This week, SiGNa Chemistry Inc. unveiled its new hydrogen cartridges, which provides energy to fuel cells designed to recharge cell phones, laptops and GPS units. This a green energy source so it’s good for the atmosphere. It is also geared toward outdoor enthusiasts as well as residents of the Third World, where electricity in homes is considered a luxury.
James Dye, SiGNa's co-founder and University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at MSU created the spark for this project. His work with alkali metals led to a green process to harness the power of sodium silicide, which is the source for SiGNa's new product (Michigan State University, 2011).
"In our lab, we were able to produce alkali metal silicides, which basically are made from sodium and silicon, which, in turn, are produced from salt and sand," Dye said. "By adding water to sodium silicide, we're able to produce hydrogen, which creates energy for fuel cells. The byproduct, sodium silicate, is also green. It's the same stuff found in toothpaste", (Michigan State University, 2011).
SiGNa was built on Dye's research and develop a power platform that produces low-pressure hydrogen gas on demand, convert it to electricity via a low-cost fuel cell and emit simple water vapor (Michigan State University, 2011).
Using a similar process, Dye was able to use this power in electric bicycles. The fuel cell, developed by SiGNa's partners, ranges in size from 1 watt to 3 kilowatts and is capable of pushing a bicycle up to 25 mph for approximately 100 miles (Michigan State University, 2011).
During the last couple of weeks our class discussed: work, energy, and power. We learned that coal is the number one fossil fuel in use today. This is destroying the ozone layer and causing the greenhouse effect. If researchers continue to work hard to come up with innovate power platforms there is no telling where this research may take us. I think that going green is a great intuitive and thank the scientist wholeheartedly. So thanks again to all who are hard at work, bringing us new technology in the year 2011 and beyond. This is what science is all about! And that's exactly why science rocks!
Bibliography
Michigan State University. (2011, February 17). Hydrogen cartridges fuel laptops and phones for outdoor enthusiasts. Retrieved February 18, 2011, from Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2011/02/110217151455.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_m
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Less Dark Matter and More Star Formations found by Herschel.
The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory discovered galaxies with less dark matter and gas as previously thought to erupt into star creation. What is the Herschel space observatory? “The Herschel Observatory is capable of seeing the coldest and dustiest objects in space; for example, cool cocoons where stars form and dusty galaxies just starting to bulk up with new stars…”, (Nasa, 2009).
“Most of the mass of any galaxy is expected to be dark matter, a hypothetical substance that has yet to be detected but which astronomers believe must exist to provide sufficient gravity to prevent galaxies ripping themselves apart as they rotate,” (ScienceDaily, 2011).
Wow that’s a mouth full. That’s interesting let’s learn more about it and dig a little deeper. What is dark matter? Another definition states that “Most of the mass of the universe is believed to exist in this form. Determining the nature of dark matter is also known as the dark matter problem or the missing mass problem, and is one of the most important problems in modern astrology (Wordiq, 2010). We have discussed the law of conservation mass in class and in most situations the law of conservation of mass can be assumed valid. However, when referring to dark matter a different set of laws apply.
"With its very high sensitivity to the far-infrared light emitted by these young, enshrouded starburst galaxies, Herschel allows us to peer deep into the Universe and to understand how galaxies form and evolve," says Göran Pilbratt, the ESA Herschel project scientist, (ScienceDaily, 2011). This telescope has provided some spectacular photos. I can’t wait to see what else the Herschel space observatory will find next.I am always amazed at how science can find new uses for things that have been right in front of us ages. This is what science is all about! And that's exactly why science rocks!
Works Cited
(2009, August 26). Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Nasa: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/herschel/overview.html
(2010). Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Wordiq: http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Dark_matter
ScienceDaily. (2011, February 16). European Space Agency. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from ScienceDaily: http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2011/02/110216152345.htm
“Most of the mass of any galaxy is expected to be dark matter, a hypothetical substance that has yet to be detected but which astronomers believe must exist to provide sufficient gravity to prevent galaxies ripping themselves apart as they rotate,” (ScienceDaily, 2011).
Wow that’s a mouth full. That’s interesting let’s learn more about it and dig a little deeper. What is dark matter? Another definition states that “Most of the mass of the universe is believed to exist in this form. Determining the nature of dark matter is also known as the dark matter problem or the missing mass problem, and is one of the most important problems in modern astrology (Wordiq, 2010). We have discussed the law of conservation mass in class and in most situations the law of conservation of mass can be assumed valid. However, when referring to dark matter a different set of laws apply.
"With its very high sensitivity to the far-infrared light emitted by these young, enshrouded starburst galaxies, Herschel allows us to peer deep into the Universe and to understand how galaxies form and evolve," says Göran Pilbratt, the ESA Herschel project scientist, (ScienceDaily, 2011). This telescope has provided some spectacular photos. I can’t wait to see what else the Herschel space observatory will find next.I am always amazed at how science can find new uses for things that have been right in front of us ages. This is what science is all about! And that's exactly why science rocks!
Works Cited
(2009, August 26). Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Nasa: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/herschel/overview.html
(2010). Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Wordiq: http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Dark_matter
ScienceDaily. (2011, February 16). European Space Agency. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from ScienceDaily: http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2011/02/110216152345.htm
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