Geek In Me

via ubergizmo.com

Scientists at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have found a new way to generate electricity for the masses without adding a single step of carbon footprint to the earth simply by tethering a 10 square meter kite to a generator. This move is able to generate up to 10 kilowatts of power - more than enough juice to power 10 homes. Taking this idea and enlarging it, the same team of scientists hope to use a 50 kilowatt kite and a 100 megawatt array dubbed the Laddermill, hoping that this will eventually power 100,000 homes - all without the risk of a nuclear power plant blowing up. I wonder what happens when these kites are covered in lightweight solar panels?

Australians say PS3 is supposed to be the biggest power consumer in the household. When you think you are doing something good with Folding@Home, think again… Your PS3 will cost you approx. 250 australian dollars yearly. Three times more than an iMac or twice as much as an 2.16 CoreDuo PC. Check the scary calculations here.

by Nilay Patel via engadget.com

We’ve seem some impressive wind power tech, but a new breed of small, high-power wind turbines could potentially bring efficient wind power home. Developed by an inventor named Doug Selsam, the new turbines have rotors just 14-18 inches in diameter, but can produce 200 watts in a 20MPH wind, and much more than that at higher wind speeds. The trick is using high-strength carbon-fiber materials that allow several rotors to be hooked up as one — in strong winds a thirteen-rotor system can produce enough juice to blow out a bank of car headlights “like flashblulbs.” That’s pretty impressive — especially since the system is light and balanced enough to be held up with one hand. No word on when or how we might see these hit the public, but we can see some pretty sweet applications — laptops in the park, anyone?