Self-cleaning solar panels could find use in the dusty environs of Arizona, the Middle East or Mars

The best places to collect solar energy are also some of the dustiest on Earth and beyond, a quandary that leads to inefficiencies in how well the cells are able to convert strong sunlight into renewable electricity. The solution, according to new research, is to coat solar cells with material that enables them to chase [...]

M.I.T.: Oil-absorbing nanotech could have cleaned up Deepwater in one month [video]

It looks like a solar-powered treadmill, but researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) say they have created a flat, conveyor belt–like device that could clean up oil slicks far more efficiently than anything used at the Deepwater Horizon site. They key is a nanoparticle-infused, water-repelling mesh coating a conveyor belt. As important is [...]

Copying Butterfly Wing Scales Could Fight Forgers

Counterfeiters and money minters constantly try to outsmart each other. But money could become much harder to forge–thanks to butterfly wings. Butterflies that flit through tropical forests often have brightly colored wings that irridesce in the sun. But it’s not pigments that create those eye-catching shades. It’s microscopic structures on the insects’ wings that reflect [...]

Butterfly Wings Scale Copies Could Fight Forgers

Counterfeiters and money minters constantly try to outsmart each other. But money could become much harder to forge–thanks to butterfly wings. Butterflies that flit through tropical forests often have brightly colored wings that irridesce in the sun. But it’s not pigments that create those eye-catching shades. It’s microscopic structures on the insects’ wings that reflect [...]

Charging Ahead: Carbon Nanotubes Could Hold Long-Sought Battery Technology Breakthrough

Charging Ahead: Carbon Nanotubes Could Hold Long-Sought Battery Technology Breakthrough Dear EarthTalk: What is the potential for carbon “nanotubes” in battery technology? I heard them referred to as the biggest battery breakthrough to come along in years. And what else can we expect to see in terms of new battery technology in coming years? –R. [...]

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