In Florida, this program is pairing abused dogs with incarcerated men – and it is offering hope and promising futures for both.
The TAILS, or Teaching Animals and Inmate Life Skills program, focuses their rehabilitation efforts on dogs plagued by abusive backgrounds. Since their behavioral issues keep the pups from being adopted, they are at risk of euthanization if they aren’t properly trained.
Photo used with permission from AGoldPhoto
Each dog is cared for by two inmates, one trainer, and one handler. The inmates are responsible for engaging the dogs with training exercises, play, and plenty of affection. The program lasts two to three months, and is recognized by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers, which offers inmates considerable work-related experience.
What is perhaps even more significant than the qualifications that the inmates receive from the program is the sensation of receiving unconditional love – one that is foreign to many of the convicts.
Photo used with permission from AGoldPhoto
Similarly to the dogs they train, these prisoners have seldom known the luxury of a supportive environment, and for many, the relationships they form with the dogs are the first to offer them empathy, affection, and love.
Adam Goldberg, a photographer who was recently granted permission to observe and photograph the training process inside the prison, told Good News Network: “Seeing the inmates in their living quarters, with the rescue dogs, was an amazing experience. The dogs were so well cared for and so attentive to their inmate handler and trainer.”
Photo used with permission from AGoldPhoto
Over the course of the last three years, TAILS has saved over 500 dogs with their unique training method, and they are continuing to seek out new rescues who can have pawsitive impacts on their human counterparts.
“It was very evident that the dogs rely on the inmates just as much as the inmates rely on the dogs,” Goldberg added.
Photo used with permission from AGoldPhoto
Be Sure And Share This Pawesome Story With Your Friends On Social Media – Photos by Adam Goldberg Photography
A pharmacist has been going above and beyond the call of duty in order to ensure that her customers have access to their medication.
Andrea Cusack works at the Lake Odessa Pharmacy in Michigan. Though the pharmacy regularly runs a free delivery service for their customers, they were recently forced to rethink their delivery tactics after a snowstorm left several of their clients stranded in their homes.
Instead of allowing these people to forego their life-saving medications, however, Cusack and her 15-year-old son fired up their snowmobile and delivered the medications themselves.
Cusack’s husband posted a photo of the dynamic dup on the snowmobile to social media where it received an outpouring of praise from appreciative readers – and Cusack was overwhelmed with gratitude for the encouragement.
“I can’t believe it. I truly care about people,” Cusack tearfully told WXMI. “I want to help them and to see the response around the community is overwhelming.
“We’re here to serve our community, and if somebody needs our help getting something we’re going to help ‘em,” she added.
(WATCH the heartwarming news coverage below)
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A Turkish scientist has found a way to convert discarded olive pits into a biodegradable plastic thanks to her dad’s peculiar eating habits.
Duygu Yilmaz first started her groundbreaking scientific work after she noticed her father’s quirky habit of eating olive pits in order to soothe his stomach. Yilmaz grew concerned that the pits were harmful to his stomach health, so she decided to do some research.
Rather than finding anything dangerous, however, she discovered some surprising similarities between the chemical makeup of olive pits and plastic.
This chance discovery has since sprouted into the Biolive startup, a group that converts the discarded pits from olive oil manufacturers into bioplastic.
While it takes 450 years for typical plastics to decompose, the olive-based plastic created by Biolive decomposes within one year, “blending into the earth like fertilizer”.
Another benefit of using biodegradable plastic is its small carbon footprint; replacing 2 pounds of traditional plastic with the same amount of Biolive’s plastic reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 13 pounds (6 kilograms).
In addition to the exciting environmental benefits of Yilmaz’s work, it also has a significant social impact on the young women of Turkey. Globally, women make up about 63% of the work force – but in Turkey, that number is a mere 34%. Yilmaz’s success demonstrates the importance of female entrepreneurs, and the undeniable benefit of diversification in fields driven by unique and innovative ideas.
Yilmaz, who has received several awards and grants for her groundbreaking work, hopes that Biolive will continue partnering with more and more shipping companies so that their olive-based material can one day replace wasteful plastic packaging entirely.
