Using the cars' weight to generate energy

Kinetic energy is not a new subject on this blog. I've already shown you how this kind of technology can be used to generate enough energy to power some parts of a nightclub or more simply, your MP3 player.

This time I bring you a great idea developed at a Sainsbury's supermarket in Gloucester, United Kingdom. This supermarket has installed kinetic plates in the parking lot that use the weight of shopper's cars to pump a series of hydraulic pipes, which in turn drive a generator. The figure below is quite self-explanatory:


Apparently, the kinetic system can generate enough energy to power the store's checkouts. While it may not seem as much, it sure is a great step towards a more green attitude.

Here's another picture at location:



Source: Engadget, Guardian

Retro-blogging: best posts of June 2008

Previously, on "The Tech In Me":

• DVRs, TVs and infrared sensors
• So, you thought your Bluetooth headset was secure?
• The key to my heart
• Cool webdesigner shirts
• Quantum superposition, or how can video games be creative
• How to make solar power more appealing
• YouTube just got more interesting
• Dance to charge your cellphone
• How to download musics from MySpace using Safari and "wget" (on Mac OS X)
• Eco-friendly gadgets
• How old is the Internet?
  

Interesting ideas/products that we may never end up using

The USB Fan Tie

The K-wine plate

The Strawberry plate

The Solar-powered tie

There's more here.

Rechargeable batteries with solar cells

Now here's a great idea: integrate a solar cell directly into a rechargeable battery so that it can recharge just by facing the sun.


The SunCat batteries were born when its creator wondered as to why "hasn't anyone made a battery with integrated solar cells" and answered: "The batteries should just bask in the sun like a cat and left for a while, in a sunny window, they would slowly recharge."

I think it's a great idea and the good part is that you can do it yourself... that is, if you can get around the necessary parts and have the skill to build them :-)

Just check the SunCat blog post for details, here.

Who's right about the Google carboon footprint?

Some say that the environmental impact of performing 2 Google searches is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide that is generated by boiling a kettle for a cup of tea.

Google says those estimates are too large and in fact a Google search uses just about the same amount of energy that your body burns in ten seconds.

Who's right?

How to save water in your bathroom

I always wondered why we need to use clean drinkable water to flush the toilet. Isn't there a simple way to save this (more and more) precious resource that is clean water? Apparently, there is:



Caroma, a company that focuses on designing interesting bathroom products, has developed this simple idea for reusing the water used to wash hands and teeth, to flush the toilet. And the good part is that you don't have to redesign your all bathroom to install something like this. The water supply is already there, you just need to re-route it to the sink instead of the toilet tank.

Source: EcoGeek

Retro-blogging: best posts of October 2007

Previously, on "The Tech In Me":

• The WiFi t-shirt
• The device that produces more energy than it consumes
• Using the same mouse and keyboard with different computers
  
• A new way to make music
• The universe was about to collapse
• McDonald's and free WiFi: a dangerous combination
• Quick Tip: RSS2PDF
• Infinite GMail addresses
• Better parking with "Around View"
• "Flight Mode" is not good enough to avoid iPhone users from getting arrested
• Drug Dealers vs. Software Developers
• When you work too much on a computer...
• Isaac Asimov's best story
• The Linux Kama Sutra
• This one beats the iTunes visualizer, right?
• Projector/Cellphone concept
• iPhone available in Portugal?
• Cellphones on a plane
• Smile for the picture
• E-paper now in color
• Some great TED talks
• Was it really worth it for Radiohead?
• Geek thought of the day
• Your mobile phone as a QR-code reader
• The day I saw the light
  

And if you're looking for even older "best" posts, check here.

Another interesting gadget to charge your cellphones

There are all kinds of gadgets out there: eco-friendly, all-usb, for workaholics, fashionable and odd-tasting. This one definitely covers all of them.


A team of researchers from Iowa State University have devised a way to make wearable technology slightly more discreet, by creating a solar tie that charges/carries your cellphone.

Source: Engadget

This is so true!

Another way to generate power while dancing

If you thought that dancing to charge your cellphone was a wild idea, check out this new power-generating dance floor:


It's always good to appreciate all these efforts for some eco-friendly gadgets.

