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Yes, we know that electric battery cars cost as much to run as petrol ones, but demand is increasing. An Australian company is planning to make the little beasties. The number of quiet cars purchased increases by 40 percent every year. Australasia has had a slow uptake, favoring combustion engine powered motors. ACE Electric Vehicles (formerly GetGreen) intends to alter that. The business began by producing solar farm equipment. It is based in regional Queensland. The firm has patented its manufacturing process. Production will start later in 2018. To suit the Australian market a ute (Yewt) is the going to be the first model offered. This will be followed by a van aimed at commercial operators. They will be basic products selling for less than $40,000. The power train will give 40 kilowatt per hour with a range  of 350 kilometers. While it will be ticketed as an item of Australia, only assembly will be done here. Manufacture of components will be in China. The long term goal i

The  Ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection system is widely used throughout the world to produce clean water.  However, it has problems that are seldom mentioned. Microorganisms are removed but salts, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and chlorine are not.  The method does use huge amounts of electricity, so there is always the danger of outage.  If the base water has solids this blocks light and it does not work. purify New in Way on Water Discovered purify Scientists have been trying to find another way for a long time.  The Australian National University has managed to identify and alternative. Organic pollutants are decomposed by using modified titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst on sunlight.  Nitrogen and niobium atoms boost the process.  Discovered water purify ways new. The technique has a wide range of uses, for drinking water, making hydrogen fuel, glassmaking, and self-cleaning building materials.  It is more cost-effective than the existing approach

Chemistry: Stomata on plant leaves shows the way to predict climate change. It looks like the future is going to be very hot - in Asia at least. Oddly it will not get drier. With more carbon around plants will not need as much water, so grass will grow everywhere. A 5 degree rise in temperature is expected by mid-century. High humidity will make life unbearable.. Plants have a significant effect on the climate in general. This has been ignored in the past. Scientists are now examining it. More efficient use of water means less water in the atmosphere which increases temperature during the day.   Spring will arrive earlier as the climate itself changes. A study of stomata, tiny spores on leaves involved in carbon dioxide absorption and the shedding of water, has provided information on how plants affect the weather. It was initially for understanding how plants work, but it has ultimately been applied to the study of climate change. ◆ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan   ◆

Size matters when it comes to sex. When in the orchid world it does anyway! The plants rely on wasps for fertilization. Apparently, male wasps are attracted to the largest orchids. Shape of plants also has a role. Orchids are a replica of female wasps, in shape and scent. Two orchids who had two kinds of wasps enamored with them were observed. The wasps did visited both types of plants but they spent more time "copulating' with their favored orchid. Scent is offered to male wasps on little black beads. This only attracts males to the flowers. Once there, shape and size of blooms affects whether wasps stay or go. Orchids also benefits from this because plants with larger flowers are fertilized and they produce the next generation of orchids. ◆ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions Blog                Australian Blog   ★   Adventure Austral

Why do plant seeds in Australia start germinating after a fire? It is because of Karrikin Insensitive2 (KAI2) a protein which has been present in plants for millions of years. KAI2 has been important for all plants for 400 million years. When the KAI2 protein was removed from a higher, more recent plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, its leaves malformed. Yet splicing the KAI2 back by taking it from the ancient Selaginella resulted in improved A. thaliana growth, but it could no longer detect the presence of smoke the normal function of KAI2. This finding shows the more general function of KAI2. It not only identifies karrikins in smoke, it is important for plant growth. "Sensing" is the main purpose of KAI2. Apparently it can be tuned to detect different things. This could help farmers control seed germination times. Wheat is notorious for germinating in the grain during heavy rain periods. Being able to spray a chemical that stops this would save millions of

No longer will Australian farmers waste their time working land that has no future. Satellite technology has improved to the point where moisture level of farmland can be determined. Waiting for rain that will make no difference is info that farmers can now 'bank' on. Measuring moisture level is now something done by computer, from aerial surveys. The labor-intensive, time-consuming chore is a thing of the past. Soil that has potential rejuvenation can be targetted. The cost is out of the reach of individual farmers at present but the price is falling. It is possible, if use of the new technology becomes widespread, that the output of certain crops can be estimated. Potential shortages will be foreseen and action taken in future plantings. When weather predictions are included the position of markets months ahead will be known. ✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://advent

Just when you thought the game was over a new species has been identified in Australia. In the darkest depths of tropical north Australia where there are wild crocodiles roaming freely a new waterlily has been found. A team of Australians and representatives of Kew Gardens in London scoured the Western Australian land searching for something new. It is amazing that  it was not identified before. The water flower is a beautiful purple and white. It was in an isolated spot situated in an oasis of water near Gibb River. The Kimberley region is surely the place to be with new dinosaur fossils located there. Botanists have given the waterlily a common name: peony flora. A scientific label will soon be determined. The plant seems to be plentiful. A "pond" was completely filled with the pretty flower. Further searches in other water bodies brought to light many more. Oddly, a specimen of the Lilly has been at Kew Gardens and was believed to be a hybrid. Now i

With such a hot sunny climate Australia should invest more in solar energy. The heat also needs to be converted into electricity. With the sun beating down on us, there is almost free energy to be had.  Sure there is a cost. Even if it costs as much as coal generation we should go ahead and develop it. China has signed a gas agreement with Russia. As time goes by they will reduce their purchases of coal from Australia. This country should heed the signs and change policy at home as well. Vast Solar had built the nation's first solar thermal standalone plant at Forbes, NSW. It will generate 6MWth of electricity. Storage will enable electricity to be pushed into the grid 24 hours a day.  There are plans to construct a 30MW operation, and other countries are showing interest in having similar plants established by Vast Solar. The big step has been with improved storage making a viable day and night supply. The new plant has been called the concentrated solar thermal (

Natural pollination was used for years in plant research. it was thought to be the only way that a "pure" line could be preserved. Plants vary in characteristics depending on altitude and longitude. Crossing plants from different geographical region was the method put forward by Nobel Prize Laureate Dr Norman Borlaug who led the way in the Green Revolution. This method only produced three generations of new varieties each year. A different system was needed. Embryo culture is the result. This is used in combination with changes in water, temperature, humidity, light and potting mix and is much more productive. Plant embryos are like stem cells. The neutral "baby" plants are nurtured and placed onto a media culture that determines what type of plant they will become.; Pure-line plant genotypes are obtained in a shorter period. This is a major change in the creation of new crops that will feed the world's growing population. It will obviously take sever

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The black tulip will soon be a reality. Development of a blue rose has nearly be achieved. A new rose that is "nearly" blue is soon to be released onto the Japanese market. The asking price - a quite low $30 each. There is no blue pigment in a rose, so it is impossible for a natural rose to display this color. The tone has to be put into the plant. It has been done by genetically splicing color into the rose from Petunias. This flower has a blue pigment called Delphinidin. The combined project by both Japanese and Australians has taken twenty years to create the "blue" rose. American nurseryman Samuel Parsons said as long ago as the 19th century that one day scientific advances would lead to the cultivation of a blue rose. Attempts have been made in the 20th century. A blue-grey rose was bred, but it flowered only once. For many years roses dyed blue have sold well in England. Unfortunately, horticultural advisor to the Royal Horticultural society, Helen Bostock, be