Your home could be lit by jellyfish in the future

This technology could close the gap between nature and the man-made environment.

Imagine a future lit by bioluminescent LEDs that not only use fewer of Earth's resources to manufacture, but also improve your mood by mimicking the sun throughout the day.

Keep reading Show less
sustainability biology energy technology science electricity innovation

In one coal state, renewable energy is set to win by 2028

Indiana ranks 3rd in coal consumption, but a primary energy utility there just declared the end of coal by 2028

(DAVID YOUNG/AFP/Getty Images)
  • Where politicians fail, economic realities mean renewables are far less expensive: A savings of $4 billion over the next 30 years
  • Indiana is 7th in coal production and 3rd in consumption; this is due to change rapidly
  • The big winners? Solar and wind energies
Keep reading Show less
solar energy Wind energy big problems electricity natural resources

Scientists can now bottle solar energy, turn it into liquid fuel

The barrier to solar energy has always been storage. Now, bottled sunshine has a shelf-life of 18 years.

Image: Zerbor/zapulzon/Shutterstock/Big Think
  • Researchers have invented a liquid isomer that can store and release solar energy.
  • The team has solved problems other researchers have previously encountered.
  • The discovery could lead to more widespread use of solar energy.
Keep reading Show less
future electricity sun innovation invention alternative energy solar energy

New, MIT-made battery is powered by CO2

In the near future, we might use the toxic gas to power homes.

Shutterstock/Big Think
  • New research from an MIT team has resulted in a proof-of-concept battery that uses a CO2-based component.
  • The research made innovative use of technology from existing carbon-capture processes and applied it to battery systems, potentially circumventing the high cost of carbon capture and the inefficiency in prior CO2-based batteries.
  • The system could be installed in power plants to capture excess carbon dioxide and use it to store energy.
Keep reading Show less
alternative energy electricity innovation energy materials pollution batteries environment

Scientists blow up their lab after creating strongest magnet ever

It's a record magnetic field, but... yeah. That didn't last long.

Photo: The University of Tokyo.
  • Scientists knew that it would probably explode, but they did not expect to reach such a record magnetic field.
  • Magnetic fields are measured in teslas, after Nikola Tesla.
  • This one reached a record 1,200 teslas, 400 times stronger than an MRI; watch it explode in the video
Keep reading Show less
electricity Nikola Tesla magnetic field energy Science