Museum of Science and Industry

Scientists at Kiel University and Hamburg University of Technology have created the world’s lightest* material, a carbon-based network of nanotubes called “Aerographite.” Seventy-five times lighter* than Styrofoam, this material has some very interesting properties. It can be compressed up to 95% and spring back without damage, it handles tension loads better than similar materials, and it conducts...

Our modern world depends on the production of electrical power, but transmitting that electricity from power plants to our homes is such a schlep! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could simply harvest the forms of energy that surround us in our everyday environment?

Scientists at MIT have created

Good news! The energy crisis could soon be over! Yes, all of our energy problems may soon be… behind us. Because scientists from Nanyang Technological University have invented a toilet that turns human waste into electricity! Yes!

Manually separating waste for processing is time-consuming, expensive and gross, which is why waste-to-power technologies have so far failed to catch on. The main advantage to this...

You’ve probably heard parents joking that their kids need to burn off some energy. What if, instead, the adults told them to go outside and make some electricity? Here's a neat idea: using playtime to produce power!

Energy harnessing playgrounds can use the movement of play to generate electricity, which can then be used to light the area at night or be stored for later....

You know what I love about plants? Their work ethic. Plants are consistently photosynthesizing to transform sunlight, water, and CO2 into chemical energy.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could use these same materials to make energy for ourselves? Well, hold on to your chloroplasts – because now we can!

A team of chemists recently achieved artificial photosynthesis by using a catalyst made from the metal ruthenium (Ru) and organic molecules. Their reaction takes water and CO2 and converts them into...