Several new solar powered items caught my eye. The Discovery Outdoor Lantern has a multi-source power solution for camping and outdoor activities. In a fixed position it becomes an incandescent spotlight. The World Band Solar & Dynamo Powered Radio has a total of four alternative energy sources. It provides access to emergency services and radio frequencies.
Thinking about alternative energy solutions is not only wise, but it could be a short term emergency necessity. The following products utilize solar power and convert to a standard 12V DC power sources.
Discovery Solar Powered Outdoor Lantern:
A noteworthy products utilizing solar power is available from the Discovery Store. The Solar Powered Outdoor Lantern runs on a built-in, rechargeable solar battery. The battery may also be recharged using a 12V DC power source. The products isuseful for emergency sources of light or for camping rips and other outdoor uses.
The Solar Powered Outdoor Lantern has a 4-watt fluorescent tube that has full circle illumination capability. In a fixed position, the lantern becomes an incandescent spotlight. The lantern has a four hour lighting capacity for a single charge. The lantern comes with a 12V car adaptor.
The convenient size 9 inches long by 4.5 inches wide and 4 inches high make it a great accessory for camping and rafting or other outdoor activities. The Solar Powered Lantern weighs less than three pounds. It sells for less than $50 and will be available in early October, 2007.
The World Band Solar & Dynamo Powered Radio:
The 11 band World Band Solar keeps the user in touch with emergency services, weather, international broadcasts, AM/FM radio and TV stations when a regular power source is unavailable. The World Band Solar & Dynamo Powered Radio comes with a built-in hand generator and a self-contained solar cell for solar charges. It can also be charged from an AC/DC or a car cigarette lighter.
The convenient size of the World Band Solar & Dynamo Radio makes it a highly portable device. It measures three inches deep by nine inches wide and less than six inches high. The radio is made with Toshiba components which provides for good quality listening. The item comes with four AA Ni-cad rechargeable batteries. In addition, the radio comes with exclusively designed ear plugs, and an AC/DC plug. The 12 V car charger cable is available, but not included with the radio.
The World Band radio will provide seven hours of listening from a single charge. The LED indicator light will forewarn the user when the battery is getting low. The product is definitely a multi-source powered band radio.
The product is new on the market and the introductory price is $105 and an additional shipping cost of $12.95. The product is sold on-line by Global Merchants.
Related stories:
NASA Satellites Discover What Powers Northern Lights
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers using a fleet of five NASA satellites have discovered that explosions of magnetic energy a third of the way to the moon power substorms that cause sudden brightenings and rapid movements of the aurora borealis, called the Northern Lights.
Eccentric pulsar system challenges theories of binary formation
An ongoing sky survey using the Cornell-managed Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico has turned up a massive, fast-spinning binary pulsar with a mysterious elongated orbit, researchers say. The pulsar and its companion star challenge currently accepted views of binary pulsar formation and give researchers a new opportunity for understanding the fundamental properties of highly dense matter.
Scientists identify origin of hiss in upper atmosphere
Scientists have solved a 40-year-old puzzle by identifying the origin of the intense radio waves in the Earth's upper atmosphere that control the dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts — belts consisting of high-energy electrons that can damage satellites and spacecraft and pose a risk to astronauts performing activities outside their spacecraft.
NASA'S Mission to Improve Predictions of Violent Space Weather
About 93 million miles from us lies an immense nuclear furnace spanning 100 Earths. In just one second, it produces enough power to supply the entire United States for nine million years. It is the closest star, our sun. Although its light powers almost all life on Earth, the sun has a dark side. Storms from the sun can knock our finely tuned technological civilization off balance, disrupting satellites, power grids, and radio communication, including the Global Positioning System. Radiation from solar storms can cause cancer in astronauts on unshielded areas, like the moon's surface.
Neutron stars can be more massive, while black holes are more rare
Neutron stars and black holes aren’t all they’ve been thought to be. In fact, neutron stars can be considerably more massive than previously believed, and it is more difficult to form black holes, according to new research developed by using the Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Paulo Freire, an astronomer from the observatory, will present his research at the American Astronomical Society national meeting in Austin on Jan. 11.
Scientists detect lowest frequency radar echo from the moon
A team of scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL’s) Research Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and the University of New Mexico (UNM) has detected the lowest frequency radar echo from the moon ever seen with earth-based receivers.
Make Way for the Real Nanopod: Researchers Create First Fully Functional Nanotube Radio
Make way for the real nanopod and make room in the Guinness World Records. A team of researchers with the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have created the first fully-functional radio from a single carbon nanotube, which makes it by several orders of magnitude the smallest radio ever made.
Phoenix Mars Lander: Radar and Other Gear Pass Checkouts
Two crucial tools for a successful landing of America's latest mission to Mars, the radar and UHF radio on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, have passed in-flight checkouts.