(WATCH the video below)
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This patient police dispatcher is being praised for having the sweetest reaction to a little boy who dialed 911 with a not-so-urgent problem.
Antonia Bundy works as a dispatcher for the Lafayette Police Department in Indiana. Though she is trained to respond to emergencies, she was surprised when she heard a little boy’s voice on the other end of the line saying that he needed help because “he had a really bad day at school.”
Without missing a beat, she asked the youngster why he had a bad day at school. He gloomily responded by saying that he simply had “a ton of homework.”
Bundy then asked him whether he needed help with his homework. Upon explaining that he wasn’t very good at mathematics, he asked her for help with a fractional problem.
Bundy patiently walked the boy through the problem until he managed to calculate the correct answer, and Bundy cheerfully praised him for his work.
“I’m sorry for calling you, but I really needed help,” said the boy – but Bundy was quick to wave off his apologies and say “we are always here for you.”
The police department later posted audio from the phone call to their Twitter feed where it has been shared hundreds of times. Though they discourage people from calling 911 with non-emergency situations, they praised Bundy for her compassionate response.
(LISTEN to the heartwarming audio below) – Photo by Lafayette Police Department
Our dispatchers never know what the next call might be.They train for many emergency situations, homework help is not one they plan for. We don't recommend 911 for homework help but this dispatcher helped a young boy out and brightened his day.@PoliceOne@apbweb@wlfi@WTHRcompic.twitter.com/w3qCYfJP7O
Quote of the Day: “I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. I learn by going where I have to go.” – Theodore Roethke
Photo: copyright GWC
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A utility in company in Florida recently announced a groundbreaking “30-by-30” plan to install more than 30 million solar panels by 2030 and make the state of Florida a “world leader in the production of solar energy.”
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and its sister company, NextEra Energy Resources, are already some of the world’s largest producers of renewable energy from the wind and sun and, when this plan is completed, FPL expects to be the largest utility owner and operator of solar in America.
In addition to embarking upon one of the largest solar expansions in the country over the past two years, the company will also reportedly be making unprecedented investments in advanced and innovative battery storage technology that will extend the use of clean, affordable solar energy even after the sun has gone down.
FPL has secured solar sites throughout the state, which will enable the company to continue to cost effectively build solar energy centers across Florida. The scheme’s end result will be “the largest installation of solar panels by a regulated utility in the world” and a 67% fleet-wide reduction in carbon dioxide emissions rate as compared to the national average.
“I am supportive of programs that will provide Floridians with greater access to affordable, clean energy which will help propel the State to a healthier future,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We live in the Sunshine State and solar energy is a natural resource that should be seriously considered.
“[This] initiative is important,” he continued. “As Florida’s energy needs continue to grow at a rapid pace, it is important that we diversify our energy resources. This is vital to the economic well-being of our State and quality of life for residents.”
The company has already begun pairing battery storage technology at its solar power plants. Future technology is planned to increase the capacity and cost-effectiveness of batteries, and the company expects to deploy a significant amount of battery storage throughout Florida by 2030.
FPL’s planned renewable energy generation and storage, combined with its nuclear power plants in St. Lucie and Miami-Dade counties, is projected to generate more than 40% of its electricity emissions-free by 2030, even as the state’s population – the third highest in the nation – continues to grow.
“FPL is not your traditional electric company,” said Eric Silagy, the corporation’s president and CEO. “Bottom line, this bold, innovative plan is the right thing to do for our customers and for our fast-growing state, and we look forward to working with local and state officials and our regulators to make this vision a reality.”
“It’s why our customers enjoy electricity that is among the cleanest and most reliable in the country for a price more than 30 percent below the national average,” he added. “That said, we’re not satisfied with the status quo and understand that our customers expect even more from us as energy experts and industry leaders. It’s why we’re reimagining the way we serve our customers and challenging ourselves to find even more innovative ways to do what’s best for Florida and the nation.”
