Solar-Powered Plane Completes First Leg of Coast-to-Coast Journey

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A team of pilots, researchers and support crew scored a point for renewable energy early Saturday morning when their cutting-edge solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse touched down in Phoenix, Ariz. following an 18-hour, 18-minute flight from a base on the California coast The lengthy flight was the first leg in a multi-stop odyssey from California to New York that, if successful, will be the first cross-country flying trip with travel occurring during both daytime and nighttime Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard flew the aircraft on the first leg of its trip for 650 nautical miles at an average altitude of 10,000 feet and a ground speed of 40.6 miles per hour — less than half the top speed of a Cessna 172, a common small four-seat propeller aircraft. Read more... More about Aviation , Solar Impulse , Solar Power , Tech , and Us Read more »

iShack Brings Sustainable Living to South African Slums

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Researchers at a South African University are putting a modern twist on a way of life for sub-Saharan shack dwellers. The iShack , or improved shack, is designed to improve living conditions with solar panels for power and electricity. The prototype shack, located in a settlement outside Stellenbosch, South Africa, stands out from the typical rusty metal and wood dwellings. A photovoltaic panel sits on the roof to power three lights, a motion sensitive exterior light and a cellphone charger. The floor is made of bricks from a local landfill, and the back wall is built from clay and hay to regulate temperature. In an area with limited resources, the extended roof overhang helps to… Continue reading.. Read more »

The Future of Nokia’s Solar-Powered Phone Isn’t so Bright [VIDEO]

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Nokia set out to see if a feature phone could be sufficiently powered by solar energy alone. The findings weren’t promising. After testing its solar-powered C1-02 phone in five different locations, Nokia concluded its device was hard to keep in direct sunlight and limited talk time Read more »

Researchers Create ‘Sun-Believable’ Solar Cell Paint

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Notre Dame researchers have created a semiconductive paste, which can turn surfaces its applied to into solar cells. A team of researchers, lead by Professor Prashant Kamat, created the new material by coating nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide with either cadmium sulfide or cadmium selenide, and then suspending them in a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste. The paste can then be applied to a transparent conducting material, which creates electricity when exposed to light. Read more »