Gearfuse

We’re digging this eco-friendly goodness from the folks at Windation Energy Systems. If you couldn’t guess by the name, they deal with organic means of producing wind energy. The developer of Windation’s latest wind turbine, Mark Sheikhrezai, was inspired by wind catchers used by the Persians to keep their interiors cool.

The concept is simple: wind blows into the top, then it’s directed downward where the wind turns a turbine that generates up to five kilowatts of electricity. That’s almost as good as saving the environment while working out, but even better because you can sit on your ass all day. We approve.

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Swedish company Home Energy has not forgotten about our energy independence even if our leaders of tomorrow have.  It’s made a wind turbine shaped as a sphere called the Energy Ball.  Home Energy claims that the shape allows for higher aerodynamic efficiency in comparison to traditional design as well as complete silence during operation.  The Energy Ball comes in two models: The 0.5 kW Energy Ball V100 has a price tag of $4,600 and the 2.5 kW Energy Ball V200 sells for $8,100. The prices might seem steep, but think of the energy you’ll be saving.

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Tuesday night at the National Clean Energy Summit, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City expressed his vision of a cleaner more green New York. He urged the need for energy-efficient design and proposed alternative methods of obtaining power, whether it be by wind or solar means. He goes as far as suggesting to add wind turbines to both the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building, a move that would dramatically change the NYC skyline.

But with good intentions, Bloomberg hopes to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 30% before 2030 making New York the cleanest air of any large American city.  Our hats are off to you Mr. Bloomberg, we wish more leaders cared about our well-being as much as you do.

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A revolutionary skyscraper by Italian architect Dr. David Fisher is planned for Dubai. The unnamed tower will be 80-stories high with revolving floors that alter the shape and form of the building. With the aid of an immobile cement core, spinning floors rotate around the core while staying connected to it. This will give guests of the building a constantly changing view of the city and surroundings. Wind turbines are installed between every floor, which generates enough electricity to power the entire building, making it self-sufficient.

That’s not all. A building is also planned for Moscow in 2010. The Moscow tower, though only in its design phase, will contain 70 floors and be 1,310 feet tall. With all these shape-shifting towers, you’d think they would’ve thrown the U.S. a bone and built one here, considering we’ve lossed two of our best buildings. No worries, we still have the greatest rotating tower of all: the Seattle Space Needle.
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Whether you’re trying to score green tax credits or just help the earth out a bit, the $5000 Windspire is definitely the way to go. Designed by Mariah Power, the Windspire comes with all the equipment you need to start generating power from the wind. Due to the vertical-axis the Windspire uses, people in tighter/urban areas will find it fits into tight space.

Though it seems like a great idea and a way to save the planet, it’s certainly not practical. The Windspire towers 30-foot high and has a 2-foot radius.

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Scientists have found a way to mimic natural healing processes and apply their effects to aircrafts used in commercial flight. The technique maintains small-scale damage that could be overlooked during an inspection. It’s not a permanent solution to maintenance, but a great compliment during flight.

This simple but ingenious technique, similar to the bruising and bleeding/healing processes we see after we cut ourselves, has been developed by aerospace engineers at Bristol University, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It has potential to be applied wherever fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are used. These lightweight, high-performance materials are proving increasingly popular not only in aircraft but also in car, wind turbine and even spacecraft manufacture. The new self-repair system could therefore have an impact in all these fields.

But, as stated, this is only the first step of integrating this technology into our everyday use. It’ll be four years before we see this technology applied to commercial use.

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Urwerk took their opportunity at SIHH 2008 to unveil their new 202 Hammerhead Automatic wrist watch which has a innovative new winding rate which is geared with fluid dynamics. For over a century, watch makers were playing around with watches powered with air friction, aided by a traditional rotating vane, much more reliable then the old sand-powered hour glass.

The 202 Hammerhead replaces the traditional vane with two mini-turbines which act as mini air compressors. These turbines give the sexy Hammerhead a dynamic flair, as you can watch them move on the rear of the watches face. And oh yeah, it looks really sexy.

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So, the HyMini might be much ado about nothing, but it’s still pretty impressive and potentially a great idea for green integration in the future. Dubbed as a “mini green hybrid power station”, you charge the HyMini up from a main. When you go out for a bike or car-ride, attach the little guy to your vehicle, and the wind turbines will trickle charge your device.

You can even add a solar panel on for more of a power managing effect. To move the turbines enough, you have to be traveling at least 9 mph, and 40 mph at the fastest, lest you break the chintzy gadget in half with pure velocity. Ports for most cameras, phones, and other mobile devices are available. Get yours for $49.99. (more…)

Rule one of being a soccer mom: get the carpool to practice on time. If you fail at that, you just aren’t a true soccer mom. The Jet Turbine Powered Minivan not only gets your kids to practice on time, but most likely gets them there a few hours early while incinerating all of the cars which fall behind in your wake.

Capable of traveling 1/8th of a mile in 7.65 seconds at 96mph, the Jet Powered Minivan packs in a jet engine with a motorized rear glass window liftng up to expose the exhaust ports. (more…)

Speaking of R2-D2, this M.A.R.S. Floating Wind Generator looks a lot like a flying R2 droid on its side. This helium-filled, horizontal-rotating M.A.R.S. (Magenn Power Air Rotor System) will go into production with its 4.0 kw unit this year with 7 more models planned for release in the next 4 years. The 2010 and 2011 planned models will be able to power a small town on their own.

The generated electrical energy travels town its 1000-foot tether rope, with the energy available for immediate use. With its helium, balloon-like flying system, M.A.R.S. can fly higher than other wind turbines, able to reach altitudes with much higher wind speeds. (more…)