FOX News reporter Rob Verger writes that MIT scientists have created a new device that can boil water without electricity. The device can “heat water to 212 degrees under just the heat of the sun, and could be used for applications like sterilizing medical tools in settings without electricity.”
Researchers from MIT and the Masdar Institute of Technology have created a new bubble-wrapped, sponge-like device that can turn water into steam using energy from the sun, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. The researchers hope that the design “could one day be used as a component in small desalination or wastewater treatment plants.”
IEEE Spectrum reporter Charles Choi writes that researchers from MIT and the Masdar Institute of Technology have developed a new floating system that can boil water using energy from the sun. "Our demonstration shows a new approach to producing low-cost solar thermal devices," explains graduate student George Ni.
Writing for Science, Robert Service describes how MIT researchers have developed an inexpensive, bubble-wrapped device that could help purify water in developing countries. The device was able to “boil and distill water with no extra solar concentrator,” Service explains, which could pave the way for the development of “large-area solar stills for about one-twentieth the cost of conventional technology.”
Umair Irfan of ClimateWire writes that a new paper by Prof. Jessika Trancik finds that renewable energy storage can be a good investment, and provides insight on which storage technologies are the most economically feasible. “One of the major technology challenges of scaling up renewables is developing economically feasible energy storage," says Jessika Trancik.
Prof. Vladimir Bulović, associate dean for innovation, speaks with Paul McDougall of Scientific American about developing a solar-powered smart phone. “You want something that can be reasonably efficient at a reasonable cost so it doesn’t change the paradigm of what your cell phone costs,” says Bulović.
MIT researchers have developed a device that enables solar cells to convert the sun’s heat into usable energy, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. Griggs explains that “this new method could double the amount of power produced by a given area of solar panels.”
A Vox article on the potential and challenges of scaling solar power cites the MITEI Future of Solar Energy report’s findings about the relationship between market penetration of solar, market prices, and solar revenues. In the article, MITEI researcher Jesse Jenkins discusses what it will take to make solar energy competitive.
MIT researchers have developed the lightest and thinnest solar cells ever produced, reports Lindsey Kratochwill for Popular Science. “Instead of the usual method of fabricating each layer separately, and then depositing the layers onto the substrate, the MIT researchers made all three parts of their solar cell at the same time."
Engadget’s Timpthy Seppala reports that MIT researchers have developed a model for estimating gas and electricity for every building in Boston. Seppla explains that, “the idea here is to use the model as a way of making Beantown more energy efficient across the board.”
BBC News reporter David Gibson writes that MIT researchers have developed a thin, transparent film that can store solar energy for later use. Gibson writes that the polymer could be used to de-ice windshields, “heat seats and steering wheels, or even let you solar charge your socks before a motorcycle ride.”
Boston.com reporter Eric Levenson writes that MIT researchers have developed a polymer material capable of storing solar energy and releasing it later as heat. The “polymer being developed would store the sun’s rays in a chemical reaction that is then converted into heat,” explains Levenson.
MIT researchers have developed a self-sustaining water-purification system for a remote Mexican village, according to The Guardian. “The villagers are able to operate and maintain the water purification system themselves,” The Guardian reports.
New York Times reporter Eduardo Porter writes about the lack of investment in developing technologies to combat climate change, highlighting a recent MIT report on the future of solar power. In the report, MIT researchers examined the challenges to making solar a bigger share of the world’s energy.
MIT engineers have developed an ultralow-power circuit that can efficiently harvest energy from solar power, reports Robert Ferris for CNBC. Ferris explains that the circuit “lends itself well to creating self-powering electronic sensors that can be used in a wide range of applications.”