Alternative Energy Sources

Leland Teschler's Editorial: What’s hot? Not ethanol

This special issue looks at some of the technologies and industrial themes that are eliciting a lot of interest in the technical community.

Green Technology: Jets Gear up to Fly Greener

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Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan program is set to take to the skies with innovations ranging from reduction gearing to low-emission combustion cycles.

A first: UAV runs on biofuel

Navy UAV runs on biofuel

Cellulose fuels won’t meet government goals

Superconductivity coming to wind turbines?

Superconductivity and direct-drive generators coming to wind turbines

Coming: Self-powered integrated circuits

Researchers have come up with a way to put thin-film transistors on the same substrate with environmentally friendly solar cells.

Probe developed at Purdue monitors tokamak reactor linings

Reinventing the flywheel

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Mechanical batteries hold promise for making wind and solar energy more reliable

Infinia uses Stirling cycle for solar power and air conditioning

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A company is using the Stirling cycle to turn solar power into electricity and as the basis for a more-efficient, electrically powered air conditioner

Nanoscale advances lead to big power for supercapacitors

Capacitors’ energy density is climbing towards that of batteries by using nanostructured electrodes and new electrolytes.

Tapping tides for clean energy

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A 75-ft-high tidal turbine will include a custom-designed brake to prevent overspeeding and eliminate shock loads that could damage the novel power-generating device

On the road to cheaper hydrogen fuel cells

Hydrogen-based fuel cells have been around a long time, but they have been too expensive for all but the most exotic applications because they use platinum as a catalyst. That could change, thanks to an advance made by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory

Wave-driven water pump has no moving parts

The Wave Pump harvests energy from sea waves without the use of moving parts.