News tagged with solar pressure


A Brief History of Solar Sails

A Brief History of Solar Sails

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Aug 01, 2008 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (23) | comments 1

sō’lar sāil, n. - A gossamer material that, when unfurled in the vacuum of space, feels the pressure of sunlight and propelled by said pressure may carry a ship among the stars.





Search results for solar pressure


Workers at the Statkraft Osmotic power plant prototype in Tofte

Harnessing the power of salt, Norway tries osmotic power

Technology / Energy

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 4

After wind, sun, currents and tides, a company is preparing to make clean electricity by harnessing another natural phenomenon, the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater.


Cassini's Big Sky: The View from the Center of Our Solar System

Cassini's Big Sky: The View from the Center of Our Solar System

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (15) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- When NASA's Cassini spacecraft began orbiting Saturn five years ago, a dozen highly-tuned science instruments set to work surveying, sniffing, analyzing and scrutinizing the Saturnian system.


Eco-Friendly SUV Gets a Hydrogen Mileage Boost

Eco-Friendly SUV Gets a Hydrogen Mileage Boost (w/ Video)

Technology / Energy

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Driving hydrogen fueled SUVs for 431 miles per fill-up is no longer a California dream. Researchers from NREL and Toyota recently completed a 331 mile round trip drive between Torrance and ...


Fighting climate change by turning CO2 to stone

Fighting climate change by turning CO2 to stone

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (12) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- While politicians debate the best ways to cut global carbon dioxide emissions, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory's Center for Advanced Energy Studies are charging ahead on a strategy ...


A Tale of Planetary Woe

A Tale of Planetary Woe (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (11) | comments 5

Once upon a time — roughly four billion years ago — Mars was warm and wet, much like Earth. Liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in long rivers that emptied into shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed ...


Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Technology / Energy

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 3

Automakers around the world continue to slowly infuse their cars and trucks with greener, more efficient technology, but researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute contend that technology alone will not ...


Planetary Society plans new 'solar sail'

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (14) | comments 1

(AP) -- Four years after its first solar sail ended up in the ocean instead of orbit, The Planetary Society announced Monday that by the end of 2010 it will try again to launch a spacecraft that will be propelled by the ...


Willis Tower

The greening of Willis Tower: Rooftop gardens part of plan to improve efficiency

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 06, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Growing up in the southwest suburbs, Sara Beardsley had a view of the Chicago skyline from her house. Today, she is transforming that skyline, but you won't find her work glorified on a $6 mug or gracing postcards.


Hidden Territory on Mercury Revealed

Hidden Territory on Mercury Revealed

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (20) | comments 1

The MESSENGER spacecraft's third flyby of the planet Mercury has given scientists, for the first time, an almost complete view of the planet's surface and revealed some dramatic changes in Mercury's comet-like ...


A delicate grip

A delicate grip

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Solar wafers for use in the production of photovoltaic systems are extremely sensitive. In a test and demonstration center research is being conducted on grippers to determine the best way ...



List of search results for solar pressure