Yet another step toward ending the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels. Invented by Bakul Dave and Robyn Obert of the Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, the process effectively reverses the chemistry of burning. It promises to be a highly efficient way to produce methanol, a clean-burning fuel that can be used to power cars. What's more, if the energy needed to drive the process came from sources that don't generate CO2, this fuel could be produced and used without adding to the greenhouse effect. While this story focuses on small batteries for portable communications devices of various sorts, the possibility of taking this technology to household size looms large.
Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly to electrical energy.
The basic concept of a fuel cell originated in 1839, but practical applications came from NASA in the early days of space flight. These new miniature cells, each measuring about one inch square and less than one-tenth of an inch in thickness, use a reservoir of inexpensive methanol that, when combined with the oxygen in the air, produces electricity. A fully searchable etext of this classic reference. Secondly, Consider what part of the body is afflicted by the disease, and whether it lies in the flesh, or blood, or bones, or ventricles. The newest CD from the Dry Branch Fire Squad, Memories That Bless and Burn , is one of the finest records I have ever heard.