Search Results for Engineering
Some of the most common building materials - drywall, steel, cement - are among the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Manufacturing them requires vast amounts of energy. Now, several Silicon Valley start-ups are looking for cleaner solutions and some of their efforts are drawing major venture capital.
Play this Radio Report Air Date: Dec 22, 2008
Drivers are increasingly looking to their cell phones for advice on steering clear of heavy traffic. New technology from UC Berkeley uses cell phones to plot traffic patterns, giving a real-time picture of how long it takes to get from place to place. QUEST takes a ride with an early adopter.
Play this Radio Report Air Date: Dec 15, 2008
If you're looking to buy an all-electric car you can drive on the freeway, your options are limited. $100,000 will buy you an electric sports car from Tesla. But an affordable all-electric vehicle remains elusive, due to the difficulty in making a battery that is powerful, long-lasting, and cheap. QUEST visits a local battery laboratory and investigates the odds of a breakthrough.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Nov 25, 2008
Solar and wind power may get the headlines when it comes to renewable energy. But another type of clean power is heating up in the hills just north of Sonoma wine country. The Geysers, the world's largest power-producing geothermal field, has been providing electricity for roughly 850,000 Northern California households, and is set to expand even further.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Nov 18, 2008
For hundreds of years, scientists have been poaching design ideas from structures in nature. Now, biologists and engineers at UC Berkeley are working together to design a broad range of new products, such as life-saving milli-robots modeled on the way cockroaches run and adhesives based on the amazing design of a gecko's foot.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Oct 21, 2008
QUEST teams up with Make Magazine to construct the latest must have, do-it-yourself device hacks and science projects. This week well show you how to make a tabletop linear accelerator that demonstrates the finer points of kinetic energy by shooting a steel ball.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Oct 20, 2008
In this QUEST Web exclusive, we update a story we did last year on a plan to bring high-speed rail to California as voters head to the ballot boxes to decide the fate of Proposition 1A. Hop aboard to learn about the science behind high-speed rail travel and the obstacles that lie in its path.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Oct 17, 2008
In this QUEST web exclusive, Stanford University computer science professor and artificial intelligence (A.I.) researcher Daphne Koller explains how A.I. can be used for tasks that require sifting through a sea of data to arrive at a meaningful conclusion, be it diagnosis of a person's illness or assessing their fitness as a job candidate.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Oct 14, 2008
Though computers have gotten faster, smaller and more versatile, it's still a big challenge to get them to demonstrate intelligent behaviors. Will machines like robots ever match -- or perhaps even exceed -- the capabilities of the human brain?
Play this TV Story Air Date: Oct 14, 2008
Northern California has a storied, 500-year history of sailing. But despite this rich heritage, scientists and boat designers continue to learn more each day about what makes a sail boat move. Contrary to what you might expect, the physics of sailing still present some mysteries to modern sailors.
Play this TV Story Air Date: Sep 30, 2008
Ice Age Bay Area/Eclipse Chasers
- Tue, Jan 6 at 7:30PM, on KQED Channel 9
- Tue, Jan 6 at 7:30PM, on KQED HD
- Wed, Jan 7 at 1:30AM, on KQED Channel 9
- Wed, Jan 7 at 1:30AM, on KQED HD
- Thu, Jan 8 at 6:30AM, on KQED World
- Fri, Jan 9 at 2:00PM, on KQED Channel 9
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