Up cycling and its Benefits

            The amount of trash in this world continues to be a concern to us. Landfills are exponentially growing because the material in them is not biodegradable. And because we have more waste than space to put it, many types of wildlife, especially marine wildlife, are harmed by the trash. If we don’t start reducing our massive amount, then we could predict a world in which every street and every city would be buried in trash. But recently, scientists have found a way to take waste and make something useful out of it. This is called Upcycling.

            Upcycling kills two birds with one stone because it gets rid of the trash and turns into something beneficial. One of the recently discovered Upcycling processes is through the burning of plastic bags. Every year, Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags. Vilas Pol, a scientist in California, has found a way to make those plastic bags useful. First, he cuts his plastic bags into small pieces and then puts them into a reactor that is about 1000 degrees. If you were to put a plastic bag on a stove, then it would release a lot of carbon dioxide and other dangerous chemicals which can cause cancer. After three hours of being in the reactor, the result product is black powder. But this black powder is actually billions of carbon nanotubes.

            Carbon nanotubes are tiny fragments of pure carbon that are in the form of cylinders. The useful application of these nanotubes is that they can conduct electricity a lot better than silicon. They have already been in use in computers for only a couple of years, but the word about this material is not yet out across the whole world. Vilas Pol has already started putting nanotubes in lithium batteries. These batteries which get stimulated with carbon nanotubes work ten times better and can store three times as much energy. The possibilities for carbon nanotubes are endless and it all comes from something that we tend to use on a daily basis. If we could start burning all the plastic bags in the world, then we would have nearly an unlimited supply of carbon nanotubes.

            Another process of upcylcing is the burning of our everyday trash. Incinerators have been around for a long time, but incinerators give out bad emissions and don’t give out a useful product. But using the incinerator to create energy is something that people are working on. First, all the trash is burned and that excess of heat becomes steam and spins a turbine. As the turbine spins it creates energy and powers homes. A Garbage to energy plant in Wisconsin already powers 18,000 homes using their own trash.

            The initial problem with trash is that we don’t have space for it. But now we can restore that space by getting rid of the trash and using it for Upcycling. If we can start making these processes global processes, then we wouldn’t have to worry about overcrowded landfills which are bad for natural wildlife. 

Bloom Energy

              The main contributor to our energy crisis today is our homes. We receive energy from a “grid” which is connected to a power plant. Even if we don’t need energy, the plant will just keep running, wasting a lot of energy. And by the time that energy travels from the plant to our homes, a lot of it is lost. So the only way to compensate for this lost energy is to find a way to get energy away from the “grid” and closer to our homes. Bloom energy is the plausible energy source for the future because it has no emissions and energy is not lost when it reaches our homes.

            The basis of bloom energy is a small fuel cell, about the thickness of a piece of paper. They are squares made of silicon that use oxygen and natural gas to create energy with no emissions. Each fuel cell supplies about 25W of energy, enough to power a small light bulb. The fuel cells are then stacked into brick-sized towers connected by metal alloy plates. 64 “bricks” of fuel cells would be enough to power a small restaurant or supermarket. Large corporations like Google, FedEx and EBay are already using this technology to supply their energy.

            The advantages of Bloom Energy are endless. First, transportation is not a big issue like it is in the grid. The energy will be released from the fuel cells whenever it is needed, so that it can’t be wasted. There are also smaller chances for power outages to occur across an entire area because Bloom Energy is completely individual. Finally, Bloom Energy is harmless to the environment. Unlike modern day coal plants, the fuel cells do not emit any dangerous chemicals to the atmosphere. Bloom Energy is both clean and efficient and is definitely a possible energy source for our homes and businesses across the world. 

Sharklet: Miracle Material

As humans, we have never come to like sharks because of their aggressive behavior. But we also haven’t been patient enough to examine these creatures up close. Dr. Anthony Brennan, a materials science and engineering professor at the University of Florida was visiting the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor when he noticed a couple of sharks swimming by slowly. He stopped and was surprised that the sharks had no algae or bacteria growing on them. Inspired, he took a sample of the skin and analyzed it. At that point, he noticed the unique diamond structure of the shark’s skin and used those observations to create Sharklet.

