miniature nuclear power plant can power 20,000 homes

Scientists at Los Alamos, the same government laboratory that developed the atomic bomb, are developing a miniature nuclear power plant that is capable of powering 20,000 homes. The power plants, no bigger than a garden shed, will be buried underground and completely sealed. Since there are no moving parts in the power plant, there is no risk of having a Chernobyl-like meltdown, and they are based on 50 year old, safe, proven technology.

The company's goal is to produce electricity for 10 cents per watt any where in the world. They are set to produce 4,000 plants between 2013 and 2023.

The plants have to be refueled every 7 to 10 years, but who cares when it can power 20,000 homes!

Full article can be read here.

Sweet coating makes solar panels 30% more efficient

A new coating material, developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, allows solar panels that the coating is applied to absorb nearly all available light, and as a result makes them 30% more efficient. Treated panels can soak up a whopping 96.2% of available sunlight.

One of the problems the coating solves is that current solar panels cannot absorb all frequencies of the light spectrum. The bluish color of current solar panels indicates that they are not absorbing much of the blue spectrum of visible light. The coating developed at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute solves that problem, making treated panels appear more black than blue.

Another problem the coating solves is the necessity of having to rotate solar panels in order to catch the best angle for light absorption. Now solar panels can remain in one position and will absorb light equally from any angle.

Read original article here.