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$2 Wind Energy for the third-world

Category: ⚐ EN+engineering+open culture+research+sustainability+technologies+Uncategorized

Shawn Frayne, a young inventor based in Mountain View, California, is the creator of Windbelt, a new device for wind-energy production based on an aerodynamic phenomenon known as aeroelastic flutter.

This phenomenon is a well-known destructive force and it caused, for example, the Washington’s Tacoma Narrows Bridge to collapse in 1940 (video). Researchers at Humdinger (this is the name of the company pushing forward the Windbelt technology) have discovered that it can also be a useful and powerful mechanism for ‘catching the wind’ at a variety of scales and costs beyond the reach of traditional turbines.

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urban age – testing ground for urban future

Category: ⚐ EN+city+research+urbanism

URBAN AGE is a worldwide series of conferences investigating the future of cities by thoroughly studying the life, evolution and growth of certain cities throughout the world:

NEW YORK – SHANGHAI – LONDON – MEXICO CITY – JOHANNESBURG – BERLIN – MUMBAI – SAO PAULO – ISTANBUL

a six-year project organised by the london school of economics, directed by ricky burdett, that explores the economic, environmental, social, political and cultural processes that shape city life. continue reading