Transonic Combustion Revitalizes Engine Output

Teaching an old dog new tricks seems to be the way we are approaching energy consumption; the Transonic Combustion engine is a new trick for a nearly dead dog. The new combustion style uses supercritical fluids that ignite when in contact with air, exactly timed to the piston's most efficient position. This way, no energy is wasted in combustion that is not used in the piston movement. Experts say that the expected out put on the engine will be somewhere around 98 mpg Highway, twice that of the best hybrids on the road today. Transonic says that the technology will be hitting the pavement somewhere between 2013-2014.

Via Inhabitat.

Piezoelectricity moves forward (no pun intended)

Princeton scientists have introduced a new form of piezoelectric material, a rubber sheet that when stretched and strained, converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. The sheets are made of organic lead zirconate titanate, layered over silicone with an embedded chip. Imagine the interior of tires lined with this, gaining energy simply from the pressure of the road; or, as PhysOrg notes, a pace maker that can retain energy from each pump. Click the above links for the full articles and studies.

Levitating Magnets may be key to Fusion's Future

Recently, I saw an article on TED about the longevity of fusion power; that we have enough Lithium ions in the ocean to serve our energy needs for thousands of years. A new type of fusion reactor was tested at MIT to see if a levitating magnet used to contain the plasma particles needed to cause the fusion worked better than one supported by beams from below. The study shows that the plasma was much easier to contain and caused much more random interaction that spurs fusion than the old model.

Read the full article here.

Via PhysOrg.