Nearly twelve years after the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers fell, construction workers have finally topped off 1 World Trade Center with an iconic spire. The capping of the 1,776-foot-tall building brings the structure to its full height, adding what is now the tallest building in the western hemisphere to the New York City skyline. The addition also symbolizes a victorious comeback that honors the many who lost their lives.
A crater lake in northeast Siberia is giving researchers a much better idea of how the world’s polar regions may change due to the increased saturation of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Formed by a one kilometer wide meteorite about 3.6 million years ago, the un-glaciated Lake El’gygytgyn lies 100 km north of the Arctic circle and provides the only unbroken climate record depicting the last time CO2 levels were as high as they are now. At the time, temperatures were 8C higher, the north was covered in lush tundra forests, and sea levels were 40 meters higher, The Guardian reports.
Yale researchers recently discovered a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells by a whopping 38 percent by coating them with a fluorescent dye. Polymer solar cells are popular for their low cost, low weight, large area and mechanical flexibility, according to Physorg, but they only convert roughly 50 percent of the solar energy absorbed into usable electricity. The organic squaraine dye improves light absorption and recycles electrons, thereby hastening the light to energy conversion process.
Photo via Shutterstock
When it comes to capturing solar energy, plants are first in their class. Able to function at nearly 100 percent quantum efficiency, they can produce an equal number of electrons for each photon captured. Using these photons to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the resulting electrons are able to create sugars that help the plant to live and reproduce. Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a way to harness the power of the photosynthetic process to generate a clean form of electricity. Ramaraja Ramasamy, assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering, explained how his team manipulated the biology for human advantage.
There are those who will only let their firearms be taken away from their cold, dead 3D printers. Defense Distributed, a group of IT professionals, students, and engineers located in the US and Germany, have reported to Forbes that the downloads for its Liberator gun have reached 100,000. Earlier this week, they had demonstrated their product being discharged successfully in Texas. Since then, California Senator Leland Yee has been taking steps to ban the weapon, attempting to outlaw the manufacture of 3D-printed guns.
Dutch designer Jolan Van Der Wiel created a public workshop where visitors could make their own colorful trays using natural forces. The designer, famous for creating strange, spiky objects with the help of gravity and magnetic fields, is now harnessing the power of centrifugal forces and a recycled tool he developed himself.
Marta Crass created this incredibly realistic cardboard camera without the use of any precision machining tools (like laser cutters or plotters). Measuring 6.5” x 4.5”, the replica camera is modeled after a 1960s-era Nikon camera given to Crass by her grandfather. Although it doesn’t take pictures, the beautifully crafted camera showcases the potential of recycled cardboard – and it can be yours for $150.
Via Damn Geeky
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Koostik continues to unite nature and technology with their latest handmade wooden iPhone accessory called Pivot. Similar to other speakers currently in their collection, this new Koostik speaker provides a boost of 2-4 times the volume of an iPhone’s speaker using only natural acoustic principles. Pivot can be used with an iPhone in portrait or landscape mode, making it the perfect companion for watching videos as well as listening to music!
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Back in March the NYC Planning Commission approved plans for Cornell’s new tech campus located on Roosevelt Island – and now it looks like the university is about to jump its final hurdle. The City Council just announced that it will vote to approve the 2-million-square-foot sustainable campus, and if all goes as planned, construction will break ground in 2014.
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