Electricity

Salt caverns make good energy storage reservoirs as they are impermeable and don't react with oxygen.

Why Salt Is This Power Plant's Most Valuable Asset

Compressed air energy storage can help keep the grid running and pave the way for renewables

Renewables Generated Ten Percent of U.S. Energy In March

Longer days, stronger wind and reduced electricity demand helped green energy break double digits for the first time

Dr. John Cushman with the flow battery

Pour to Recharge Your Electric Vehicle

Purdue University scientists have created a liquid-based battery that could one day be recharged at a gas station pump in just minutes

Recent research found that fully one third of humanity can't see the Milky Way because of light pollution

Is Light Pollution Really Pollution?

As countries grow richer, light pollution gets worse–but some are fighting to change that

Researchers found that tadpole embryos were better able to fight off infection when their cells' natural electrical charge was manipulated.

Tweaking the Tiny Electrical Charges Inside Cells Can Fight Infection

It works in tadpoles. Could it work in humans?

The Watts Bar Dam, one of the dams that is part of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Here’s How FDR Explained Making Electricity Public

"My friends, my policy is as radical as the Constitution of the United States," he said

The material—the black blocks between the two plates, pictured here—could be used with cooking pots to charge phones or jewelry to power health sensors.

Is This New Material a Game Changer for Thermoelectricity?

Researchers at the University of Utah have developed an inexpensive, non-toxic material that converts heat to electricity

Say "arrivederci" to softly lit Roman streets and "ciao" to a well-illuminated night.

People Piqued by Plans to Place LED Lights in Rome

Foes of the energy-efficient lights take a dim view to the city's new bulbs

Charging Ahead: The Future of Batteries

Battery research is at a tipping point, and it’s never been more important

The record for lights at a home, lawn included, is 601,736 bulbs.

Untangling the History of Christmas Lights

This bright idea was ahead of its time

Eric the robot stands tall once again

Britain’s First Robot Lives Again

A recreation of the spark-spitting Eric the Robot is once again delighting audiences

Maanasa Mendu, of Mason, Ohio, presents HARVEST, her prototype renewable energy-gathering device, at the 2016 Young Scientist Challenge.

The Answer to India's Energy Crisis Could Be Blowing in the Wind

The 2016 Young Scientist Challenge winner modeled her energy harvester after a tree

Can This Electric Bus Really Go 350 Miles On a Single Charge?

Some think a breakthrough by a California company could be the beginning of the end for smoky, noisy buses

The Block Island Wind Farm should be operational before the end of this year.

Getting Up Close and Personal With America’s First Offshore Wind Farm

The newly-erected turbines off of Block Island may signal the future of American wind power

Could This Painless Brain Stimulation Help Treat Depression and Alzheimer's?

UNC researchers have shown that transcranial alternating current stimulation can help improve memory

Gorona del Viento, a hybrid power station on El Hierro that generates energy using both wind and water, has five windmills.

In the Canary Islands, Tiny El Hierro Strives for Energy Independence

A photojournalist goes behind the scenes at a hybrid power station that could help the island reach its goal to be powered entirely by renewables

Could This New Armband Prevent Thousands of Workplace Injuries and Fatalities Each Year?

Proxxi CEO Campbell Macdonald describes his cloud-connected wearable that detects high-voltage areas

Mya Le Thai holds her invention.

Did Scientists Stumble on a Battery that Lasts Forever?

Researchers studying nanowires have found a battery material that can be recharged for years, even decades

Both genius and impresario, Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla reads in his remote Colorado Springs laboratory in 1899 next to a magnifying transmitter that generates millions of volts of electricity. While far too dangerous to sit near—the image is a double exposure—his gigantic Tesla coil created the first human-made lightning.

Nikola Tesla's Struggle to Remain Relevant

An offbeat Belgrade museum reveals the many mysteries of the prolific, late-19th-century inventor

ArcAttack's lightning guitarist wears a protective Faraday suit.

When Electricity and Music Collide, the Tesla Coils Sing

The band ArcAttack delivers a high-voltage performance with a side of science education

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