Interactive Features | Energy & Sustainability

7 Radical Energy Solutions, Made Interactive

This Web-only article is a special rich-media presentation of the feature, "7 Radical Energy Solutions," which appears in the May 2011 issue of Scientific American (subscribe here). The presentation was created by Zemi media. Find all our other interactive offerings here



 

12 Comments

Add Comment
View
  1. 1. Cramer 08:36 PM 5/16/11

    I love the graphics. For clean coal they have symmetrically aligned stack of molecules coming out of two cooling towers. Yeah, that's a big problem: we must clean up the water vapor coming off heated river water.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  2. 2. MolBioPhys 03:53 PM 5/19/11

    Beautiful. These are really creative ideas. I wonder about the potential yield if some of these methods of energy production were to be combined - namely the Salt Scrubber which cleans the carbon dioxide from coal emissions and the Syngas generator (solar gasoline). The solar gasoline generator could use the waste from the coal scrubber!

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  3. 3. ennui 08:05 PM 5/20/11

    THe only way that we can do it forever is by using Gravity Control.
    Now, power at 1 cent per Kilowatt or less.
    A Power Station can be nbuilt in the Micro, Mega or Gaga size.
    No fuel needed after start up.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  4. 4. jleb 02:53 AM 5/26/11

    Wow, missed the most important energy source.. Thorium Reactors.. no meltdown, waste safe in 10 years, non-proliferation fuel, 1200 year supply at current energy levels in the u.s. No need for coal.. no need for oil.. out of the middle east and 2 wars.. We invented the technology in 50's and 60's. Google it! I was anti-nuke till I found out about Thorium reactors.. i urge you to check it out and tell your friends

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  5. 5. swyliej 03:05 PM 5/26/11

    Amazing graphics. I love the truly interactive format. It really illustrates the concepts in an interesting and easy to grasp manner. Great job.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  6. 6. CaliforniaHal in reply to jleb 03:30 AM 6/4/11

    No you too missed the most important form of new energy ...
    Lawrence Berkeley just held a week workshop 'AHIF' and it has some outstanding results. A new (old science) RF driver for Fusion was brought forward by FPC, it has 34 years of endorsements and "no show stoppers". 35 GW potential or 500,000 barrels of oil per day as a carbon neutral fuel ... visit www.fusionpowercorporation.com too much to put in this email! It is very exciting!!
    CaliforniaHal

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  7. 7. ennui 04:51 PM 6/4/11

    GRAVITY CONTROL is the system used by the Flying Saucer. I discovered and patented it.
    Originally offered to Nasa, so that Shuttles would not need rockets anymore, it was rejected. It would make it possible to reach the ISS in one hour, the Moon in a couple of hours and Mars within one day, using a constant acceleration of ONE G, but it would make the Rocket Industry obsolete.
    These spheres under a Flying Saucer are the Propulsion Units (PU).
    They can lift a 10 or 100 ton vehicle off the ground and beyond, using a very small amount of power.
    A PU can also lift a weight of that size 300 feet in a Silo.
    When it comes down, it can activate a generator.
    A Power Station would consist of two Silos, working alternating. Power at 1 cent per Kilowatt or less.
    A Power Station can be built anywhere in the Micro-, Mega-or Gigawatts size in a few months.
    No fuel needed after start-up. It can even be used in ships.
    Look at : One Terminal Capacitor Joseph...


    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  8. 8. Newtonez3 01:56 PM 6/6/11

    The solution offered for coal is anything but radical, just a gradual amplification of what we are already doing. A radical solution: We should stop trying to clean the exhaust, after we burn coal, and, instead, refine coal, before we burn it. The Haber-Bosch process produced liquid fuel from coal for the Nazi war machine, in about 1937. A difficulty with the process, is that it is endothermic. Canadians make the mistake of burning a premium fuel, natural gas, to endothermically refine heavy crude oil. We should, instead, burn refined tar, and pure carbon, produced by the process, and route the exhaust, carbon dioxide and water, to irrigate and feed algae, putting oxygen into the atmosphere, and producing still more liquid fuel.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  9. 9. Newtonez3 in reply to Newtonez3 03:43 PM 6/25/11

    Place holder to enable E-Mail notification - N

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  10. 10. mxlntz in reply to jleb 10:27 AM 11/29/11

    I agree. Society needs to be using Thorium. Unfortunately, governments seem to avoid the issue of nuclear energy like the plague. When a large amount of the population isn't science literate, it's hard to have an actual discussion.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  11. 11. ochar 06:42 AM 12/5/11

    To add to your beautiful ad: solution that affects at least two radical issues;
    Given the genuine concern of messing with carbon, until recently buried, the atmosphere of our planet, and fear, also genuine, and especially of those who already have more than enough until his death, to dismantle the infrastructure of the current economy; arise the discovery in Panama of the RADICAL "OCEANOGENIC POWER" which Third World rulers of Panama, and therefore of the world, fail to recognize, in obedience to the popes of pseudo religious groups, as ever but with different names, full of envy and jealousy, which determines the extent of progress of the countries, and as well controlled as a result of bad past experiences in first world countries, by contrast, in the third world seeking to experience orgasms in their stupid theories.

    This project wich, it seems, it is intended like business booking for after another world war, on the contrary, if we build it already RADICALLY, additional to give us enough clean energy, we definitely would test whether global warming is caused by humans.

    And this is also to be radical

    But for apocalyptic fans: �hurray the blah blah blah! What kind of serious scientists, and worse, rational animal, if our jealousy exceed our love for the Beauty of Truth?

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  12. 12. Dr.Kamlander 02:42 AM 2/3/12

    Dear SA.My gratulations for the article. At least as interesting where for me the different comments. I studied only 2 semester at KU Lawrence Kansas. A member
    of our family is financially evolved in the use of exhaust gases to get energy out of them. Never forget the primary laws of the theoretical thermodynamic. You cannot get around them !
    Dr.Kamlander@aon.at

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
Leave this field empty

Add a Comment

You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Click one of the buttons below to register using an existing Social Account.

More from Scientific American

See what we're tweeting about

Scientific American Editors

More »

Free Newsletters


Get the best from Scientific American in your inbox

Solve Innovation Challenges

Powered By: Innocentive

  SA Digital
  SA Digital

Science Jobs of the Week

Email this Article

7 Radical Energy Solutions, Made Interactive

X
Scientific American Magazine

Subscribe Today

Save 66% off the cover price and get a free gift!

Learn More >>

X

Please Log In

Forgot: Password

X

Account Linking

Welcome, . Do you have an existing ScientificAmerican.com account?

Yes, please link my existing account with for quick, secure access.



Forgot Password?

No, I would like to create a new account with my profile information.

Create Account
X

Report Abuse

Are you sure?

X

Institutional Access

It has been identified that the institution you are trying to access this article from has institutional site license access to Scientific American on nature.com. To access this article in its entirety through site license access, click below.

Site license access
X

Error

X

Share this Article

X