Today, the company operates 18 large solar power plants and hundreds of other universal solar installations across Florida. In 2009, FPL became the first company to build large universal scale solar projects in Florida and since 2001, their program to phase out older, oil-fired power plants and replace them with highly efficient clean energy centers has reduced the company’s reliance on foreign oil by more than 99%, which reportedly saved consumers more than $9.5 billion in fuel costs and prevented 120 million tons of carbon emissions from being produced.
FPL is also poised to eliminate its only remaining coal plant in Florida by the end of this year. The company shut down two coal plants in Jacksonville in 2016 and 2018, respectively, collectively preventing nearly seven million tons of carbon emissions annually.
Power Up With Positivity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – File photo by B137, CC
Amidst record-breaking polar temperatures in the Midwest, a compassionate stranger paid for 70 homeless people to stay in a hotel.
Though Chicago city officials have urged their homeless residents to stay in proper shelters and warming centers, a group of rough sleepers in the South Side chose to stay in their tented encampment.
Firefighters were called to the campsite on Wednesday – the second coldest day in Chicago’s history – when a propane tank exploded. No one was injured, but law enforcement officials discovered over 100 propane tanks in the encampment— a Level 1 Hazmat risk.
“There was a significant amount of propane there,” Fire Chief Walter Schroeder told The Chicago Tribune. “And with that many cylinders, that’s like a bomb going off.”
The responders were forced to confiscate the propane, which left the homeless citizens without heating in –20ºF (–22ºC) temperatures. City officials contacted staffers at the local Salvation Army warming center in order to accommodate the at-risk residents, but then a woman named Candice Payne stepped up, and took out her credit card.
Shortly after reaching out to the Salvation Army, city workers notified the staffers that she had paid for a large block of hotel rooms to house 70 homeless people until the end of the week.
Not only that, after she tweeted about it, and several other Good Samaritans stepped forward to donate more money for more rooms. Together, they were able to buy shelter for 80 people for 3 nights. Candice and her new crew also bought food to distribute to the rooms.
UPDATE: Watch the latest video from CBS-2 – File photo by Akasped, CC
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This 43-year-old athlete is not just being praised for successfully completing a marathon – she is also being praised for what she had in her hands when she crossed the finish line.
Khemjira Klongsanun was only seven miles into a marathon in Ratchaburi, western Thailand when she noticed that the other participants were running around an anxious little puppy on the side of the road.
Because the puppy seemed to be just a few months old, Klongsanun could not bear to leave him on the pavement.
“It seemed to me that this little guy was lost. There were no houses, no other dogs, or no people around. So, I picked up the puppy, if only to take him out of the unsafe environment,” said Klongsanun, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Sure enough, Klongsanun scooped up the little pup and carried him for the remaining 19 miles of the marathon.
“Running almost 20 miles carrying a dog was truly a challenge. It was two times more tiring than a normal marathon, but I did it anyway just because he is adorable.”
In the aftermath of the marathon, she did her best to try and find the dog’s owner. She even took it home with her and searched for its family, but to no avail.
Klongsanun finally decided to keep the pup for herself and name him Chombueng after the marathon. Now that he has been vaccinated and neutered, he is reportedly living a cheerful life alongside Klongsanun’s two other dogs.
(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Viral Press
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Quote of the Day: “The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.” – Jackie Robinson (born 100 years ago today)
Photo: by Keith Allison, cropped from CC license image on Flickr
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If you want to help homeless Midwestern city dwellers get to shelter during this week’s winter storm, Lyft is offering free rides to warming centers.
In lieu of Winter Storm Jayden, the ride-sharing app is encouraging their passengers to use coupon codes in order to coordinate up to two rides in select cities from now until Friday night.
“In response to the polar vortex caused by Winter Storm Jayden impacting parts of the Midwest, Lyft is committed to doing our part to help those in need,” the company said in a blog post. “We’re activating our Relief Rides program to help those in need move around to warming centers in impacted areas, including Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Madison, Milwaukee and Detroit.”
While the company is aware that many people in need of a warming center may not have access to a phone, let alone the Lyft app, they are hoping that consumers will be able to use and share the coupons as needed.
