As useful as solar energy is, it still has one major Kryptonite: gloomy weather. Now, a team of Chinese engineers has developed a hybrid solar cell that can produce electricity come rain or shine, using the triboelectric effect to harvest energy from the movement of raindrops on its surface.
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Fresh air might not be quite as fresh as we think. Viruses and bacteria get swept up into the atmosphere in enormous amounts, and now a new study has quantified that amount, finding that untold billions of microorganisms are raining down across the Earth every day.
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Using a poncho is one alternative to a full-body cycling rain suit, but German inventor Thomas Schmidt has come up with another … it's a bicycle-mounted umbrella that you stick your head through.
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No prizes for guessing why this Springfield, Missouri-based project is named Cloud House. Designed by artist Matthew Mazzotta, it's aimed at relaxing visitors and highlighting the importance of natural processes like rainfall in allowing us to grow the food we eat.
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When you're driving on a rainy highway, the windshield-covering splashes created by passing transport trucks can be pretty unnerving. You can of course quickly flip your wipers up to High, but Sweden's Semcon has developed a system that is claimed to react even faster.
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If a device has a companion app that gives weather forecasts, then that means the device itself doesn't predict the weather. Nonetheless, we have seen a few app-accompanied products that make such claims. The TARAbrella, however, is different. It's an umbrella that tells you if it's going to rain.
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Cloud-seeding scientists may soon have a new tool at their disposal, with researchers in the US successfully testing a cloud-seeding drone aimed at offering a cheaper and safer alternative to current methods.
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Already home to some of the world's most ambitious construction and engineering projects, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly exploring the possibility of building an entire manmade mountain, as part of an attempt to boost rainfall in the area.
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A team of researchers in China has leveraged the remarkable properties of the wonder material to develop a new all-weather solar cell design that is able to generate electricity when current solar cells can't – when it's raining.
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Adding fenders to a bike can be a hassle, plus they often end up rattling or rubbing. That's why UK product designer Mark Stebles created his Stebles Bike – its front and rear mudguards are actually part of its frame.
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