Many of the products we use today would have been considered science fiction not too long ago. The electric car, fields of spinning wind mills, and a plethora of solar powered gadgets are just a few items on the list. Here are four inventions that may change the way we live our lives in the future through the imagination of scientists and engineers in an endeavor to create clean technology solutions for modern day problems.
Solar Power Farms in Space
The ability for solar power to be harvested from space may become a reality in the near future. California energy utility Pacific Gas & Electric recently bought 200 megawatts of electricity from Solaren Corp. who plan on collecting it from solar panels placed in orbit around the earth in 2016. Theoretically, this type of energy harvesting wouldn’t be disrupted by the Earth’s weather patterns or it’s day and night cycle.
Artificial Trees
A team of scientists working out of Imperial College London are attempting to create leaves that produce clean fuels through copying photosynthesis. A company called SolarBotanic is currently researching the ability to create artificial trees they will then out fit with nano-leaves. The hope is to capture sunlight from the sun with the leaves and then send the energy from the sun through the leaves to be stored and utilized. The trees will be aesthetically pleasing to the eye and can be utilized wherever a need for energy exists without becoming a sight for sore eyes.
An Island of Energy in the Sea
An idea to create energy generating islands is being taken into serious consideration by scientists and engineers in the renewable energy industry. The concept involves the evaporation of warmed chemicals at the surface of the ocean, which would then produce steam. Where you have steam, you have the ability to drive a turbine, creating electricity. If a number of these small islands were connected, they could apparently create enough energy to power a small city while desalinating enough water to fill a tanker a day.
The First Artificial Urban City
The Shimizu project is a blue print for a futuristic engineering marvel. If possible, the city will be completely contained in a pyramid shaped labyrinth supported by 1,150 ft. long poles. It would stand 1.25 miles high at its peak and inhabit 3 square miles. Included in the pyramid would be everything and anything an individual would need to live their entire life. Some of the amenities would include towering skyscrapers, housing complexes, research facilities, restaurants, shopping malls, and an impressive transit system.
The passenger trains would travel through a complex system of suspended tunnels that is the same length of San Francisco’s subway but only taking up 1/50 of the space. Upon implementation, the project would be considered the largest structure on earth. The project is being considered for construction in Tokyo Bay. Its Supporters claim it would reduce the problem of urbanized overcrowding in the city of Tokyo, Japan or anywhere for that matter.