Save A Life By Sharing The News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Lyft
Animal lovers are rejoicing over a new piece of legislation that is expected to make animal cruelty a felony.
The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which was reintroduced by two Florida congressman last week, would make extreme acts of animal cruelty a federal crime punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
The bill has received unanimous bipartisan approval in the Senate twice before – and it even received over 200 endorsements from law enforcement officials and almost 300 House co-sponsors. Both times, it was blocked from reaching the floor by former Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia.
Because Goodlatte is no longer serving in Congress, however, legislators are optimistic about the bill’s approval.
The PACT Act, which was co-sponsored by Ted Deutch (D) and Vern Buchanan (R), will close a 2010 legislative loophole that only made animal cruelty punishable under federal law if it was caught on film.
“The torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Buchanan said. “Protecting animals from cruelty is a top priority for me and I look forward to working with Congressman Deutch on this important issue.”
The bill contains exceptions for normal veterinary care, hunting, and conduct necessary to protect life or property from a serious threat caused by an animal.
According to a statement from Buchanan’s office, the legislation has already been endorsed 155 House co-sponsors, the Humane Society of the United States, and law enforcement agencies. The press release also emphasizes that the bill is expected to protect human livelihood as well, since animal abuse has been shown to be a common precursor for other violent crimes, with one study stating that nearly 40% of animal abusers had committed violent crimes against humans.
“This is commonsense, bipartisan legislation to bring some compassion to our animal laws,” Deutch said. “For many Americans, animal welfare is an important policy issue, and the idea of animal abuse is abhorrent. By building on state and local laws, Congress should act to guarantee a level of protection for animals across the country by criminalizing these inhumane acts.”
Protect Your Friends From Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – File photo by Its Greg, CC
Most people who receive texts or emails from unknown contacts will usually just delete the message and move on with their lives – but not Will Novak.
Novak, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, received an email with the subject “Angelo’s Bachelor Party” earlier this month – and since he doesn’t know anyone named Angelo, he assumed it was spam.
Upon opening the message, however, he found that someone had mistyped an email address that was intended for another Will Novak. Furthermore, the email was an invitation for a ski trip weekend getaway to celebrate Angelo Onello’s bachelor party.
Instead of deleting the message, Novak replied to the email group and said that even though he was a total stranger, he would be delighted to attend the party extravaganza.
“I responded with a lot of crazy energy and they met me at that same level. It was just like a game of chicken,” Novak told PEOPLE. “Our emails were back and forth. I was like, if these guys think I’m gonna chicken out, they’re wrong! I think they were thinking the same thing.”
Novak then started a GoFundMe to raise a few hundred bucks for the airfare and trip expenses – and as his story was shared across social media, he met his goal in a matter of hours.
Novak was able to attend the bachelor party, and based on their stories from the event, it was a blast.
“Angelo’s bachelor party was a big success!!!” Novak wrote on the GoFundMe page. “No one died, or even got arrested! Though the other Will Novak did dislocate his shoulder whilst trying to ‘shred the gnar.’”
Since the crowdfunding campaign ended up raising a few thousand dollars more than Novak needed, he donated all of the excess funds to his new friend Angelo and his bride.
To find out more about the amusing bachelor party bonanza, you can watch this Seth Myers segment on why “this is the kind of story we need right now.”
(WATCH the hilarious news clip below – video contains mild language)
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Just because Arthur Ashkin just became the world’s oldest Nobel Prize winner doesn’t mean he is ready to retire – instead, he has something bigger in mind.
The 96-year-old inventor was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics in recognition for his work with optical levitation: a process of controlling the movement of microscopic particles using the force of photons. His efforts have had a profound effect in furthering our understanding of how light behaves, and how it can be harnessed for practical applications.
Despite this career-defining accomplishment, Ashkin allowed himself only a few moments to discuss his past work by fondly recalling the day he first levitated microscopic organisms using a laser.
“It surprised me. It would surprise anybody,” Ashkin told Business Insider. “I invented optical levitation.”
