Researchers from MIT and the Masdar Institute of Technology have created a new bubble-wrapped, sponge-like device that can turn water into steam using energy from the sun, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. The researchers hope that the design “could one day be used as a component in small desalination or wastewater treatment plants.”
Jason Margolis of PRI’s The World chronicles how MIT alumnus Sorin Grama’s first attempt at a startup paved the way for him to found Promethean Power Systems, which produces milk chillers for regions of India with unreliable power. Margolis notes that this fall Grama will serve as an entrepreneur-in-residence at MIT with a focus on the developing world.
IEEE Spectrum reporter Charles Choi writes that researchers from MIT and the Masdar Institute of Technology have developed a new floating system that can boil water using energy from the sun. "Our demonstration shows a new approach to producing low-cost solar thermal devices," explains graduate student George Ni.
Writing for Science, Robert Service describes how MIT researchers have developed an inexpensive, bubble-wrapped device that could help purify water in developing countries. The device was able to “boil and distill water with no extra solar concentrator,” Service explains, which could pave the way for the development of “large-area solar stills for about one-twentieth the cost of conventional technology.”
David Morris writes for Fortune that researchers at the MIT spinoff SolidEnergy Systems are developing a longer-lasting lithium metal battery for smartphones and wearables. Morris writes that the battery has “about double the energy density of today’s standard lithium-ion battery.”
Oscar Williams of The Huffington Post writes that MIT researchers have found that electric vehicles could replace almost 90 percent of cars on the road. Williams notes that mass-scale adoption of electric vehicles could lead to a 30 percent reduction in transportation-related emissions.
MIT researchers have found that electric cars can currently provide enough range for 87 percent of American drivers’ needs on just an overnight charge, writes Robert Ferris for CNBC. “One key finding is that electric vehicle replacement seems to be almost equally feasible in any American city, regardless of climate, topography, or size,” explains Ferris.
CNBC explores MIT’s history of developing alternative energy technologies and educating people around the world about sustainable energy. Graduate student Natasha Wright explains that MIT brings people together working on policy, business and technology, making it “easy to transition these technologies into the real world.”
MIT researchers have found that almost 90 percent of cars on the road could be replaced with electric vehicles, reports Amrith Ramkumar for Bloomberg. The researchers found switching to electric vehicles could lead to a “60 percent reduction in total U.S. gasoline consumption and a 30 percent decrease” in emissions from transportation.
A study by MIT researchers finds that electric cars could replace most of the cars on the road, reports Chris Mooney for The Washington Post. “87 percent of vehicles on the road could be replaced by a low cost electric vehicle…even if there’s no possibility to recharge during the day,” explains Prof. Jessika Trancik.
Sam Thielman writes for The Guardian that MIT researchers have found that electric vehicles would meet the needs of most American drivers. Prof. Jessika Trancik says her vision is that people would own electric vehicles, “but then being able to very conveniently get an internal combustion engine vehicle to take that long road trip.”
CNBC reporter Robert Ferris writes that MIT researchers have developed new technology that could allow windows to shift from transparent to opaque. “Solutions such as these could greatly reduce the demand for air conditioning, which is currently booming around the world,” writes Ferris.
MIT researchers have outlined a new way of developing a lithium-oxygen battery that would increase the battery’s energy efficiency and longevity, according to The Economist. “In trials which discharged and recharged the battery 130 times, it lost less than 2% of its capacity,” The Economist notes.
Indira Lackshmanan of WBUR’s Radio Boston speaks to Profs. Joe Formaggio and David Kaiser about their recent quantum theory discovery involving neutrinos. “Do they move through matter without having a definite identity? Our finding is that really they do,” says Kaiser.
Loukia Papadopoulos explains her favorite quotes by Prof. Donald Sadoway on the future of clean energy. “When Sadoway began his work on the liquid metal battery, he purposely ignored many established paradigms in his own field and chose instead to reach across disciplines to generate new insight,” writes Papadopoulos in The Huffington Post.