ScienceBlogs

Japan's Tipping Point: Renewable Energy from Wind, Water, Biomass, and More...

the pump handleDecember 5, 2011

"Instead of incinerating 80 percent of wasted food, why not compost it at the household level for the family garden? Or biodigest it to produce methane to burn to make electricity? And why not make compost out of human waste, provided it is not too tainted with chemicals and pharmaceuticals? In traditional Japan, human waste ("night soil") was prized by farmers in outlying areas, who bought it to nourish their crops."

Japan's Tipping Point: Renewable Energy from Solar and Geothermal

the pump handleNovember 30, 2011

"I arrived in Japan two months after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami killed over 20,000 people and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear reaction. Until then, Japanese leaders had been planning to build 14 more nuclear power plants that, together with the 54 then-active plants, would provide half of the country's electricity. Now those plans have been scrapped. But what is the current state of Japan's renewable energy efforts?"

Cold Fusion: Is it Possible? Is it Real?

starts with a bang!November 25, 2011

"Andrea Rossi's cold fusion device -- known as the e-cat, or energy catalyzer -- has been exhibited at a few semi-public demonstrations, and has been observed to put out nuclear-scale energies with only electro-chemical-scale energy inputs. In particular, he claims that enriched nickel is being fused with hydrogen nuclei to create copper, and release large amounts of energy. If true, that would, in fact, be nuclear fusion! And a confirmed, controlled test of this would be spectacular, and an incredible cause for celebration."

The Physics of why the e-Cat's Cold Fusion Claims Collapse

starts with a bang!December 5, 2011

"But it is worth noting that there are stars that form copper from nickel, but they do not do it by adding protons. When our Sun runs out of hydrogen fuel, it will expand, becoming a red giant, and begin burning helium atoms into the element carbon. While the Sun will be capable of creating a few elements heavier than carbon, such as nitrogen, oxygen, and (probably) neon, that's the end of the line for the Sun. But significantly more massive stars can go farther."