But Ashkin’s sentiment was quickly interrupted by the excitement he now holds for his new invention.
“I’m not about celebrating that old stuff, I got something new and important,” Ashkin told the Nobel spokesman in a phone interview. “I’m working on solar energy and I think I’ve gotten some important stuff and the world badly needs science in climate change.”
By using a tube that can concentrate light, Ashkin plans to improve how existing solar panels currently harness energy. His invention could greatly increase their output, while substantially reducing the cost of production with each tube costing mere pennies to make.
“I’m making cheap electricity,” he told Business Insider, adding that he believes his invention will earn him another Nobel Prize nomination. “And I’m gonna win too.”
In the meantime, Ashkin has already filed a patent for the tube, which will only add to his impressive 47-patent collection. After that, he expects his findings to be published in the journal Science.
As for the small matter of the $500,000 he received from the Nobel Prize Organization, Ashkin plans to take his beloved wife Aline out for a “good meal,” while the rest will help to pay for the future college expenses of his 5 grandchildren.
For the time being, Ashkin hopes his newfound popularity will allow him a grander audience for his new technology – one that he claims “will save the world.”
(LISTEN to Ashkin’s amusing reaction to hearing he was a Nobel winner in the video below) – Photo by Arne Ohlin / Nobel Prize
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These magical pictures captured the moment that the clouds parted to reveal a swirling aurora light above an Icelandic mountain that was featured in Game of Thrones.
The ethereal green light display appeared over Kirkjufell – also known as “The Witch’s Mountain” – which rises from the sea in the isolated west of the Nordic nation.
The glow, which is caused by solar particles reacting with Earth’s magnetic field, can be seen spiraling out from the crooked summit at 463 meters (1,519 feet).
Located on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the dramatic peak appeared in seasons six and seven of the popular HBO fantasy show.
Photographer Craig McDearmid caught the incredible spectacle on an “aurora hunting” trip in January, which was almost ruined by stormy weather.
“We hadn’t really had that much luck. We drove from one side of the island to the other,” said McDearmid. “We traveled about 500 miles the day before, just trying to get a gap in the clouds.”
On the last day of the trip, McDearmid went north to Kirkjufell, hoping for a last chance to catch a glimpse of the northern lights.
Craig McDearmid / SWNS
“Unbelievably, the clouds started to clear as soon as the sun went down,” said the 49-year-old photographer. “You could see the aurora and it just got stronger and stronger.
“It just came off at that time, at that magical moment and we happened to be there to get it.”
McDearmid, who is from Hamsterley Colliery, England, used his tripod to take a five-second exposure as the lights appeared to hover over the giant rock – and the results are breathtaking.
“I’ve never seen that swirling formation before. I’ve never seen anything like that happen,” said McDearmid. “You just get swept up into this magical world. It’s fairly euphoric to witness. It’s just awe-inspiring when it moves across the sky.”
Craig McDearmid / SWNS
Don’t Wait For Winter To Come: Share These Stunning Pictures With Your Friends On Social Media
Quote of the Day: “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” – Charles Dickens
Photo: by a4gpa, cropped from CC license image on Flickr
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This New Hampshire grocery store found themselves in quite a pickle last week when their entire cash register system crashed unexpectedly.
While some businesses may have responded to the crisis by asking their customers to leave empty-handed, the Hannaford supermarket in West Lebanon let their shoppers walk out of the store with their groceries for free.
According to the store manager, the registers were not expected to be repaired for at least an hour. With roughly 50 people in line, the employees did not want to make people wait around – so they simply bagged up everyone’s groceries and happily sent them on their way.
The store reportedly gave away between $3,000 to $5,000 worth of groceries that day – but the shoppers apparently had the most priceless reactions.
“Hannaford just took the worst shopping experience I’ve ever had and made it into one of the best,” a customer told WPTZ in an interview.
(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photo by WPTZ
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Though the streets of Compton are generally associated with racial violence, this group of cowboys is breaking stereotypes by getting at-risk youngsters off of the street and onto horses instead.