When Brennan was observing the skin, he was really observing the dermal denticles of the shark.  Dermal denticles are tough scales that cover the skin of sharks. Even though denticles are similar to scales, they are really modified teeth and are covered with hard enamel.  When he observed the denticles he noticed that they were arranged in a distinct diamond pattern with tiny ribs. This diamond pattern of denticles was the reason that the bacteria could not create colonies and thrive on the shark’s skin. Sharklet is an artificial material that is comprised of millions of tiny diamonds arranged in a distinct pattern that mimics the microbe-resistant properties of shark skin. 

This Sharklet material can be put on basically anything to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Since 2009, a bacterium called MRSA has slowly been spreading across the US.  The antibiotics used to attack MRSA have become useless because the bacteria are just becoming more resistant. Sharklet has been proven to inhibit the growth of harmful diseases like MRSA. If Sharklet were to be used to cover everything that a human touches in their daily lives, then there is no chance for harmful diseases like MRSA to spread. We might really abhor sharks, but because of their skin, we might also owe our lives to them. 

Endoscope Camera in a Pill

Through the use of capsule endoscopic technology, it is easy to determine what is happening in the digestive tract of a human being. Ever since its genesis in 2001, many people have taken a crack at making a capsule that will be more efficient, but none have been more successful than RF America and its next generation capsule endoscope, Sayaka. RF America’s goal was to capture the entire gastrointestinal tract and provide a clear and high-quality resolution photo that could be used for diagnosis. That’s why they created Sayaka.

The patient gulps down the capsule and over the next couple of hours, the pill travels down the esophagus and intestines where it will capture up to 870,000 images. Because the pill requires energy to run its camera, lights and computer, the patient wears a vest which continuously transmits power. The thing that Sayaka can do that prior endoscope capsules couldn’t do was take close up pictures because the older ones would always be facing forward. But Sayaka will always spin 360 degrees so that it shoots directly at the tissue walls of the intestine. Because storing the pictures would be a waste of space, Sayaka continually transmits images to an SD Memory card which is in the patient’s vest. The doctor will then take a look at the pictures on the computer and use software to create a flat map of the intestines. If they find a problem they can magnify up to seventy-five times to scrutinize the problem.

Prior to the endoscope camera, doctors had to dissect a human body to identify problems in the digestive tract. But now, swallowing a pill is all it takes to identify these problems. Sayaka will help in the fight against diseases like Cystic Fibrosis, a disease where mucus is continuously built up in the digestive tracts. The camera will be able to monitor how much mucus is being built up at every point in the digestive tract which will give doctors a better understanding of the kind of treatment that their patients need. Digestive diseases are a problem in our world, but with the efficient technology that RF America has developed today, the fight against these diseases will be much easier. 

The Largest Volcano on Earth

Just over a week ago, a team of scientists at the University of Houston discovered the largest volcano ever documented on Earth. It is dubbed Tamu Massiff and is located 1,000 miles off the Eastern Coast of Japan. The volcano covers about 100,000 square miles and is nearly the size of the state of New Mexico. The main problem before with identifying Tamu Massiff was determining whether it was a single volcano or a coalition of multiple smaller volcanoes.

The volcano doesn't just stand out for its massive size, but also for its unique shape. Unlike other known volcanoes, Tamu Massiff has a low altitude. This means that much of the lava that erupted millions of years ago had to travel long distances in order to form into the shape that is today. The image below is a 3D image of the seafloor, depicting the large volcano.

                              

Solar Energy Not Great for All

A recent Time News article titled “Grid Politics” argues that the United States is in the middle of a solar revolution. It points out that solar installations in the US have increased “more than 1000% during President Barack Obama’s first term” and have “contributed nearly half the new power capacity added to the grid in the first quarter of this year.” The reason for this sudden proliferation has been the drastic decrease in the cost of solar panels, almost 80% since 2009, according to the article. Cost of Solar, an online resource for homeowners, predicts that the cost of installing solar panels will only continue to fall in future years as the efficiency of solar panels increases and the size of solar cells decreases. As this movement continues to grow in the foreseeable future, the US will be able to successfully reduce its dependence on deleterious fossil fuels.

