[Akram Abbas]

Scientist Gerald Watt, great grand nephew of James Watt (inventor of the steam engine) creates a fuel cell out of sugar and common weed killer that might someday power our gadgets, cars or even homes

The human body’s preferred energy source could someday power our gadgets, cars or homes.Researchers at the US-based Brigham Young University have developed the prototype for a cheap fuel cell that that runs on glucose and other carbohydrates sources, and uses a commonly available herbicide as a catalyst.

“Carbohydrates are very energy rich,” said BYU chemistry professor Gerald Watt. “What we needed was a catalyst that would extract the electrons from glucose and transfer them to an electrode.”

The surprising solution turned out to be a common weed killer known as Viologen, as reported by Watt and his colleagues in the October issue of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society. Watt shares his rather appropriate last name with his great-great-uncle James Watt, inventor of the steam engine.

The effectiveness of this cheap and abundant herbicide is a boon to carbohydrate-based fuel cells. While there are many different combinations that can be used to make a fuel cell, hydrogen fuel cells are considered superior and ‘green’ as their only emission is water vapour. However, hydrogen-based fuel cells, such as those developed by General Motors require platinum as a catalyst, which is prohibitively expensive.

The next step for the BYU team is to ramp up the power through design improvements.

The study reported experiments that yielded a 29 per cent conversion rate, or the transfer of 7 of the 24 available electrons per glucose molecule.

“We showed you can get a lot more out of glucose than other people have done before,” said Dean Wheeler, lead author of the paper. “Now we’re trying to get the power density higher so the technology will be more commercially attractive.”

Since they wrote the paper, the researchers claim to have achieved a doubling of performance. And they’re pursuing an even stronger sugar high.

[yan9085]

How influentital the Media on Teens Are
It has been a hot topic discussed heatedly for the time being that how indeed the media influence our teens. Different peopie come up with different opinions. The following passages are two different comments given by several teenagers ranging from 15 to 20.
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One, World of Warcraft power leveling Teens are the most influenced and the easiest to be influenced by
last chaos gold,the media.last chaos gold The media influence the way they dress, talk and conduct themselves. From the latest trends to the coolest celebrities, they imirate what they see, whether it's Katie Holmes's new haircut or the pink shirt that Christina Aguilera wore. So it follows that more serious actions like carrying arms or doing drugs could be copied as well.
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Young people are impressionable.aoc power leveling Therefore, some request that the media should take responsibility by changing some of the content of their shows especially those for teens. They are huge consumers of media, so networks should show them respect by promoting positive images. They think some shows confuse the lines between entertainment and life.The producers know their audiences are young, so they should realize that teens watching "reality" shows might not be able
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to tell the difference between fantasy and fiction.aoc power leveling
Opposing voices have also come from others. They think that they use the media--magazines, television and movies--to connect to one another and to the world, so naturally,they're influenced by the images the media present. For example, a boy would be lying if he said he didn't want to be like Brad Pitt. Pitt's flawless style, good looks and moneymaking talent seem to define what's "cool".
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Nevertheless,Final Fantasy XI GIL those teens hold that the media only provide information, what they as viewers do with that knowledge is up to themselves. They have to learn to make their own choices and accept responsibility for their actions. To blame entertainment figures for certain crimes committed by teens is
funny.
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It's not the fault of TV.aion kinah Media are an expression of our culture--not the cause. It's time we stop making the media a scapegoat for our nation's problems. It's not the media's job to make sure kids understand what they're watching; that responsibility belongs to parents. Parents and schools should dedicate more time to establishing clear rules of discipline.The influence of parents and teachers--the teens' true role model--carries more weight with teenagers than what they hear on the radio or see at the movies.