Physical Science - Transfer of energy

  • Wave power
    Wave power

    The first ocean wave energy-capturing device with a permit to connect back to a public power grid will enter the Pacific next month. How much power could the U.S. potentially harness from the waves crashing into its the coastline? According to researchers, wave energy might be one of our best renewable resources.


    Thursday, September 20th, 2012
  • New battery technology allows fast charge and discharge
    New battery technology allows fast charge and discharge

    By tweaking the conventional recipe, researchers have sped up electricity movement in a lithium battery by 100X. Want to charge your electric car in minutes or your phone in seconds?


    Thursday, March 12th, 2009
  • Fuel Faves: Coffee meets diesel!
    Fuel Faves: Coffee meets diesel!

    Oils in spent coffee grounds are easily converted into biodiesel — a renewable source of transportation energy. Bottoms up for CofFuel?


    Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
  • Life during the “other” Big Bang!

    Did the arrival of 4,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons of space junk start the formation of organic molecules roughly 4 billion years ago? “Could be,” says a new study from Japan…


    Thursday, December 11th, 2008
  • It’s snow-time! Dig into our all-flake, no fake feature!

    Frosty questions: Are some snowflakes identical? How do flakes form, and how does weather affect their shape? How does ice in the atmosphere affect weather and climate? And where does the jet stream fit in this picture?


    Thursday, December 27th, 2007
  • New plug-in hybrid claims 640 miles per tank
    New plug-in hybrid claims 640 miles per tank

    Plug-in hybrids mean more than just extra spending cash for drivers, though. They could offer a new path through the maze of the electric grid, and help to boost the use of alternative energy.


    Thursday, November 29th, 2007
  • Carbon Storage: A Low-Carb Solution to Global Warming?

    Could carbon storage help control warming? The oil industry already injects CO2 into deep rocks. Is it possible to capture CO2 from coal plants, and pump it deep underground?


    Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
  • Can Ethanol Replace Gasoline? Should it?

    Global warming gets worse. Petroleum grows scarce. Should we start making biofuels bigtime? If so, should we get the ethanol from corn, or from plant wastes?


    Thursday, February 8th, 2007
  • Blast Protection: The Granular Solution

    As missiles get faster, the Navy can’t continue to rely on dumb armor. What can ship designers learn from dirt and beanbags?


    Thursday, December 28th, 2006
  • Science Meets Sports
    Science Meets Sports

    The Why Files looks at kinesiology, sports medicine, psychology and some ancient Olympic history, brought to life.


    Thursday, January 26th, 2006
  • Understanding Volcanoes

    How do volcanoes work (p. 2)? How do we predict them (p. 3)? How do they change the landscape (p. 4)? How does life return after the eruption (p. 6)?


    Thursday, October 21st, 2004
  • Ancient Universe Seen

    Astronomers have just seen galaxies from the first billion years of the universe. They are also racing to understand dark energy, the force that’s spreading the universe apart.


    Thursday, March 11th, 2004
  • Spallation Neutron Source: Scientist’s Tool

    The Spallation Neutron Source, a mammoth science project involving the collaboration of six national laboratories, is scheduled to be completed 2006.


    Thursday, November 27th, 2003
  • Nuclear Wizard Dies

    Edward Teller helped invent the hydrogen bomb, then pushed missile defense. By public advocacy and secret research, he changed the 20th century.


    Thursday, September 25th, 2003
  • Darlene Young reacts to the devastation around her house in Pierce City, Mo., Monday, May 5, 2003, the day after the town was hit by a tornado. Young says her house was spared destruction by a church next to it that took the brunt of the winds. (AP Photo/John S. Stewart)
    Tornadoes: Power & Fury

    Tornadoes kill 60 Americans each year. How do we predict tornadoes? How do we make houses safer? Where do tornadoes get their energy?


    Monday, May 12th, 2003


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