origin…

UK Unplugs To Advance Offshore Wind

Pete Danko for Earthtechling It sounds like a contradiction, but to get more power at less cost from offshore wind turbines, the UK is looking to back projects that don’t require a grid connection – and, in some cases, don’t even have turbines. Here’s what’s going on: The Crown Estate, which manages the waters off the UK’s vast coastline, has put out a call for test and demonstration projects that seek to advance offshore wind technology in areas such as “foundations, cable laying and operations and maintenance procedures.” image via London Array Offshore wind power has a wide range of advantages over land-based wind power. People find it less objectionable, the wind is more consistent, the turbines can be made larger … the list goes on. But it’s pricey. Last year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance put the levelized cost of offshore wind at about $212 per megawatt-hour, more than twice that for land-base wind. A U.K. goal is to drive the cost down to £100/MWh by 2020 – about…

Top 6 Cities Leading The Green Building Revolution

Beth Buczynski from Earthtechling Unless they’re from Kansas or North Carolina, most people agree that green building makes sense–environmentally and financially. Instead of nagging people to unplug their appliances after use or use air conditioning sparingly, we’re now designing buildings with materials and technologies that conserve energy automatically. Although we may all agree that building green is smart, not everyone embraces it with the same enthusiasm. Some people even see “sustainable development” as part of a world domination plot hatched by business-hating hippies. Thankfully, there are some places where such claims are ignored, along with inefficient windows and toxic paint. The infographic below compares the efforts of six leading cities–New York, Vancouver, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm–providing a bird’s eye view of how cities are embracing the green revolution in the race to drastically reduce global CO2 emissions. Infographic via Ho…