But not everybody is happy with this sudden solar energy movement. Public utilities, who provide electricity to customers, are the ones feeling the pernicious effects of the movement. As utilities begin to lose more customers to solar energy, they are losing a significant amount of revenue. On top of that, customers are able to sell their surplus solar energy back to utilities, further decreasing the utilities’ profits. A recent New York Times article titled “On Rooftops, a Rival for Utilities” reports that the state of California, which has seen an unprecedented 160% rise in solar panel installations since 2010, estimates that they will lose almost $1.4 billion dollars this year. If that cost was distributed evenly among the citizens of California, each citizen would have to pay an extra $185 a year for their electricity.

It’s reasonable to surmise that in future years, citizens will see installing their own solar panels as a more economical option than obtaining electricity from utilities. And unless public utilities find new ways to do business, they may end up defunct.

New Nanobiocomposite Material has Huge Potential

An article in the journal ACS Nano outlines some groundbreaking research done by Eijiro Miyako and colleagues. In a simple view, the research team has combined Morpho Butterfly wings and carbon nanotubes to create a new material that is highly conductive. There are 29 different species of Morpho butterflies in the world and they are mostly located in Mexico, Central America and South America.

Miyako explains that Morpho Butterflies have unique wings because they are lightweight, thin, flexible, absorb solar energy, and also self clean. When they are combined with carbon nanotubes, which have unique electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties, the exhibited a higher electric conductivity than the individual materials by themselves.

In the article, the scientists stated that "Our present study highlights the important progress that has been made toward the development of smart nanobiomaterials for various applications such as digital diagnosis, soft wearable electronic devices, photosensors, and photovoltaic cells." This discovery has to be further developed, but it definitely shows promise for the future.

Autistic Kids Superior in Math Show Different Brain Organization

I have recently become more interested in looking into psychology and behavioral science studies and have come across some very interesting ones. This article discussed the idea that autistic kids use different parts of their brain than normal kids when performing math tasks.

The participants in the study included 36 children, 18 autistic and non-autistic children. They were all in the normal IQ range and had normal performances on verbal and reading tasks. However, the autistic kids significantly outperformed the non-autistic children in a standardized math test. The study was conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine.

After the math test, the researchers attempted to identify what specific techniques autistic children might use in order to be superior to the non autistic children. They discovered that autistic children were more likely to use decomposition techniques to solve complex math problems as opposed to rote memory techniques, which was prevalent in non autistic children.

The researchers then looked to see if there were any physiological differences between autistic and non-autistic children, in regards to the areas of the brain where there was activity. They put both groups of kids under an MRI scanner as they were solving math problems. The researchers saw an unusual activity in the temporal occipital cortex, an area of the brain that is normally associated with processing faces and emotions. The results show that this brain activity may be the reason as to why autistic kids have such a great ability in mathematical computations. This study definitely gives more confidence to the very parents of autistic kids.

The full article can be read here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130816130353.htm

New Car may Revolutionize Transportation

Elon Musk. You may have heard of him. The creator of PayPal who sold his company for billions and billions of dollars. The guy who is doing everything in his power to improve humanity. But his most recent futuristic invention is an electric car. Not just any electric car, the most efficient electric car ever created. The Tesla Model S has the potential to change transportation in the US and thus cut greenhouse emissions significantly. It would be a win for humanity, for sure.

If the Model S is equipped with the highest kWh battery, 85 kWh, then the car has an acceleration of 4.2 seconds from 0 to 60 mph and also has a top speed of 130 mph. The best part of the car is that you can charge it anywhere and at anytime and it only takes a small amount of time. To learn more about the charging, visit http://www.teslamotors.com/charging#/basics

Another interesting feature of the Model S is the 17" touchscreen between the driver's and passenger seat. This is where everything in the car is controlled. The gear, the navigation, the music, and much more.