The Compton Cowboys is a band of African-American locals who find peace and community through riding horses through the California city.
The 10 original founders of the horse-collective first met each other as young boys at a nonprofit stable located in a semi-rural area of Compton. Since their relatives encouraged them to attend the organization’s activities as an alternative to gang violence, the stable provided the youngsters with a safe haven from the dangers of their environment.
“I was always around shootings and gangs, but none of that happens when I’m in the stables with the horses,” one of the Compton Cowboys told the New York Timesin March. “There’s peace with the animals.”
All of their equine steeds have been rescued from things like abuse and malnutrition, and each one has been given a new lease of life under the care of the cowboys. Their struggle mirrors that of their riders, having grown up in an underdeveloped and inhospitable landscape.
“The throwaway horses that we were given ended up being the best horses for us because they had a feisty spirit and a chip on their shoulder just like we did,” cowboy Randy Hook told the Times. “They were the underdogs just like we were.”
The group hopes that their efforts also helps to show the accomplishments of the African-American cowboys that have been omitted from popular history and media. Roughly 5,000 to 8,000 African American men and women become ranchers and herders after the Civil War – a tradition the Compton Cowboys upholds everyday.
Today, the future of the Compton Cowboys looks bright. In addition to being positive role models for their community, the members are competing in rodeos and polo events, with some setting their sights on the Olympics.
In the meantime, they can rest assured that their efforts have not gone unnoticed, as they slowly but surely reshape the American notion of what makes a cowboy.
“At the end of the day, we want people to also think about us when they think about cowboys, not just a bunch of white guys in cowboy hats who smoke Marlboro cigarettes,” added Hook. “We’re trying to be the guys who make it cool to wear Stetson hats and Wrangler jeans in the ’hood.”
(WATCH the cowboys in action in the commercial video below) – Photo by Compton Cowboys
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Converting Wi-Fi signals to electricity with new 2-D materials Device made from flexible, inexpensive materials could power large-area electronics, wearables, medical devices, and more.
Written by Rob Matheson MIT News
Imagine a world where smartphones, laptops, wearables, and other electronics are powered without batteries. Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have taken a step in that direction, with the first fully flexible device that can convert energy from WiFi signals into electricity that could power our electronics.
Devices that convert AC electromagnetic waves into DC electricity are known as “rectennas.” In a newly-published study that appears in Nature, the researchers demonstrate a new kind of rectenna that uses a flexible radio-frequency (RF) antenna that captures electromagnetic waves — including those carrying WiFi — as AC waveforms.
The antenna is then connected to a novel device made out of a two-dimensional semiconductor just a few atoms thick. The AC signal travels into the semiconductor, which converts it into a DC voltage that could be used to power electronic circuits or recharge batteries.
In this way, the battery-free device passively captures and transforms ubiquitous WiFi signals into useful DC power. Moreover, the device is flexible and can be fabricated in a roll-to-roll process to cover very large areas.
“What if we could develop electronic systems that we wrap around a bridge or cover an entire highway, or the walls of our office and bring electronic intelligence to everything around us? How do you provide energy for those electronics?” says paper co-author Tomás Palacios, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.
“We have come up with a new way to power the electronics systems of the future — by harvesting WiFi energy in a way that’s easily integrated in large areas — to bring intelligence to every object around us.”
In experiments, the researchers’ device can produce about 40 microwatts of power when exposed to the typical power levels of WiFi signals (around 150 microwatts). That’s more than enough power to light up an LED or drive silicon chips.
Promising early applications for the proposed rectenna include powering flexible and wearable electronics, medical devices, and sensors for the “internet of things.” Flexible smartphones, for instance, are a hot new market for major tech firms.
Another possible application is powering the data communications of implantable medical devices, says co-author Jesús Grajal, a researcher at the Technical University of Madrid. For example, researchers are beginning to develop pills that can be swallowed by patients and stream health data back to a computer for diagnostics.
“Ideally you don’t want to use batteries to power these systems, because if they leak lithium, the patient could die,” Grajal says. “It is much better to harvest energy from the environment to power up these small labs inside the body and communicate data to external computers.”
