Battery goo is like gas for electric cars, but better

Vial of battery goo with a prototype battery behind

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Electricity is nothing like gas. You can't just pump a tank full of it into your electric car, which means that we're reduced to lengthy charge times or inefficient compromises likebattery swap stations. MIT researchers may have come close to solving this problem with a battery goo that you can pump just like gas.

They're calling this black sludge "Cambridge crude," and it's really two different types of goo, each holding charged particles suspended in semi-liquid electrolyte, sort of like how quicksand is comprised of sand particles suspended in water. There's anode goo, and there's cathode goo, and when the two goos are separated by a goo-separating membrane, charge moves from one goo over to the other goo, generating current to power your car.

When all the charge has been used up, you can pull over to a goo station, which will suck out your used goo and pump new goo back in. Or, when you get home, you can plug your car into a wall socket and recharge your goo that way. So it's like having all the advantages of being able to pump gas, with the added advantage of being able to fill up at home, too.

And it gets better. The goo batteries are cheaper to build than conventional lithium-ion batteries, and they're not dependent on any particular goo chemistry, so as we get better at cooking up more efficient and tastier goo, we can just pump that in instead. The MIT team received a DARPA grant to make this all happen, and by 2013, they should have a reduced-scale system operational and serving as a prototype replacement for electric car batteries.

Giant Japanese tower sucks up wind to generate electricity

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Japan has taken a recent interest in alternative forms of power generation, and one of their latest ideas is this 160 foot tall hexagonal tower that works twice as efficiently as conventional wind turbines, without giant spinning blades of death.

Now, I know what you're wondering. You're wondering why this tower contraption is necessary when we already have such good luck with regular old wind turbines, the ones that look like giant propellers. Well, besides being a menace to both birds and majestic vistas, my gut feeling is that since they look like giant propellers, they probably generate enough thrust to slowly but surely speed up the rotation of our planet until at some point in the future, days will last only minutes, minutes will last only seconds, and seconds will barely last long enough for you to wonder why the days are so short all of a sudden.

It's entirely possible that I'm dead wrong about all of that stuff, but why take the risk? And Japan, I assume, agrees with me, which is why this tower is designed to suck in wind from all directions at once, funneling it down a tunnel through the center of the structure and compressing it to spin turbines and generate electricity:

The tower can harvest wind energy over its entire surface area, and is about 2.5 times more efficient than a conventional turbine system while costing half as much to maintain. The design comes from Zena Systems, and they're planning to build it Fukuoka, Japan

The plan is to turn the moon into a solar power plant

Japanese visionaries at construction firm Shimizu Corporation take that saying "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood" literally, with six of the boldest megaprojects ever imagined. Topping the list is Luna Ring, a lunar solar power plant. It's a 6,800 mile belt of solar panels built around the moon's equator, whose power is transmitted back to Earth using microwave and laser wizardry.

There's no need to transport all the raw materials to build this gigantic plant to the moon — it will be built by robots using moon rocks and dust. These guys have even figured out a way to create water with lunar soil and hydrogen mixed together. We think unicorns might be involved, too.

Anyway, once all that energy is gathered and transmitted back to Earth, it's converted back into electrical power at numerous terrestrial power stations. This might be a great idea if no one's invented a practical way to achieve fusion yet by the time all this technology is finally figured out.

This is just the beginning for these forward-thinking geniuses. Check out their five additional far-out ideas, and see if you can pick which one will actually happen. Either way, it pays to dream.

Via Pink Tentacle

Man builds robot that drinks polluted water

Most of us grow up thinking that clean water is good, while polluted water is bad, but that's only because we approach these things from a human perspective. Just as plants rely on the carbon dioxide that we breathe out, each living thing exists in a biosystem where plants and animals need each other to survive. Mexican artist Gilberto Espaza has used this thinking to create his Nomadic Plants, and in the process, he teaches us something about the world we all live in.

Each plant is a self contained cyborg that holds both plants and micro-organisms, along with a microbial fuel cell that powers the robot. Whenever the robot senses that it needs nourishment, it will seek out a source of polluted water and take a drink. The robot uses the water to feed the plants and microbes, which in turn feed the microbial fuel cell that powers the mechanical parts of the Nomadic Plant.

Espaza's goal is not to actually solve our pollution issues, but more to demonstrate that solving the world's problems can involve thinking outside the box, something he's clearly pretty good at.

The Nomadic Plants are being exhibited at the Laboral Art and Industrial Creation Center in Gijon, Spain, through June 7th.

Plantas Nomadas, via GizmoWatch

Solar Powered Charger May Do Wonders For Developing Nations

Humanitarians aim to bring light to the world, and this Solar Pebble could do literally that, charging up its batteries on sunny days and lighting up the night. Aimed at developing countries where electricity is often scarce, it's packing enough power to charge up cellphones and other small devices, too.

For easy carrying and more useful placement, there's a ratcheting stand/carrying handle on the back that helps tilt this sucker toward the sun for charging, also perfect for aiming its LED light right where it's wanted.

Adam Robinson of Plus Minus Solar designed his solar device as a low-cost convenience item for those who don't have access to the electrical grid. Unlike this $50 solar lantern, the Solar Pebble is designed to be dirt cheap; now all he needs is a humanitarian with deep pockets to ship millions of these babies where they're most needed.