To become more immersed into the features, visit http://www.teslamotors.com/models/features#/performance

The most exciting part about this whole project is not even the car. It is the Supercharger, essentially a gas station for electric cars. There are currently only 16 Superchargers in the US currently, but by 2015, Tesla plans to have Superchargers across America and some parts of Canada. A 30 minute charge at a Supercharger station can allow a car to travel for 200 miles before requiring another charge. And the best part is that, it is free. You will never have to pay for gas again.

But if you're in a hurry and can't wait 30 minutes or even 20 minutes for a partial charge, you can opt for a battery swap which takes less amount of time than filling a gas tank in a regular car. It is the same price of gas, but you are helping the environment in return. Expect Tesla to be a major brand in a couple of years.
To learn more about charging the Model S, visit http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

Ozone Hole Leads to Global Warming, but in a Different Way

The growing hole in the ozone layer has long thought to be one of the primary causes of global warming. The ozone layer helps prevent the Earth from being struck from ultraviolet radiation, so a hole lets the radiation come through and the heat's surface. It makes sense, right? Well, the empirical evidence suggests that this correlation is not accurate. Now, however, a computer model created by several scientists suggests that the ozone hole might actually contribute to global warming, but in a completely unique way than expected.

The computer model shows that the ozone hole shifts the wind patterns and thus moves the clouds further towards the South Pole. Thus, the clouds will not reflect as much sunlight and thus increase the amount of ultraviolet radiation on the Earth. The cause of this ozone hole was discovered to be chlorofluorocarbons found in aerosols and cooling systems in the 1980s.

The study was conducted by Kevin Grise at Columbia University and collaborators including Lorenzo Polvani of Columbia University, George Tselioudis of NASA, Yutian Wu of New York City and Mark Zilenka of Lawrence Laboratory. It really is a revolutionary study because it completely changes conventional thinking regarding the ozone hole. A Yale University poll showed that 61 percent of people believed that the ozone layer contributes to global warming, but more people may buy this theory when looking at this new study.

A New Way to Cool Processors

Nearly everybody on Earth uses computers these days. Back when it was first invented, very few could envision that the computer could be a practical option in households across the world. But it has been and it will continue to be an indispensable tool for the future. But very few are unaware of how computers actually work. It's very delicate, with many parts performing functions in order for the computer just to work. Perhaps the most important is the computer processor, which is considered to be the "brain" of the computer.

The processor is very small, but is big in its importance to the functioning of a computer. One of the main disadvantages to processors today is that, despite being very efficient, tend to accumulate large amounts of heat, which can hamper functionality and its lifetime. This is not just a problem for computers, but for a lot of different electronic systems. Fortunately, a research team from Chalmers University in Sweden have found a way to dramatically cool down electronic systems by focusing on cooling down the processor.

Essentially, they added a layer of graphene to the "hotspots" on the processor, tiny spots that are the size of one-thousandth of a millimeter  in order to cool it down. Graphene has recently been realized as the "miracle material" and could potentially change the future in a lot of different ways. Basically, it's a sheet of pure carbon. It's the thinnest material, an atom thick, the lightest material, the strongest material, and the best conductor of electricity known to man.

According to Johan Liu, who leads the research team, " The normal working temperature in the hotspots we have cooled has ranged from 55 to 115 degrees Celsius. We have been able to reduce this by up to 13 degrees, which not only improves energy efficiency, it also extends the working life of the electronics." 

Clearly, this discovery has huge implications for the future, as cooling of electronics is a huge problem. In fact, in 2006, nearly 50 percent of the total electricity used to run data servers went into cooling the systems. This discovery may even be a gateway for other researchers to test other materials that could also potentially cool down electronics in order to make them more efficient. 

Published Research Report

I have recently gotten the pleasure of publishing a research report that I wrote a few months ago regarding my 2012 Science Fair topic about building a computer-based audiometer. It is published in the International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA).

