Posted on 2008 under Eco-Friendly, Concept, Miscellaneous |
16
Feb
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for recycling, but it’s the process I’m not so thrilled about. For bottles and newspapers things are fairly simple, but there is a whole gray area that makes knowing what is appropriate for recycling more complicated. The Barcode Trashcan offers a high-tech solution that utilizes the product barcode to help sort and separate items. Many recyclables feature a number value that denotes whether it can or can not be recycled. When scanned, these bins read that number and the corresponding can opens for your convenience. Unfortunately, Read more… »
The new “air-line” concept from student designer Daniel Fitzgerald and Dyson offers an eco-friendly and space saving solution to drying your clothes thanks to a design that functions using the movement of air along with solar heat. In other words, it is a solar powered clothesline. The one big technological development comes in the form of intelligent sensors that precisely dry your clothes and stop the flow of naturally heated air when the moisture content in the clothes reaches zero. So, theoretically, your clothes should stay nicer longer. Plus, your Read more… »
Posted on 2008 under Eco-Friendly, Design, Miscellaneous |
3
Feb
Researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory have designed a lightweight, foldable solar panel design which they predict will function at 80% efficiency (the best solar panel prototypes operate at about 40%). The researchers’ secret is the implementation of nanoantennas, which have the ability to absorb not only light, but heat from the sun as well. The sheet of solar panels is similar in size and weight to a sheet of plastic wrap But like any breakthrough, this is still in the theoretical stage, as researchers have only simulated the function of the solar cells and design tweaks still need to be made.
16 year-old Marco Facciola built this completely wooden bike for a school project, managing to avoid using any metal at all. Yes, this wooden wheeled wonder even has a chain and gearing made of wood, held together with wooden joints and glue. The detail in the free-wheeling ratchet and spacers between the chain links, pinned with tiny dowels, is amazing. Marco had to complete this as a non-academic project for his International Baccalaureate, and inspiration came from his grandfather, forced to make wooden wheels for his bike during the war due to rubber shortages.
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