Heat-Conducting Carbon Foam [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]

Man, I love high tech materials. This foam acts as a better heat conductor than most materials we know of nowadays [3.5x as efficient as my beloved aluminium] allowing for a reduction in the size of radiators used to cool fluids. Likewise, you could have much smaller radiators in homes in order to heat them. Additionally, it works as an excellent sound deadening material, which is a previously unknown phenomenon, given that insulators usually work best as either a heat or a sound blocker, rarely both.

Now, the bad news: You'll need temperatures of around 5,000 degrees Fahrenheight in order to make it. Plus, the raw material (carbon pitch[pdf]) is not cheap. Still, if there is a market, someone will figure out a cheaper way of making it.

7:26:21 PM    

Senate Votes to Require Increase in Use of Wind and Solar Power. The Senate gave environmentalists a modest victory on wind and solar power, but put off conclusive votes on broader energy policy until next month. By David E. Rosenbaum. [New York Times: Science]

While I would love to see less dependence on oil in general, the research to improve renewable energy sources simply has not kept pace with other branches of technology. We need better, safer storage of electricity than banks of car batteries to start with. At the same time, we need to encourage the use and construction of more energy efficient homes, either in lowered property taxes, or in sales taxes on the equipment that is used to gernerate and store the energy.

Next up, architects need to start designing homes that have the look and feel of what people are familiar with, but adding the touches that will allow for lower heating and cooling costs. I've long been a proponent of poured concrete homes, as the solid walls make for great noise and heat insulation, as well as standing the test of time.

10:36:22 AM