Articles by Chris Schults

Powering rural areas with freakin’ laser beams

As part of their special report on wireless technology, Wired reviews the possibility of wireless power beams:

[S]cientists have shown that one can generate power, convert it to lasers or microwaves, beam it to another point and reconvert it into electricity. Such a system could beam power to hard-to-reach rural areas without running expensive power lines -- or could even beam it down to Earth from power stations in space.

But while proponents argue that wireless power beams could solve the world's energy problems, skeptics aren't so sure. In addition, the concept hasn't proven itself as a practical energy alternative: at least not yet.

If you think this all sounds too crazy, consider this:

One long-sought application is aviation. In 1987, Canada successfully flew its Stationary High Altitude Relay Platform aircraft using power generated from a microwave beam on the ground. In 1992, Japan successfully flew its own version of a microwave-powered plane as part of a project known as MILAX.

And in October 2003, NASA actually used a ground-based laser beam to power the flight of a tiny 11-ounce aircraft made of balsa wood and carbon fiber tubing, and covered in Mylar film.

Others have imagined terrestrial networks of power-beaming stations that could fuel electric cars and other vehicles, which would essentially "top off" every time they passed by a station. Some could power up vehicles at stoplights.

Considered Animation

If you thought Nike's Considered line of shoes was weird, just check out this video. Cool, but weird.

(Via PSFK)

What is your position on smoking?

Food production and transportation have been popular topics of late thanks to numerous posts by new Gristmill contributor Tom Philpott, loyal Ask Umbra readers, and the fight over synthetic ingredients in organic foods. But regardless of which side you find yourself on the various issues, there is no denying we mere mortals need food to live. So how about taking a look at another type of crop we don't need to survive: tobacco.

According to one Ask Umbra article, where a reader seeks green reasons to quit smoking:

Smoking is horrid, and the harm you are doing to your own health is just the icing on the toxic tobacco cake. From seed to smokes, those little white sticks leave a swath of death in their wake. Pesticides, pesticides, pesticides -- no large-scale crop is grown without 'em, and you can bet your tobacco has been sprayed right up to the moment of harvest and beyond. Every time you purchase a pack, you are supporting the chemical companies that make the pesticides and contributing to water pollution, habitat destruction, and the pesticide poisoning of farm workers and their families.

And she doesn't stop there folks:

Why did it take so long?

Over on Wired's car blog Autopia, John Gartner reports:

Some of the heavyweights of chemical research are bonding together to use computer modeling to develop new automotive fuels. The nucleus of the group includes L'Institut Francais du Petrole, Dow Chemical, Chevron, and Reaction Design, plus auto companies Mitsubishi, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Toyota.

The group will use simulations to explore new chemical combinations that could lead to cleaner and higher performance fuels. This sounds like a worthwhile venture, but why did it take so long? It's not like computer modeling is new, but I guess the inevitably of petroleum scarcity is finally prompting cooperation.

Why? Maybe greed, power and short-sightedness? Or could it be ...

Coincidentally, Booz Allen Hamilton (which is a consulting firm and not a drunkard founding father) just issued a report saying that chemical companies who spend less on R&D actually grow faster than their competitors. Talking about snuffing out a spark...