Hasta La Gadget!

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

This week saw several amazing feats of aeronautics as we showcased the world’s first continuous flight of a human-powered ornithopter and the sun-powered Solar Impulse plane embarked upon an incredible voyage across Switzerland. We also watched transportation take off as BMW unveiled a zippy new electric scooter, Sanitov launched a GPS enabled cargo tricycle in London, and this week’s Green Overdrive show took us off-roading on a souped-up e-bike!

Renewable energy tech also energized the globe as several countries in Central America launched plans to tap volcanoes for power and China developed the world’s first directly solar-powered air conditioning unit. Energy storage also got a big boost as Stanford researchers unveiled a new type of bendable battery made out of paper – just the thing to power the flexible e-readers of the future.

In other news, this week we brought you exclusive coverage of the greatest green designs from this year’s London Design Festival and we showcased the latest in wearable tech – instant spray-on clothing in a can! Finally, we tackled an issue that has plagued tech junkies forever – those impossible-to-open clamshell plastic packages.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: fly like a bird, bend batteries in half, and spray clothing from a can originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

From the deep blue seas to the sunny skies, this week novel renewable energy projects lit up the newswires. We watched as the world’s largest wave energy site was installed in the UK, and we were excited to see Europe’s largest wind farm get a major upgrade. We also took a look at several high-flying turbines that could potentially tap 870 terawatts of high-altitude wind energy, and we were shocked to see scientists develop a new type of solar cell made from bioluminescent jellyfish.

We also showcased several soaring advances in green aviation as the Solar Impulse sun-powered airplane rallied for a series of trips across Switzerland and Cri-Cri, the wold’s smallest electric plane, took its inaugural flight. Electric transportation also hit the streets as we took a spin in Tesla’s brand new Roadster 2.5.

In other news, this week we saw the light as Hulger brought their stunningly sculpted Plumen bulbs to market, and we marveled at a fresh new solar panel-inspired clothing line and a photovoltaic roofing system that doesn’t look like a Blade Runner prop. Finally, we celebrated the last days of summer with this awesome solar Ibex cooker that bakes and boils using the power of the sun.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Tesla’s Roadster 2.5, the world’s smallest electric plane, and solar jellyfish goo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

Solar power blazed a trail this week as we took a look at several hot new technologies, starting with SkyFuel’s SkyTrough, which is being billed as the world’s most efficient solar collector. We also saw solar energy take to the skies as designers unveiled plans for a fleet of high-flying solar robots, and we were surprised to learn that common household dyes could significantly increase the efficiency of photovoltaic panels by optimizing their color absorption spectrum.

Speaking of dye, from the realm of wearable tech we also brought you a breakthrough new technique for dying fabric that saves water by utilizing fluid CO2. We also saw a prototype for a wired “safe cuddling” suit for kids that wards off improper touching by sounding an alarm, and if you’re a fan of high-tech footwear, check out these tricked-out kicks that do double duty as Wii controllers.

This week also saw a tremendous green boost for bits and bytes as the University of Leicester switched on its hyper-efficient ALICE supercomputer, which is ten times more powerful than its predecessor and stands to reduce yearly CO2 emissions by 800 tons. Meanwhile, researchers at UC San Diego revealed work on a new mobile phone chip that harnesses “dark silicon” to boost smartphone battery life by a factor of eleven.

We also showcased several efficient autos as Southern California rolled out a fleet of all electric buses that can recharge in 10 minutes flat, and the hyper-miling Avion car embarked on a trip from Canada to Mexico with just 14 gallons of gas. And if you’ll be doing some traveling of your own back to school this fall, you wont want to miss this chance to pick up an awesome solar-powered Sakku satchel. Finally, with Labor Day on its way why not upgrade your BBQ with an adorable altoids tin mini grill – it’s curiously awesome!

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar robots that fly, CO2 fabric dye, and the dark silicon that boosts battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Love your iPhone 4? Love the Earth? Now you don’t have to choose! This is Frostfire’s new Mooncharge Hybrid Solar Battery Case for the iPhone 4. It combines your appreciation of Apple’s latest handset with you desire to not see the earth explode, or anything.

The charger serves as a hard case (and will probably nip some of those death grip reception problems in the bud when it’s docked) and charges your iPhone 4 via solar power or USB. When plugged in, it’ll give your handset an extra five hours of talk time, 27 hours of music, and 10 hours of video playback.

The device essentially works as reserve power, for when you’re running out of battery power. It runs $70. And with all of that added talk time, you can call everyone you know to let them know just how green you are.

That would be both frightening and awesome! But there’s only one way to find out. That’s why NASA engineers are all set to test their version of a “solar sail” called the NanoSail-D this fall.

The concept of a solar sail has been around for decades. It’s long been touted as a viable means of interplanetary (and even interstellar) travel. The idea works much the same way a traditional sailboat does, but instead of wind, it is propelled by charged particles from the sun (called “solar wind”) which flow all the way to the outer reaches of the solar system. These futuristic space yachts could harness this solar wind with huge sails; starting slow but steadily building speed through the frictionless seas.

To rev up to Star Trek-ish velocities, a “solar sail” would have to cover a huge area (some theorize 6 million square feet). But the NanoSail-D will start with a relatively modest 100 square feet made of a polymer no thicker than single-ply tissue paper.

The NanoSail-D is scheduled to hitch a ride on a Minotaur IV rocket as part of the payload aboard the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (or FASTSAT) and will be compacted into a container smaller than a loaf of bread before unfurling to full mast. The NanoSail-D will remain in orbit for 17 weeks and will hover at around 400 miles above the earth’s surface. The relatively low altitude means the NanoSail-D will probably not reach very high speeds due to drag created by the earth’s outer atmosphere, but this is really a proof-of-concept mission that will be a first step to making the universe a tiny bit smaller–and to bringing the dream of one day being a space pirate closer for us all.

A video description from NASA nerds it up after the jump.

Via physorg