Two new clean technology alternatives for consumers

Electricity produced with fossils is diminishing while nuclear reaction has proven to impose danger for the environment. Cleaner, greener technology have been researched for a very long time by scientists but, while hailed by general public, these alternatives are not yet accepted by industries.

Piezoelectricity for laptops.

However, this might change some times in the future -- but not too far away. Citing Advanced Journal Material, Gizmag reported on June 26, 2011 that scientists from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia, has been able to demonstrate that a technology called piezoelectric, perform in nano-scale, indeed has a chance to convert mechanical stroke into electricity power.

Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, leader of the Australian researchers, stated that they focused on the thin film coatings which they believe "hold the only practical possibility of integrating piezoelectrics into existing electronic technology". She also insisted that the technology can be applied for a wide range of consumer goods, from running shoes and mobile phones battery to laptop.

In the case of laptop, Dr. Bhaskaran said that piezoelectric technology enables laptops to be powered through typing.

Samsung NC215S.

Shortly before the news was made public, Gizmag also reported that Samsung's Russian branch has been able to produce laptops which are powered by the solar power. Samsung NC215S is expected to be shipped in Rusia in August and the U.S. in July 3. The price tag for each market is, according to Liliputing.com, $500 and $399, respectively.

The Samsung netbook features, according to Clean Technica, are as follows:

• 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel matte display
• 1GB of RAM
• 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 dual core processor

The netbook will be powered by a solar panel which is embedded in the lid. The panel charges a 6-cells battery. To extend the running times, the battery is equipped with PowerPlus technology.

To get 1 hour life for the battery, the lid needs to be exposed at full 2 hours. The overall life of the battery was said to be more than 14 hours. Since it the power source is the sunlight, the netbook's 10.1 inch 1024 x 600 pixels display is designed to perform best under bright lights, even in direct light. The display reportedly will be able to offer 300cd/m2 brightness. Anti-reflective coating is also embedded to provide clear and colorful images.

Pictures were taken from here and here.