Adventure Ausrama Blog

A new more efficient battery is needed. While computer chips have made fantastic gains, batteries have stood still. Lithium dominates the market. There seems to be no choice, but new research has come up with something. Lithium batteries came to the fore in the 1970s when they superseded lead acid, though not in cars. However, litio is getting scarce. The price has risen dramatically recently. People require storage devices: demand is rising. A completely new kind of device for storing electrical energy is on the horizon. It is called the proton flow battery and has been developed within Australia. A carbon electrode stores hydrogen. During the charging process carbon couples up with protons by splitting water. When in use H2O is reproduced with oxygen from the air; thus power is generated. Protons are moved to achieve this. Another type of cell has been around since the 1930s, the vanadium redox. Despite a lot of investment this has not taken off. Countries such as the UK have ...

It is not widely known just how important bees are to maintain our food output, let alone to increase it as demand strengthens. There are so many mysteries to why bees are dying off across the world. Many theories are put forward. Unfortunately, there are few answers to the problem. We need to look after the human friendly insect. It could eventually be found that bees are being killed off by chemicals. However, like other animals bees need chemicals to treat illnesses. When they become infected they change their foraging habits seeking pollen from plants that store certain chemicals. The solution to bee die-off could lie in studying this phenomenon. Plants synthesize chemicals that attract select species of pollinators. Other substance also deter potential attackers. Herbivores have been real pests to plants for millions of years. Eating the leaves can kill plants. Insects have evolved to go where plant toxins drive herbivores away. All nectar is not the same...