What if your windows could double as transparent solar panels? Free energy with your sunny view! Scientists at MIT have developed a solar concentrator in the form of a dye that can be applied to windows. The dye redirects sunlight toward the edges of the window, where solar cells pick up the energy. The obvious benefit of such a system is an unobstructed view through glass also generating solar power. Additionally, scientists claim that the dye can be applied to existing solar panels to increase efficiency significantly. (source)
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The dye presents a solution to certain bureaucratic barriers preventing solar energy from growing. Where I live, roof mounted solar panels are not allowed. Windows, on the other hand, are allowed. I am confident most other residential and commercial zones also permit the use of windows in buildings (hah), so I see no reason why this dye and solar cell system couldn’t be used in every building. Last time I checked, cars also had windows. Can anyone say free air conditioning? This technology will be implemented in three years, hopefully that means it will be entering the consumer market at the same time.
Researchers at Harvard have developed a hand-held device capable of detecting anything, anywhere. The device’s primary application will be diagnosis of disease. It borrows technology used in MRI machines, known as NMR, or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. In an MRI, NMR generates images by exposing the atomic nuclei in your body to magnetic fields and then bombarding them with radio waves, causing a telltale wobble in the atom detected by a current induced in special coils. The new device, instead of generating an image with this data, simply detects if the molecules are present. It does this by taking a small blood sample and carrying it through detector coils. Each coil is filled with a few magnetic nanoparticles bonded to special detector nanoparticles.
Get ready for your heads to explode! The U.S. military is funding a new weapon that utilizes microwaves to deter violence called MEDUSA – Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio. The device makes use of a “microwave auditory effect” which has been well-documented by scientists in the laboratory. Microwave beams aimed at pitchfork wielding activists or enemy combatants interact with the bones in the skull to create a debilitating, screaming noise. One might imagine MEDUSA having a “crispy flesh” side-effect, but the real damage could result from the high-intensity shock waves rocking around your brain, causing permanent neurological damage. If the microwave is used at low power, it may also be possible to transmit auditory messages directly into the skulls of consumers. While the messages would be too faint to be picked up by conscious minds, they could wreak havoc on the subconscious, causing you to yearn for a Coke from the local Walmart for no discernible reason. I hope they don’t sell this technology to advertisers: subconscious spam would ensure the downfall of humanity. Think about it, everyone (including women) getting thousands of Viagra ads beamed directly into their heads 80 times a day.
Temperature gradients are the basis of thermoelectric generators. The potential difference allows for the creation of electrical current. What does this have to do with Tornadoes?
According to scientists, the North Pole could be devoid of ice this year for the first time in human history.
AFIRM (Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine) has made several advances in the past several years. Notably, they took a ‘pixie dust’ manufactured out of pig bladders to regrow the fingertips of two patients. The dust signals growth factors in scar tissue, causing small limbs, such as fingertips, to grow back fully (nail included).
