At any given moment, 89,000 terawatts of solar power hits the Earth’s surface. While significant advancements have been made in harvesting this power, existing technologies do not capture the full potential of the entire solar spectrum. This limitation primarily lies in these technologies' incomplete absorption of the sun’s ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation.

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Category: Energy, Technology

Tags: KIST, American Chemical Society, Solar Power, Nanotechnology

Imagine trying to design machines that will last forever, regardless of use or destination. Instead of those machines requiring a steady stream of spare parts (essentially impossible for space probes or exoplanetary landers to haul or acquire), they’ll be able to heal their super-durable “flesh” more than a thousand times. Sound too good to be true?

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Category: Materials, Technology

Tags: North Carolina State University, Carbon Fiber, Self-healing

Ever since Benjamin Franklin’s lightning experiment in the 18th century, civilization has been intrigued by the idea of capturing lightning in a bottle. Over time, however, the idea evolved from literal to figurative. Today, we may be seeing a return to the literal. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), may have figured out a way to bottle the sun, or at least its energy, using a Dewar pyrimidone solution.

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Category: Energy, Technology

Tags: Solar Power, UC Santa Barbara, Sunlight

This tiny house embraces the small living movement's humble roots by offering a towable home for two that doesn't break the bank. Featuring a compact single-floor interior, it's currently up for sale for just US$39,000.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

Almost a century and a half after construction began on La Sagrada Familia, the exterior structure of the tallest church in the world was finally completed last Friday in Barcelona, Spain.

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Category: Architecture, Technology

Tags: Church, Sagrada Familia, Spain, Barcelona

Despite its critics and moves toward electrification, the internal combustion engine is not yet dead. Though its design for passenger vehicles may have begun to reach its apex with Mazda’s Skyactiv designs.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Mazda, Skyactiv, Engine Technologies, Hybrid, Features

Volkswagen didn't become a camper van icon all on its own. It took the good folks at Westfalia to make that happen. Will the next legendary Volkswagen camper van come from another company outside VW Group? It's too early to say, but Volkswagen is giving those companies a leg up with its latest Multivan offering. The new van comes with an available plug-in hybrid powertrain, a cockpit, a few RV basics and a whole lot of nothing else. It's an empty shell built to spark the creative minds of the existing conversion establishment and upstarts of the future.

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Category: Campervans, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: Campervan, Volkswagen, RV, Hillside Leisure, Camping, Outdoors and Camping, PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid

Downsizing can be difficult enough for a couple, but doing it with kids in tow is another challenge entirely. The Zenith tiny house has been designed to tackle this issue head-on with an extra-wide layout and a surprisingly affordable price.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Micro-House, Tiny Footprint, House, Home

The first thing you'll notice about the Artista is its attractive modern appearance, with its main entrance opening up to a storage-integrated staircase. However, there's more to this tiny house than just looks, and it includes a well-designed interior layout that maximizes its small footprint.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, House, Home, Micro-House

The US Army is turning its AH-64 Apache attack helicopter into a drone hunter thanks to a new 30-mm round for its M230 chain-gun that can take out Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) using a proximity fuse that unleashes a blast of high-velocity shrapnel.

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Category: Military, Technology

Tags: Helicopter, Apache, US Army, drones

Researchers have shown they can achieve some control over what people are dreaming, bringing a theme that has been frequently explored in sci-fi and horror genres off the page and into the lab.

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Category: Body and Mind

Tags: Dreams, Sleep, Mind Control, Northwestern University

A few years ago, I wrote a review of the Dodge Durango SRT, a 6.4-liter monster of an SUV that I said would cause parents at the school drop-off to question their life choices. Well, SRT drivers can now question their life choices as the 700+ hp (515+ kW) Hellcat model outsqueals them exiting the school zone.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Dodge, Hellcat, SUV, Reviews

HMD's new phone is purpose-built for military personnel, law enforcement agents, first responders, and infrastructure operators who find themselves in super hot or cold environments on the job. It's all about essential features for tough conditions with this one – starting from how you interact with it.

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Category: Mobile Technology, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Phone, Hmd, Rugged, smartphones

In a world first, the US Department of Defense (aka the Department of War) airlifted a complete 5-MW nuclear reactor using a C-17 Globemaster III transport from March Air Reserve Base, California to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, for assembly and operation.

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Category: Military, Technology

Tags: US Air Force, Aircraft, Nuclear, Small Modular Nuclear Reactor

For roughly a decade, Microsoft has been perfecting a high-density storage technology that uses glass, lasers, and cameras, and ensures it stays intact for millennia. That's a huge improvement over existing magnetic tape and hard drives used for archiving data, which are good for only up to a decade at the most.

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Category: Technology

Tags: Data Storage, Microsoft, Glass, Data Center, Archiving

Less than two years since it was founded, San Francisco-based startup Weave Robotics is accepting pre-orders for its first home robot, which promises to do one thing well: fold your laundry.

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Category: Robotics, Technology

Tags: Robots, Tele-operation, assistant robot

Through most of my motorcycling experience, I’ve stood by one notion: nobody does hypernakeds quite like MV Agusta. The new limited-edition Rush Titanio only reinforces that belief.

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Category: Motorcycles, Transport

Tags: MV Agusta, Inline skates, Naked bike, Superbike, Titanium

Times they are a-changin, and what was once deemed as a set of “optional” safety features on cars that one could simply disable may now soon be permanent – whether you like it or not.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Toyota, Safety, Road Safety, Autonomous Vehicles, Lexus

Inclement weather, lack of a back yard, or Draconian HOA (homeowner association) rules may no longer be barriers to enjoying perfectly cooked meats without constant vigilance. SmoqeX, a countertop-sized 3-in-1 indoor smoker, air fryer and grill is now on Kickstarter.

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Category: Around The Home, Lifestyle

Tags: Kickstarter, Kitchen, Barbecue, Food, Smoke, Grilling

Sony’s 1000X series has been the benchmark for consumer-grade noise-cancelling earbuds for years, sitting at the very top of the premium audio market, alongside Bose and Apple. So when leaks and rumors about the WF-1000XM6 began circulating a few months back, expectations were, naturally, high.

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Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: Sony, Noise-Canceling, Earphones