Can Artificial Leaf Solve Impending Power Crisis?
Scientists everywhere are trying to come up with possible solution to this planet’s imminent energy crisis, but very few ideas actually get to become reality. A project developed by MIT has every chance to be successful: the artificial leaf that can create energy from sunlight and water, much like actual leaves.
The concept was first unveiled a couple of years ago and in its early stages, it required only clean water to function. But the brain behind the project, veteran biochemist Daniel Nocera has recently announced an upgraded version. The artificial leaf technology is now self-healing and able to generate energy from dirty water as well.
The artificial leaf is actually a silicon solar cell provided with different catalytic materials to be able to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored in a cell and used as clean fuel. One leaf in four gallons of water can create 100 watts of energy a day. If placed in a larger container, it can create enough energy to power up a household in developing countries for a day.
And now, with its self-healing feature, the artificial leaf can be successfully used in places that do not have access to clean, purified water and a reliable energy source. Since it is made of common materials such as silicon, nickel and cobalt, it is a highly affordable alternative to create clean energy.
If it goes into mass production, the leaf has the potential to significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy. It also marks an important step forward in achieving solar technology that can generate energy and store it for use during the night.
Scientists hope to be able to further improve this artificial leaf with technology that can convert the hydrogen obtained from water into some sort of liquid fuel. This fuel could be then used to power a wide range of electrical appliances and even portable generators and vehicles.
[Image via MIT]
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SimCity Mac Version Due June 11
Everyone’s favorite city-building simulator, SimCity, will hit the Mac platform on June 11. Developer Electronic Arts (EA) announced that the Mac version will be available exclusively as a digital release and that the popular game will from now on support cross-platform play.
The Mac version will cost $60 and will be available as a digital download on EA’s online store Origin and other digital retailers. The download will be free of charge for those who already own the game for PC. Owners of the Mac version will also get the PC version for free, as part of the developers’ push to allow users cross-platform access to their cities.
All users will be able to play the game on the same servers via Origin, regardless of what version they have. By logging into the same Origin account, players will be allowed to continue building their cities and will have access to their entire playing history, achievements and progress across the Mac and PC platforms.
The PC version of SimCity was released in March, with over 1.3 million copies sold since. EA insists that the Mac release is not merely a port of the Windows game, but a native version optimized and designed especially for this platform.
This year’s release marks the return of series creators Maxis, currently an EA division, and boasts about delivering the most personal and immersive SimCity experience ever. The game sees a significant departure from previous releases, offering full 3D graphics, a wide range of new features and gameplay changes, and the online multiplayer mode.
The game’s Mac version was initially scheduled for February, but the release date was eventually pushed back to June, which will hopefully give EA time to consolidate its servers to allow for smoother gameplay across both platforms. After its launch for PC, the game performed rather poorly as its servers were overwhelmed, drawing criticism of EA’s decision to turn the veteran city-building simulator into an online-only game.
[Image via EA]
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