The published research report can be found here:
http://www.ijera.com/papers/Vol3_issue4/GS3412321244.pdf

There are also many other great articles that are published in this issue of IJERA. They can be found here:
http://www.ijera.com/pages/current_issue.html

Enjoy!

CFCs are the cause of global warming, not CO2

According to a study done at the University of Waterloo, CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) have discovered to been the driving cause of global warming, not carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. CFCs are synthetic chemicals that were created to eliminate toxic and flammable substances in refrigeration units and air conditioning units as well. Scientists soon discovered that CFCs were the cause of the depletion of ozone, which is useful for protecting people from ultraviolet radiation. Now, it has been discovered that CFCs also cause global warming.

"Conventional thinking says that the emission of human-made non-CFC gases such as carbon dioxide has mainly contributed to global warming. But we have observed data going back to the Industrial Revolution that convincingly shows that conventional understanding is wrong," said Qing-Bin Lu, a professor of physics at Waterloo.

Lu discovers that since 2002, global temperatures have actually declined, which correlates with a decline in the CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons since that period of time. Data recorded between 1850 and 1970, before any CFCs were created, shows that there was an increase in CO2 levels as a result of the Industrial Revolution, but the global temperature itself did not change and only kept constant. Empirically, temperatures should have risen by at least 1 degree over that same period, similar to the period between 1970 and 2002, when CFCs were being used for commercial purposes.

So what are the implications of this study for the long term? Does this mean we can continue to use fossil fuels without being worrisome?

Well carbon dioxide emissions do have other ramifications. However, Terry McMachon, dean of the faculty of science at Waterloo states that, "This study (done by Professor Lu) underlines the importance of understanding the basic science underlying ozone depletion and global climate change. The research is of particular importance not only to the research community, but to policy makers and the public alike as we look to the future of our climate."

In one word, this study is quite groundbreaking because it has completely changed our way of thinking and will completely change our way of thinking for the entire future. 

Makani Wind Turbine Changes the Game

This, again, is another post about alternative energy. As you can see, I am really passionate about this topic. And the main reason for that is that it is the future of our world, whether we like it or not. We will have to stop depending on fossil fuels soon and start looking at other alternatives. But instead of talking about solar energy, I'll be focusing on a new advancement in wind energy. As we know, wind energy has been around forever. People have used windmills forever for several industrial uses. But today, we are more accustomed to seeing wind turbines as the prominent machines that utilize the power of the wind.

Interestingly enough, wind energy is an indirect form of solar energy. The sun heats the surface of the earth and so the air on the surface and also heats up and will rise as a result. Then colder air in the atmosphere moves into the spots where the hot air used to be. This continuous movement of air is what we refer to as "wind."

Wind turbines are machines that capture the wind to generate electricity for commercial and domestic use. The blades of the fan spin due to the wind and consequently spin a generator in the hub of the turbine and generate electricity. It's really quite fascinating to think how people even thought about building this technology.

The primary problem with wind energy, just like solar energy, is the lack of efficiency. It is a little more cost-efficient than solar energy, but it still not considered a practical option. Another major complaint is that wind turbines make a lot of noise and may also disturb activity in the air. Fortunately, a small power company in California named Makani Power was recently granted 3 million dollars to augment their already efficient AIRBORNE wind turbine.

Yes, I said airborne, not on the ground. It's pretty revolutionary! And it's pretty simple. When it's not in use, it will be stowed to the ground. When there is enough wind to generate a significant amount of energy, the turbine will be launched in the air and hover like a helicopter in a circular formation in the air. Then wind will spin the propellers and generators on the turbine in order to generate and store electricity.

Now, why exactly would people want this Makani turbine instead of the conventional wind turbine? Cost-efficiency is a big answer. It can produce almost twice the amount of energy for nearly half the cost. It can also reach much higher altitudes where winds are much faster and much more consistent. They can also be used in the water, which increases the potential of wind energy.

