 |
Bloom Box Brick Powers Your Home
The Bloom Box is a device that Bloom Energy claims will run on any fuel, from fossil fuel to biomass, and produce reliable electricity for your home or business. Apparently, a brick-sized device could meet the power needs of a typical home and save you money over traditional power sources.
The Bloom Energy website isn't worth visiting; if this story hadn't been on Sixty Minutes last night, I wouldn't have presented it. Apparently, this device is the result of about $400 million in venture capital, and has larger units at work at companies like eBay. So, take it with a grain of salt.
Here is a picture of pair of fuel cells needed for an American home.
The Bloom Box's catalytic plates consist of a stack of ceramic plates interspersed with an unidentified 'cheap metal alloy' - other similar cells require expensive metals such as platinum.
(Bloom boxes for your home)
Although this device obviously requires you to add fuel (gaseous fuel, like natural gas or methane from biomass), the idea of a little box with big power is an enjoyable science-fictional concept. Fans of Robert Heinlein recall the Shipstone from his 1982 novel Friday.
If you like the idea of small but powerful energy-producing devices, you'll be energized by these small-but-powerful stories:
- EEStor Ultracapacitor 'Battery' And Heinlein's Shipstone
- Betavoltaic Battery: 30 Years Of Power
- Hyperion Power Module Neighborhood Nuclear Reactor
From TGDaily; thanks to an anonymous reader who submitted the story tip and reference. Also, you can go can go to Popular Science to see the very detailed Sixty Minutes piece in its entirety - but beware, you'll need to get past the commercial.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/22/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Seabreacher, H.G. Winter's 1939 Torpoon
'Ken lay full-length in the padded body compartment, his feet resting on the controlling bars of the directional planes, hands on the torpoon's engine levers.' - HG Winters, 1939.
Project Soli Radar Gesture Chip Now FCC Approved
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.' - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
Implosion Fabrication Shrinks 3D Objects To Nanoscale
'Carter had watched miniaturization a hundred times...' - Isaac Asimov, 1965.
ODYSSEUS Solar-Powered Stratospheric Plane Flies Forever
'The planes flew continuously, twenty-four hours a day...' - EB White, 1950.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Skin Electronics Can Show Electrocardiogram
'... the young men in the streets who applied polyimde OLED body film to their bared shoulders.'
Chinese Fern Helps Remediate Arsenic Soil
'Bioengeering had put out a spec report on the long crawly things five months back.'
Skai Air Taxi Costs The Same As Uber
'The air-taxi found its way past and around other ground-cars...'
Neurodevices For Consumers? Neuroethicists (And Philip K Dick) Say 'Caveat Emptor'
'They tried to use it today and it wouldn't work. No colors and no ceph patterns, neither one...'
NASA 3D Printed Habitat Challenge Won By AI SpaceFactory
3D printing - on Mars!
The Future Of Elon Musk's Neuralink
'Cerebral Electromagnetic Emmission Amplification and Relay System — call it artificial telepathy, if you like.'
Researchers Make You Say Anything in Videos
'[It] caused his televised image... to mouth the vowels and consonants beautifully.'
Jeff Bezos Tries Waldoes (Robotic Hands)
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him...'
Asimov and Musk - Boring Company Tunnel vs. Street Race
'There was almost no sound, just a steady velvety whirr as the taxi sped along.'
Project Dylan - Amazon's Voice-Activated Wearable That Recognizes Human Emotions
Life imitates anime art.
Tesla Diagnoses Itself, Sends Part Request
'Tentacles emerged from the side of the machine and felt puzzledly at the damaged area.'
Lilium Electric Air Taxi Prototype
'The air-taxi found its way past and around other ground-cars...'
Swedes Premiere T-Pod Driverless Electric Truck
'the trucks gulped packages and scurried like beetles...'
HEL TVD Laser System To Be Built By Dynetics Lockheed Martin
'Forthwith flashes of actual flame, a bright glare leaping from one to another, sprang from the scattered group of men.'
Alcarelle Synthetic Alcohol Like Star Trek Synthehol
Bottoms up!
Datagrid Model Generation Perfect For Eternal Cities Of Science Fiction
'... there was enough flexibility to allow for wide variation.
