Dow Tops 10,000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has topped 10,000 for the first time since October 2008! Recovery on the way? Maybe, but nothing fast, if anything. See MSNBC article after the break.

Airship Concept That Looks 85 Years Into The Future

  

This whale-like entry into KLM Indonesia's aircraft design competition reminds me of the French "Manned Cloud" concept from a few years back. The WB-1010 would seat more than 1500 people, and use a combination of super-jet, helium, and wind power.

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Planet Fixers: This Month's Innovations For a Greener Future

Smoke and Mirrors Mirrors direct sunlight onto the solar plant’s tower, heating air to run a turbine that powers 70 nearby homes. Aora/Haim Fried

Flower Power

Any blossom would stand out in the desert of southern Israel, but you’d be hard-pressed to miss a 98-foot-tall one. The tulip-shaped tower is the centerpiece of the world’s first hybrid-solar power plant, opened this summer by Israeli start-up AORA Solar. An array of 30 mirrors focuses the sun’s rays on the central steel bud. Inside, the solar energy heats air to 1,800ºF, causing it to expand and spin a turbine to generate 100 kilowatts. When night falls or clouds obscure the sun, the plant helps heat the air with a standard diesel combuster running on up to eight gallons per hour to provide consistent electricity output, unlike strictly solar plants. AORA is working with Spanish, Chilean and Australian companies to export the tech, which could be reconfigured to burn biofuel, says Pinchas Doron, the company’s chief technology officer. “Soon,” he says, “it could be green energy 24/7.”

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Dow Puts Traditional Panels to Shame With New Solar Shingle

 Product should shake up the power industry and open up new era for solar

Inventors and designers have long envisioned a roof or window that produced solar power affordably.  However, until now no company had mass produced such a device.  Instead, the consumer market was dominated by rooftop panels which require a fair amount of maintenance, are relatively fragile, and are rather expensive.
 

Slow Motion Bullet Impacts at 1,000,000 Frames Per Second