tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185727180 2008-08-12 11:52:36 -0400 MIT News Office <p><span>In what some are calling a major breakthrough for renewable energy, MIT chemists Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan discover a new catalyst that speeds up the splitting of water into oxygen and hydrogen. The discovery may heighten interest in pollution-free fuel cell vehicles, which generate energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen chemically, emitting only water. The catalyst, made from cheap materials and working in ordinary water, may also make it easier to convert sunlight into chemical fuels, storing solar energy in much the way plants do. </span></p><p>From Chemical Explorers, Moreno/Lyons Productions </p> 613 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185671820 2008-06-18 20:17:21 -0400 MIT News Office <p>A team led by MIT students this week successfully tested a prototype of what may be the most cost-efficient solar power system in the world--one team members believe has the potential to revolutionize global energy production. <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-dish-0618.html">More info</a></p><p>Video / Patrick Gillooly, MIT </p> 205 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185650580 2008-07-10 13:46:59 -0400 MIT News Office <p>Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun's energy that could allow just that. <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html">Full story</a></p><p>Video/MIT News Office </p> 149 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185622540 2008-07-30 17:41:52 -0400 MIT News Office <p>In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn’t shine. <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html">More</a></p><p>Video: MIT News Office </p> 128 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185582740 2008-06-18 16:56:51 -0400 MIT News Office <p>A team led by MIT students this week successfully tested a prototype of what may be the most cost-efficient solar power system in the world. Here inventor Doug Wood demonstrates the solar dish's power by using it to set fire to a board held at the focal point. <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solar-dish-0618.html">More info</a></p><p>Video/David Chandler, MIT </p> 16 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185557820 2007-12-19 13:01:24 -0500 MIT News Office <p>Voyager's passage through the termination shock is illustrated in this animation. The solar wind is shown in yellow, and the heliosheath in brown. The animation shows how Voyager crossed the boundary multiple times. The blue graph at top shows the plasma data readings from which this passage was reconstructed (the gap shows an interval when no data was received).</p><p>More: <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/voyager-1210.html">MIT instrument finds surprises at solar system's edge </a></p><p>Video animation / John Belcher and Mark Bessette, MIT </p> 16 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185538460 2007-12-19 12:53:39 -0500 MIT News Office <div>This animation illustrates how the constant outflow of particles from the sun, called the solar wind, interacts with the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). Where the outflow first encounters the ISM, it forms a shockwave called the termination shock--the boundary that Voyager 2 just crossed. It is now in the intermediate zone, called the heliosheath, where the two regions interact. Within the next few years, it will cross another boundary, called the heliopause, where the sun's influence ends. </div><div>More: <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/voyager-1210.html">MIT instrument finds surprises at solar system's edge </a></div><div>Video animation / John Belcher and Mark Bessette, MIT <br /></div> 5 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185519160 2008-06-06 10:18:22 -0400 MIT Alumni Association What's needed to address the global energy challenge? New technologies, new sources of capital, and new ways of thinking. See highlights from the <a href="http://mitenergyconference.techtv.mit.edu/">2008 MIT Energy Conference</a>, and find out how MIT is playing a vital role in finding energy solutions. 467 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185497360 2009-03-25 16:39:04 -0400 Inventors Scot Frank is a co-inventor of <a href="http://web.mit.edu/mitei/education/spotlights/solar-heater.html" target="_blank">SolSource</a>, a portable solar concentrator that can be used for heating the home, cooking and electricity generation.</p> 37 tag:techtv.mit.edu,:Array/185464920 2009-06-05 16:31:38 -0400 MIT Alumni Association Solar energy has enormous long-term potential as a large-scale, carbon-neutral source of power. MIT faculty and students share how their research is leading the way for scale-up of new technologies for solar capture, conversion and storage. 450