Color Filter Could Boost LCD Efficiency by 400%
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2010-09-01 17:29:56 UTC

Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a color filter that could boost the efficiency of LCDs, the power hog of all your gadgets, by more than 400 percent, and no, I didn't add an extra zero there.

The researchers made an optical film that colors and polarizes the light that passes through an LCD, taking the place of the several layers of optical devices that typically serve the same function in an LCD.  Those multiple layers give rise to inefficiencies:  the best LCDs out today only emit eight percent of the light their backlights produce. The researchers found that the film allowed 36 percent of the light to make it through - a huge increase.

The color filter is made up of three ultra-thin layers -- two layers of aluminum enclosing a layer of insulating material -- and it only measures 200 nanometers thick.  The filter is etched with slits that produce different colors when illuminated by the backlight.  The slits are matched in scale to the wavelength of visible light and their length and distance apart determine the color produced.

This grating pattern is where the efficiency boost comes in.  In current LCDs, a polarizing filter absorbs half the light (the part with the wrong polarization).  The grating on the new filter doesn't absorb the light with the wrong polarization, it instead reflects it back towards a mirror that flips some of its polarization, letting more light pass through the filter.

Researchers are trying to improve the efficiency further and are coming up with ways to mass produce the filters, like with roll-to-roll printers.

via MIT Tech Review

Rrround by Arttu Kuisma and Janne Melajoki
by: Dezeen, 2010-09-08 17:29:30 UTC

Finnish Lahti University of Applied Sciences students Arttu Kuisma and Janne Melajoki have rolled up 250 square-metres of recycled carpet to create this multicoloured chair. (more…)

Porcelain Factory's Discarded Products Turn Into Arty New Pieces (Photos)
by: TreeHugger Design, 2010-09-07 17:25:42 UTC
Above: a piece from the Lifeguard collection. Photos: Courtesy of Leo Battistelli. In 2002, Argentine artist based in Brazil Leo Battistelli began working with the remains of a porcelain factory. During the following eight years, he has experimented with the discarded materials in sculptures, installations, utilitarian objects and prototypes, and has even built his whole studio with the furniture the factory threw away and worked with the venue's production chain and materials.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

IKEA Sells Used Furniture (Only in Sweden for Now)
by: TreeHugger Design, 2010-09-07 19:29:12 UTC
Photo: Flickr, CC Might Expand to Other Countries Speaking of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle", IKEA Sweden wants to make it easier for owners of old IKEA furniture to give it a second life. Against their own commercial interest, the company is offering a free online platform where sellers and buyers can find themselves, and they aren't even taking a cut of the transactions. Read on for more details.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Help Design, Build an Ultra-Low Footprint Apartment: The LifeEdited Project (Slideshow)
by: TreeHugger Design, 2010-09-09 15:29:29 UTC
TreeHugger founder Graham Hill is trying to radically reduce his footprint and live happily on less money with less space, less stuff and less waste -- but with more design. He calls it "LifeEdited." Graham wants to find the best ideas and suggestions from readers. Using "social co-creation" or crowdsourcing on the Jovoto competition platform, he's launching a design competition of ideas -- with prizes for the best ones, which will then be implemented in the renovation. TreeHugger is proud to be a media sponsor of the project -- and now, the Jo... Read the full story on TreeHugger

V Cut In The Tape
by: Yanko Design, 2010-09-03 10:03:12 UTC

V-tape is a cellotape design that dispenses itself! A clear-cut solution to the problem of finding the tape plus cutting it…can’t get simpler than this! My only issue with the design is that you can’t really tear out smaller than the V – point tape-length. It will have to be one or more roll-lengths and this can get wasteful. Using a scissor will defeat the purpose of this design! Quite a paradox eh!

The V-tape won an iF Concept Design 2010 Award.

Designer: Zhichuan Tang

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Cotton Cloth Coated in Nanotubes Electrifies Bacteria to Purify Water
by: TreeHugger Science, 2010-09-01 15:22:00 UTC
Image via Stanford University Fresh, clean, drinkable water is an increasingly rare thing on this planet, especially in places that are suffering through catastrophes like floods or must deal with high levels of pollution without the resources to set up water treatment facilities. But a project from Stanford University researchers could see cheap, simple filtration devices distributed through developing nations. How simple? Well, it's just a piece of cotton cloth coated in nanotubes that filter out nearly all bacteria at a rat... Read the full story on TreeHugger

MIT Creates Self-Assembling Solar Cells That Repair Themselves
by: TreeHugger Science, 2010-09-05 21:00:00 UTC
MIT's Test Cell Patrick Gillooly, MIT Solar cells are intended to mimic the photosynthesis of plants -- converting light into energy in the most efficient manner possible. But what other characteristics of plants could be handy for the renewable energy sector to mimic? How about the self-assembly of chloroplast, the component of plants that do all the vital photosynthesis. Leaves repair themselves after sun damage again and again to keep up their ability to convert light into energy. Now, MIT researchers believe they've discovered how to use this self-assembly to restore solar cells damaged by the sun.... Read the full story on TreeHugger