Rain-catching tubes provide new hydropower source for tropical regions

Lightning rods provide a conductive pathway to safely steer massive electric currents

The device is positioned higher above the ground to "catch" one of the many branching filaments of electrons from clouds before they make contact with other surface structures, which have been induced to have a positive charge by overhead storm clouds. The current is then sent to a conductive grid buried underground.

Explaining how water's movement between different salt concentrations can generate electricity

Water naturally moves from regions of low salinity, such as freshwater, to regions of high salinity, such as ocean water, across a semipermeable membrane. This movement produces pressure that can be harnessed in osmotic power systems to drive turbines and generate electricity, much like in hydroelectric plants.

Rivers in the sky

A short introduction to atmospheric rivers, including a handy illustration on the science behind them, the phenomena that help transport water vapor from the tropics across the globe.

Some geothermal power plants make electricity using a secondary fluid

Direct dry-steam systems pull underground steam into a turbine-generator system, while flash and double-flash cycle systems spray extracted liquid water into a low-pressure tank, causing it to rapidly vaporize—"flash"—before moving to the turbine. Binary cycle systems use the extracted steam and water to flash a second fluid that easily boils, which then drives the turbine.

Why is hydropower important when other power sources go dark?

Hydropower can ramp up, recoup shortfalls, and stabilize the grid nearly instantaneously. A new study quantifies the energy source’s contribution to grid stability.

Atmospheric processes amplify the strength of storms by coalescing clouds

Research has shown that turbulent mixing of air at the edges of clouds and other small-scale thermal activity beneath them help clouds group together, intensifying short bursts of rainfall, especially in tropical regions. Simulations reveal this produces more powerful storms than predicted by older models, though they may occur less frequently.

The world's first AC hydroelectric power plant incorporated Tesla's engineering

Built at Niagara Falls, New York, the plant alternating current electricity was hailed as the future of power generation. Tesla's fascination with Niagara Falls is traced to his seeing a photo of the waterfalls when he was still a child.

Solar energy alone can fully power the world if transmission hurdles can be resolved

When light strikes a photovoltaic cell, electrons are loosened, which travel through a circuit where the energy can be used. Distributing energy from high solar intensity regions and storing energy for non-daylight hours is logistically challenging and costly.

Bioluminescence may provide a sustainable alternative to electric lighting

French start-up Glowee is experimenting with lights made from bioluminescent microorganisms in public spaces to reduce energy use. While the technology shows promise, challenges remain with brightness, maintenance, and scaling it for widespread use.

Check out this interactive 3D animation of a virtual renewable energy-powered island

The US Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Discovery (REDi) Island invite explorers to discover clean, renewable energy options by navigating a virtual island filled with energy efficient power generation and desalinization technologies.

The simplicity of immersed tube tunnels

Tunnels have traditionally bored holes through the earth below the water. On the other hand, immersed tube tunnels connect hollow, massive sections in trenches along the floor of the body of water. Each section is built on land, floated to the site, submerged, and connected. This method saves money by reducing expensive underground work, and it preserves an area's aesthetic appearance.

View the rainbow effect on the waters at First Landing State Park

The phenomenon results from light interacting with a thin film of natural oils on the surface of swamps and marshes at the site, not unlike the coloration seen in soap bubbles. The oils originate from decaying vegetation or from anaerobic bacteria reducing iron in soil. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

As of 2025, wave power projects remain in early research and testing phases

Waves can become a steady source of renewable energy because they do not pause like wind and solar power do. However, funding gaps and the effects of storms, salt exposure, and biofouling—mussels and other sea creatures attaching to wave machines—have presented challenges in scaling the technology beyond testing sites.

Since 2022, two-thirds of data centers have been built in water-stressed areas

In residential evaporative cooling systems, 10% of consumed water is lost to evaporation compared to 80% in data centers. Although some companies have pledged to become water-positive—replenishing more freshwater than they consume—by 2030 through a transition to air cooling, only 10% of data center operators track water use across all their facilities.

Hurricane conditions are created in a University of Miami wind-wave tank

The SUrge-STructure-Atmosphere INteraction Wind Wave Laboratory contains a 38,000-gallon wave pool connected to a wind tunnel that can generate air currents of up to 155 mph. SUSTAIN allows scientists to study how the atmosphere interacts with the ocean in extreme weather.

How are scientists turning deserts into farmland?

This article explores how engineers are using a liquid nanoclay solution to transform barren deserts into productive fruit farms, drawing inspiration from how clay particles carried by floodwaters in the Nile Delta used to improve the fertility of...

Genetically modified viruses can help construct battery electrodes

MIT scientists' modifications caused the viruses to attract conductive materials, such as gold ions, which the viruses self-assembled into nanowires that could be used in batteries. These components allow batteries to be thinner and flexible enough to be constructed into new shapes.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

A solar-powered device with googly eyes is pulling trash from Baltimore's harbor

Mr. Trash Wheel uses a conveyor belt to scoop debris from the surface of Baltimore's Inner Harbor before it reaches the Chesapeake Bay, and it runs on a combination of water current and solar power.

Ingenuity and advanced engineering have allowed trains to overcome extreme landscapes

The Jungfrau Railway utilizes electric trains powered by hydroelectric energy to ascend the Swiss Alps, while Poland's Elbląg Canal hauls ships along cable-powered tracks driven by waterwheels. Germany's Wuppertal monorail navigates bends as it glides over a river valley, and New Mexico's Holloman High-Speed Test Track can achieve speeds of Mach 8.6 for rocket sleds.

There's a bitcoin mine in remote Zambia

In Zambia, a small hydropower plant draws water to power a town of 15,000 people—and a bitcoin mine. A shipping container containing 120 computers mining bitcoin—solving complex calculations to win the reward of several bitcoin—was set up near the plant to use its cheap electricity, and share its revenue.

High-altitude kites can perform airborne collection of energy from high-speed winds

Winds at high altitude are stronger and more consistent than those near Earth's surface, where natural and artificial barriers disrupt airflow. Kites pulled by the wind can extend a tether like a yo-yo, creating electricity in an attached ground generator.

Solar panels can create pollinator-friendly habitats by protecting flowering plants

An example of agrivoltaics, where land is used for solar energy production and agriculture, the panels provide clean energy while also shading plants from excessive sunlight. Pollinator-friendly plants can improve water quality and reduce soil erosion by obstructing the wind.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

RTGs convert heat generated by the decay of radioactive plutonium into electricity

Radioisotope thermoelectric generators use a thermocouple—two plates of different metals joined at two junctions to make a closed circuit. When heating one junction while keeping the other cool, a voltage and an electric current are created.

Swimming in schools helps some fish conserve energy in turbulent flows

Scientists studying groups of giant danios swimming in turbulent waters found that the fish used up to 79% less energy than they did when swimming individually in the same conditions. The same fish were found to use the same amount of energy in turbulent and calm water when in schools.

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

The first practical silicon solar cell was developed at Bell Labs

In 1953, scientists at Bell Labs attempted to develop a power source for phone systems in remote locations, as the dry battery cells lacked the necessary longevity. They experimented with solar power, but the selenium solar cells of the time were too inefficient, eventually leading to the usage of silicon.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.