All in all, the Makani turbine is a game changer! It's a huge advancement in wind energy. People can stop looking down upon wind energy and finally start to respect it for once. Just kidding, I'm sure it's not that way. But start getting excited because alternative energy is coming soon, very soon!  

MIT's new solar-cell uses quantum dots AND wires

I've always been interested in renewable energy and its efficiency. Knowing its potential to change the world and help the environment definitely excites me. In elementary school and in middle school, I looked at optimizing the efficiency of certain renewable energies like solar, bio fuels, and wind. But what I did in my own house as a teenager hardly compares to what MIT has recently created. 

MIT News recently released an article showing how a solar cell that uses both quantum dots and nano wires works much more efficiently than a solar cell that purely uses quantum dots. Quantum dots are tiny semiconductors that have, over the past couple of years, have been discovered to increase the efficiency of traditional photovoltaic cells. In addition to increasing efficiency, quantum dots do have other several advantages. They can be manufactured at room temperature which saves energy and reduces all complications associated with the high-temperature processing of silicon. Also, they can be produced much quicker and much more inexpensively than silicon. 

However, at the same time, these quantum dot solar cells are still not the most efficient option in generating electricity because of an interesting inconsistency associated with photovoltaic cells. A solar cell's layer needs to be thin to allow the charges to pass easily from the surface of the cell to the wires that carry the current, but also thick enough to absorb incoming light efficiently. Joel Jean, a student at MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) says that improved performance in one of these areas tends to worsen the other.

This is where MIT makes a pretty big step in advancing solar energy. They have created nano wires made of zinc oxide that are extremely effective in conducting energy but also long enough to the point where light absorption is no longer a significant concern. The research team discovered that their newly created design increased the electricity generated by the solar cell by 50 percent and increased the overall efficiency by about 35 percent. 

There has already been a very positive reaction to MIT's revolutionary creation. Mark Thompson, a professor of chemistry at USC compliments the research by saying that was a "real advance" and that it may be "only the beginning, and as they continue to improve their process, we will see even higher efficiencies."

In comparison to other types of renewable energy like wind or hydroelectric, solar energy has always been considered one of the least practical options, as it is a very expensive type of energy and doesn't always yield the highest results. The recent design by MIT may only be in the early stages, but it does show that we have not yet realized the full potential of solar energy. We can still discover new advances and new technologies to make this specific type of energy better. I've always had a passion for renewable energy, specifically solar energy, and this discovery only gives me more hope that in the near future, we will be able to completely replace all harmful, non-renewable sources of energy like coal and petroleum with clean energy. 

The full MIT Press article can be accessed here: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/nanowires-quantum-dots-solar-cell-0325.html

2013 Abstract- Comparing the Sound Fidelity of Different Sound Compression Methods

As personal listening devices have drastically proliferated in recent years, compressing audio files has become a ubiquitous process in order to save space. Although compressing can be beneficial, many compression methods can result in a loss of sound quality. The goal of this project was to determine which audio format has the highest sound fidelity. 

Sound fidelity is the measure of how accurately a compression method is able to reproduce the original uncompressed audio file. In this experiment, two lossless methods, .flac and .ape (Monkey’s Audio), and four lossy methods, .mp3, .wma, .ogg, .aac, were compared for sound fidelity. To test the different audio formats, different WAV files containing sine waves, square waves, and complex waves were created and obtained. WAV is an uncompressed audio format and is the baseline in this experiment. The WAV file was then compressed to audio formats listed above in four different bit rates (32,64,128,256 kbps) to ensure a comprehensive analysis of audio formats. These audio files were then opened in a program called NCH WavePad Sound Editor which possessed an FFT function and allowed for the conduction of a spectrum analysis, which determines the magnitude at each frequency in a certain audio signal. The spectrum analysis chart of each format was compared to the spectrum analysis of the WAV file. The more similarity that existed between the two charts, the higher the sound fidelity was of that format. 

The significance of this project is that it displays that other formats exist that have higher fidelity than MP3 while also having a smaller file size. This means that we can reduce our hard drives’ power consumption and carbon footprint while maintaining sound quality.