Archive for June 2013
Personalized Energy
What’s an Olympic-sized pool of water, the Sun, and an artificial leaf have in common? The solution to the worlds energy problems! Dr Daniel Nocera (lab, wikipedia) has created an “artificial leaf” that when immersed in water and illuminated by sunlight breaks water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Dr Nocera says that one pool of water contains enough energy (by rearranging its bonds) to more than satisfy our present energy demands. He envisions a energy revolution where we personally create our own energy using the artificial leaf. No more meters… No more centralized electricity production… No more grid…
Video: Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy
Video: Sustainocene: Harvard Leads a New Epoch for Humankind
Video: Dr. Daniel G. Nocera – A Solution to the Global Energy Challenge
Video: The Artificial Leaf
More YouTube videos here.
List of patents by Prof Nocera.
oOo
The Fourth Phase of Water
States of matter… We’ve been taught that there are three: solid, liquid, and gas (some also add plasma). A researcher and his team in Seattle have added a fourth for water called an exclusion zone. A nether world between solid and liquid that exhibits amazing properties.
Dr Gerald Pollack defines this fourth phase, this exclusion zone (EZ), as “the unexpectedly large zone of water that forms next to many submersed materials, got its name because it excludes practically everything. The EZ contains a lot of charge, and its character differs from that of bulk water.”
An exclusion zone is deceptively easy to create. Whenever water comes into contact with a hydrophilic (water loving) surface a EZ forms. The amazing thing about this is that within the EZ any impurities are squeezed out, plus an electrical potential is created. Even more amazing is the fact that infrared radiation (sunlight) adds energy to the EZ causing it to expand and the electrical gradient to increase.
Essentially he’s identified natures technique for purifying water and making electricity from the sun. Wow!
Dr Pollack has written a book, The Fourth Phase of Water and you can preview some sample chapters here.
Here is a presentation Dr Pollack did on electrically structured water earlier this year: Part 1, Part 2.
Here’s a TEDx talk on the Fourth Phase of Water.
Dr Pollack’s web site and some links to this research are here and here.
Here are some links to patents he’s authored:
Method and system for generating electrical energy from water
<http://www.google.com/patents/US20120067390>
Separating components of aqueous mixtures, suspensions, and solutions
<http://www.google.com/patents/US7819259>
<http://www.google.com/patents/US7793788>
Method and apparatus for collecting fractions of mixtures, suspensions, and solutions of non-polar liquids
<http://www.google.com/patents/US20110036780>
Method and apparatus for generating a fluid flow
<http://www.google.com/patents/US20110097218>
Membrane-electrode assembly for polymeric membrane fuel cell
<http://www.google.com/patents/US20020058173>
oOo
reflections on the technium 
