“The price of solar-generated electricity continues to plummet, and the technology is taking over as the least expensive form of energy in more and more parts of the world,” says solar cell researcher John Atle Bones at SINTEF. “We’re at an economic tipping point that favours solar cell technology,” he says. “Good illustrations of this from […]
Air Could Be The World’s Next Battery
Wind and sun, two unpredictable resources, are becoming ever more important as sources of energy in Europe. This means that we face a growing need for energy storage facilities, because if energy cannot be used immediately when it is generated, it needs to be stored until it is needed. The least expensive method is to […]
Speed Warning System Saves Lives And Reduces Emissions
Universal adoption of the ISA speed warning system in Norway could reduce both the average speed of vehicles and their emissions, concludes a recent SINTEF report. Lower speeds also lead to fewer fatalities and serious injuries on the roads. According to Statistics Norway, more than 2,600,000 private cars were registered in Norway last year. A […]
Microscopic Sensor For More Precise Radiology Treatments
A team of Norwegian, French and Australian researchers is the first in the world to succeed in quantifying the effects of radiation on individual cancer cells. This means that radiation therapies can now be tailored to individual tumours and thus be more effective. The recently developed sensor is the first of its kind and can […]
Even Greener Solar Power On The Way
Europe wants to reduce its needs for raw materials and raise the level of recycling of resources in the solar power industry. If this project is successful, greenhouse gas emissions from solar panel manufacture will fall by 25 to 30 per cent. “Our aim is that the solar cell industry should utilise materials that would […]
Smart Help for Phone Users
The elderly may find that using a smartphone is difficult and incomprehensible, while the disabled may encounter problems because phone operation requires delicate motor functions. But one inventor saw no reason for it to be this way – and has found a solution to the problem. His invention is a smartphone case equipped with physical buttons, as […]
Developing Tomorrow’s Degradable Electronics
Norwegian researchers are developing electronics that disappear to order. When the FM frequencies are removed in Norway in 2017, all old-fashioned radios will become obsolete, leaving the biggest collection of redundant electronics ever seen – a mountain of waste weighing something between 25,000 and 30,000 tons. The same thing is happening with today’s mobile telephones, […]