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Tree Lights

Nerd Grind — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:50:38 +0000

love Europe in that special way only someone who’s lived exclusively in the United States for 25-odd years really can. Yet another fabulous reason to love Europe are these solar powered light trees, spotted last October in Vienna (as well as in Milan in November and December). Designed by Ross Lovegrove, each tree has 10 branches, and each branch has a solar cell (artemide polycrystalline solar cells by Sharp) “petal” on top. During the day, the petals charge built-in batteries, and as soon as the sun goes down, LEDs under the petals light up, providing efficient and cost effective street lighting, especially since the installation costs are minimal (no wiring necessary). The trees are able to provide light even after several consecutive cloudy days, although there aren’t any specifics on how much power the panels generate.

thanks Evan!

Solar Ads

Nerd Grind — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:52:52 +0000

Apparently, this billboard in San Francisco isnâ€™t just hype: it is, in fact, a power plant, using 20 solar panels to generate more electricity during the day than it consumes lighting itself at night. On a sunny day, the billboard generates 3.4 kilowatts of energy, which is just about enough juice for a family of four during the day. If itâ€™s cloudy, the output drops to 2.5 kilowatts. PG&E does not, of course, say how much the solar panels cost to buy, install, and maintain. My guess is that itâ€™s in the â€œyouâ€™ll recoup the cost in a decade or soâ€ range. Still, since weâ€™ve got ugly billboards set up all over the place anyway, wouldnâ€™t it be great if they could be put to some practical use besides annoying consumers out of purchasing whatever they happen to be advertising?

thanks Ohgizmo for the info

Brain Booster

Nerd Grind — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:50:31 +0000

Are you feeling stressed out? Enter MC Square’s X1 relaxation DAP which claims to "induce positive brain waves" in that thick skull of yours. It uses rhythmic light and sound (via goggles and earphones) to â€œimprove concentration and memory, increase relaxation and improve sleep.â€

Sound farfetched? It actually has US studies to back it up. According to researchers from Thomas Jefferson University, using this thing correlates with statistically reliable improvement in verbal memory, associative learning, working memory and measure of attention/concentration.

If your "senior moments" are increasing, then this $399 gizmo may be for you or belongs in someone’s holiday stocking.

Firetrucks 2.0

Nerd Grind — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:30:03 +0000

Fire trucks are too slow, when a fire breaks out they are at the scene days, even months later. (Although my girlfriend says otherwise) Well, here is a modified truck that will get anywhere to any fire in almost no time at all. That right folks, it’s a fire truck with a MIG 16 jet engine.

Top Gun for firemen. I’ll be Iceman. You can be Goose

Tesla is Most Excellent

Nerd Grind — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:03:22 +0000

Click on the Picutre of Tesla and check out the cool vid.

Twin Solid State Musical Tesla coils playing Mario Bros theme song at the 2007 Lightning on the Lawn Teslathon sponsored by DC Cox (Resonance Research Corp) in Baraboo WI. The music that you hear is coming from the sparks that these two identical high power solid state Tesla coils are generating. There are no speakers involved. The Tesla coils stand 7 feet tall and are each capable of putting out over 12 foot of spark. They are spaced about 18 feet apart. The coils are controlled over a fiber optic link by a single laptop computer. Each coil is assigned to a midi channel which it responds to by playing notes that are programed into the computer software.

Need Direction?

Nerd Grind — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:19:12 +0000

His maps won’t get you from A to B, but Denis Wood’s diagrams definitely tell something unique about a given area. The illustration above shows a neighborhood’s phone, cable and power line setup. "We did a lot of walking and looking to make this map."

It’s surprisingly cool, in a weird first of the month kind of way.

Solar Power Calling

Nerd Grind — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:35:11 +0000

Elan’s new Vero ENB-100 device is, according to them, the"world’s first solar-powered Bluetooth hands-free car kit. As long as there is available sunshine, you are good to go. At night, you have 15 hours of operation on a single charge. Get it in the UK only for Â£60 (or about $120).

Salty Power?

Nerd Grind — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:24:58 +0000

It looks like a Pennsylvanian has found a way to allow saltwater to burn when it’s being exposed to the proper frequencies. Can you say new fuel source?

Chemical Power

Nerd Grind — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 15:18:06 +0000

Though a long way from being commercialized, the new battery developed by Sony generates electricity using glucose, which is chemically broken down with enzymes. Apparently, you can power small electronics endlessly through a supply of glucose solution which you pour into the battery (I’m sure airline security will love that). While glucose-powered batteries are more environmentally friendly because they don’t emit carbon dioxide, at this stage of development, they’re not yet very practical. The output of a single glucose cell is 50 milliwatts; in the photo above, four cells are linked together to generate sufficient power to operate an MP3 player.

Cool, now if i can get a battery to run off my fat cells….now THAT’S an idea

Bend It, Stretch It, Stick It On and It Still Provides Power

Nerd Grind — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:20:31 +0000

It’s basically paper-based battery technology, using carbon nanotubes and an electrolyte embedded in the paper. It’s scalable, and could conceivably be bent into any shape. Connected to solar cells, it could provide on-the-go power to just about anything. With flexible screens and nano devices of all sorts, one day we’ll just roll our computers up and stick ‘em in our back pockets. All thanks to researchers like those at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute.

NerdGrind - How-to Computer Help - Tutorials - Tech and Gadget News » power

Tree Lights

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