Ultra-Efficient Gas Engine Passes Test

Technology Review: Ultra-Efficient Gas Engine Passes Test: "Transonic Combustion, a startup based in Camarillo, CA, has developed a fuel-injection system it says can improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by more than 50 percent. A test vehicle equipped with the technology gets 64 miles per gallon in highway driving, which is far better than more costly gas-electric hybrids, such as the Prius, which gets 48 miles per gallon on the highway.

The key is heating and pressurizing gasoline before injecting it into the combustion chamber"

Looking for a clean-energy home run - Eight different technologies

Looking for a clean-energy home run (photos): "The ARPA-E agency category was funded last year to promote research in clean-energy technologies. Here's a sampling of companies who exhibited this week at the ARPA-E Summit and are seeking, or have already received, government grants."

Phone Dead? Just Add Water

 Phone Dead? Just Add Water 

Vinod Khosla: In energy, ignore the experts | Green Tech - CNET News

Vinod Khosla: In energy, ignore the experts | Green Tech - CNET News: "As an example of missed forecasts, he cited McKinsey's 1980 prediction that there would be fewer than 1 million mobile phones sold in 2000 when the actual number was over 100 million. Handicapping the price of oil, too, is often off-target because experts' assumptions are wrong.
'It's technology change that people miss and fail to forecast and I see that happening all over again in energy,' he said. 'A better way to forecast the future is to invent it because it's been proven that extrapolating the past doesn't work.'"

Drivers find electric cars have enough range - Autos- msnbc.com

Drivers find electric cars have enough range - Autos- msnbc.com: "To all those cities worrying about how they are going to get wired for electric vehicles: Fret not. 'Range anxiety' may not be as acute as you think.

Studies of drivers who already have electric cars are finding that they prefer the convenience of charging at home, and despite their vehicles’ limited range, most are able to avoid public charging."

How to Build a $1000 Fusion Reactor in Your Basement

How to Build a $1000 Fusion Reactor in Your Basement: "

Most college freshmen fill their dorm rooms with clothes, books, and electronics. Thiago Olson also brought his fusion reactor. But Vanderbilt University drew the line: No do-it-yourself reactors in the dorm! Instead, his device was housed in a nearby laboratory.

Olson’s project was motivated by the challenge of doing fusion—and by the same promise that has inspired thousands of physicists over the past half century. Nuclear fusion is the energy source that powers the sun; if channeled correctly, it could become a major source of clean energy here on Earth. Fusion occurs when the nuclei of two atoms are forced so close to each other that they bind together, releasing a great deal of energy in the process. Because positively charged nuclei forcefully repel each other, though, high temperatures are needed to bring about a union. Most fusion reactors are therefore enormous machines, like the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility that recently opened in California.

Olson and a small cadre of other amateur nuclear engineers have found a simpler way. They are creating home-grown reactors, welding and wiring the devices in their backyards, garages, and basements (much to the alarm of neighbors). The hazards to the community are slim, the main ones being heavy use of electricity and short-range radiation that can be of risk to the “fusioneers” themselves.

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Google develops prototype mirror for solar energy

Google develops prototype mirror for solar energy: "New technology could cut by half the cost of building a solar thermal plant, the company's green energy czar said on Friday."