Source: Engadget

Retro-blogging: best posts of July 2007

Previously, on The Tech In Me:

• Plants that phone when they need to be watered
• It's not the cellphones' fault
• The Wii Workout, at the gym!
• 15 years of SMS
• Vodafone says "no to 3G-less iPhone" - and now that a 3G version of the iPhone is available, iPhone has said yes :-)
  
• The ISPs won't tell on you
• The evolution of cellphones
• Avoid that cable clutter under your desk
  
• 500 GB in one DVD
• Technology can be used for the strangest things
• How to keep your Coke cold while at the computer
  

Eco-friendly gadgets

Lately, I've been posting on more eco-friendly technologies (such as the car that runs on water or the gadget that charges your cellphone while you dance) because I've been increasingly concerned about the serious consequences that may occur if Humanity doesn't find alternative sources of energy to end our dependency on fossil fuels.

And to continue in that wave of eco-friendly technologies, here's a list of some interesting gadgets/ideas to turn our technology consumption a bit more "green":

• Solar Cells under Multi-touch displays - This is an idea based on the patent that Apple recently registered that stated their intention of creating a layer below the iPhone's display made out of solar cells. The idea is really insteresting as it allows you to leave your gadget on the sun to charge itself, but I still have doubts if it's actually a good idea to leave the gadget exposed to intensive heat :-)
  



• Solar cell backpack - This one is obvious. This backpack receives sunlight and turns it into energy used to charge your gadgets inside, such as a laptop, cellphone or iPod.
  



• USB-rechargeable battery - Forget about special chargers that you have to use to charge your batteries. This battery charges itself once connected to a computer's USB port.
  



• Kinetic-based batteries - In the same line as the dance charger, this battery charges itself with the movement that a person produces while walking, which means that it doesn't need to be connected to an energy source directly to be then used in some gadget :-)
  

You can find more eco-friendly gadgets here.

Source: The Hottest Gadgets

A car that runs on water

A Japanese company has developed a car that runs only on water and air. Why isn't something like this shown on every newscast in the world? Doesn't this represent a step further to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels? Check the following video for details:



Source: TugaTrónica (Portuguese - check an English source here)

How to make solar power more appealing

It is very important to find new energy sources that allow us to overcome the dependency on oil. But so far it has been difficult to find suitable alternatives. And one of the reasons behind this (but definitely not the most relevant one) is the fact that these new energy sources require huge installations that are not very appealing. Whether it's because they're big or ugly or uncomfortable, the fact is that most people don't like how solar power appliances look like.

That's why some people have been working on trying to make this technology look more appealing. Here are some examples:

Veil Solar Shades:

Lily-shaped pads in rivers:

SunTable for your patio:

Solar Plants:

Ring! Ring!

Who is it? It's a wake up call from Earth.

Handy laptop bags

In a time where the oil reaches historic values, everything that we can do to help reduce the consumption of energy is appreciated. And solar-powered devices can be part of the solution.

Until now, the manufacturers of this kind of technology weren't able to produce anything more powerful than a purse that can charge small devices like cellphones. But the technology is advancing and you can now charge your laptop by using this solar-powered laptop bag.

But what's the point of having to go outside to charge a laptop if you don't have Internet access? Well, with the amount of WiFi hotspots now available (some of them in open sunny spaces) you may be able to find some free Internet access out there. You just have to know where to look for.

And what better way to do it than with a handy laptop bag (or a WiFi detecting t-shirt) that detects surrounding WiFi signals without having to take your laptop out of the bag?

Pretty handy, hum?

The Miracle Energy device?

This is what British researchers are calling this new device for heating up water: the miracle tube. They are calling it this, because it seems that it can generate more heat comparatively to the energy that it consumes.

It sounds too good to be true, but apparently it is. Not to mention the fact that it violates almost every known law of physics.

Even the makers of the device are at a loss to explain exactly how it works - but skeptical independent scientists carried out their own tests and discovered that the tube really does produce more heat energy than the electrical energy put in.

This basically means that it can create energy out of "nothing".

For now, the researchers are making further testing to make sure the device is safe. Also they need to adapt it for domestic use, but once this is out on the market it can cut house heating bills to half.

Source: The Mail on Sunday

Convert carbon into biofuel

A breakthrough technology developed by a team of engineering scientists from Wales could hold the key to converting carbon emissions into beneficial substances such as biodiesel, methane gas, and fertilizer.

Check out the explanation:



Source: Engadget