The green movement is sweeping the planet. More and more users are becoming more aware of the environment and their impact on it and are taking measures to help out. Manufacturers are also slowly getting on the bandwagon and are taking their own measures to make make their own contributions as well. [Read more…]
Earth Day Gadget: The dAlH2Orean
It’s Earth Day today. How’s your carbon footprint? You probably know the principle of little things add up over time, so every little way that you can lower your carbon footprint helps.
Here’s another “little” thing that can help you contribute to the fight against global warming – and in a fun way, too! I am talking about a Hydrogen-powered remote controlled car that runs on soda can rings. Ridiculous as it may sound, I am not pulling your leg.
Without further ado, here is the Earth-friendly RC car named the dAlH2Orean. (Cool play on words/characters, if I may say so myself.)
So how does this work? Go back to the times you spent in Chemistry class. Okay, maybe you were absent when this was taught, or maybe you simply weren’t paying any attention. Get some aluminum. Then get some sodium hydroxide – otherwise known as lye. If you combines these two, what you’ll get is – you guessed it – hydrogen. That is what powers this RC car. Even cooler is that they use soda can rings – which is made of aluminum; recycled soda cans! That is rather simple, isn’t it?
The main thing is how to get that hydrogen and use channel it to actually make the car run. Otherwise, you’ll just be releasing air for no reason. That’s where engineering know-how comes into the picture. The team of engineers from Spain put their heads together and got the car working! As you can see in the video, they did a pretty good job.
Now playing around with RC cars powered by a reaction between aluminum and lye is one thing. Using the same concept to power road-worthy cars is a totally different story! The engineers, however, are unfazed. They are actually aiming to extend the concept to power small vehicles. Road-worthy cars may be out of the question for now, but think about those tiny carts used in golf courses or big resorts. Think about trolleys that take you around large complexes. It is not unthinkable that in the future, these can be run using recycled aluminum and lye. Awesome or what?
For now, I’d settle on having my own dAlH2Orean or two. Who wouldn’t?
Via dAlH2Orean
Recycled Paper Alloy May Make Future Gadgets Better for the Earth
Just because you love gadgets does not mean you throw all caution to the wind when it comes to being environmentally friendly, does it? Indeed, more and more, developments in the realm of technology include Mother Earth in the list of considerations. After all, it is only to our own benefit to do so.
Now take a look at that image again. Hard as it may be to believe, that is not entirely made of plastic! The casing is actually made of recycled paper and polypropylene alloy. True, polypropylene is still considered a plastic, but with the incorporation of recycled paper, the use of plastic is significantly reduced. And you don’t even have to worry all that much about the trees as the paper used is recycled. Can you think of a better way to get rid of the stacks of paper that you have lying around the house?
This technology is the brainchild of PEGA Consulting Group ((PEGA)), which was showcased at the Milan Furniture Fair. More than being environmentally friendly – everyone claims this about their products these days anyway – is there anything else that points to the success of this new material for casings for gadgets?
Definitely. One may think that paper is too fragile, especially for electronic devices that may be exposed to a lot of wear and tear. However, the resulting alloy has properties which allow it to perform as good as – or even better than – the plastics used today. The Paper PP Alloy is strong, sturdy, and yet flexible.
On the consumer side, the development of the Paper PP Alloy means lessening our individual carbon footprint and yet getting value for our money. According to PEGA, the materials and processes used to create the alloy are not expensive, so this might mean savings on our part. I am not too sure about that, though. One thing is for sure – the manufacturers do not have to make major changes in their processes since the current injection molding method can still be used with the alloy.
It does not come as a surprise that the group has already received an award for this development. It should also not come as a surprise to us if we see gadgets using this material for their casing in the near future. Oh, and in case you really are into good – and environment friendly – design, you really ought to browse PEGA’s web site. It is a veritable treasure trove of eye candy!