All rectennas rely on a component known as a “rectifier,” which converts the AC input signal into DC power. Traditional rectennas use either silicon or gallium arsenide for the rectifier. These materials can cover the WiFi band, but they are rigid. And, although using these materials to fabricate small devices is relatively inexpensive, using them to cover vast areas, such as the surfaces of buildings and walls, would be cost-prohibitive. Researchers have been trying to fix these problems for a long time. But the few flexible rectennas reported so far operate at low frequencies and can’t capture and convert signals in gigahertz frequencies, where most of the relevant cell phone and WiFi signals are.
To build their rectifier, the researchers used a novel 2-D material called molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which at three atoms thick is one of the thinnest semiconductors in the world. In doing so, the team leveraged a singular behavior of MoS2: When exposed to certain chemicals, the material’s atoms rearrange in a way that acts like a switch, forcing a phase transition from a semiconductor to a metallic material. The resulting structure is known as a Schottky diode, which is the junction of a semiconductor with a metal.
“By engineering MoS2 into a 2-D semiconducting-metallic phase junction, we built an atomically thin, ultrafast Schottky diode that simultaneously minimizes the series resistance and parasitic capacitance,” says first author and EECS postdoc Xu Zhang.
Parasitic capacitance is an unavoidable situation in electronics where certain materials store a little electrical charge, which slows down the circuit. Lower capacitance, therefore, means increased rectifier speeds and higher operating frequencies. The parasitic capacitance of the researchers’ Schottky diode is an order of magnitude smaller than today’s state-of-the-art flexible rectifiers, so it is much faster at signal conversion and allows it to capture and convert up to 10 gigahertz of wireless signals.
“Such a design has allowed a fully flexible device that is fast enough to cover most of the radio-frequency bands used by our daily electronics, including WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular LTE, and many others,” Zhang says.
The reported work provides blueprints for other flexible WiFi-to-electricity devices with substantial output and efficiency. The maximum output efficiency for the current device stands at 40%, depending on the input power of the WiFi. At the typical WiFi power level, the power efficiency of the MoS2 rectifier is about 30%. For reference, today’s rectennas made from rigid, more expensive silicon or gallium arsenide achieve around 50 to 60%.
The team is now planning to build more complex systems and improve efficiency.
It was been almost two years since the infamous Fyre Festival descended upon the Bahamas – and though there are still people recovering from the financial and legal blight of the disastrous event, a Netflix documentary has helped to ease the pain of those it hurt the most.
The Fyre Festival was originally intended to be an ultra-exclusive music festival for high rollers and millennial moguls on a Bahamian island. Due to poor planning and reckless organization by the now notorious 27-year-old Billy McFarland, the event was a complete and utter failure.
Upon overbooking the festival and promising the guests fancy villas and 5-star catering, the jilted attendees ended up being trapped on the island with soaked mattresses, meager food rations, and a shortage of flimsy tents.
McFarland is currently serving a 6-year sentence for fraud partially due to how he reportedly scammed investors out of an estimated $27 million. Furthermore, he neglected to pay hundreds of Bahamians after they worked around-the-clock in order to help organize the festival.
Earlier this month, Netflix released a documentary about the Fyre Festival in which they featured an interview with Maryann Rolle, the Bahamian owner of the Exuma Point Resort.
Though she was not booked as the original caterer for the festival, Rolle ended up being a reluctant hero to the attendees and organizers after she and her husband toiled day and night to serve over 1,000 meals throughout the event.
In the film, Rolle tearfully recounts how she was never paid the $50,000 she was owed for her contribution to the festival. Additionally, she gave away all $50,000 of her lifetime savings in order to help pay off her fellow Bahamian workers.
“I was left in a big hole!” says Rolle. “My life was changed forever, and my credit was ruined by Fyre Fest.”
Now, if you haven’t watched the documentary, Rolle’s interview is easily the most heart-wrenching part of the entire film – but thankfully, it succeeded in drawing attention to her plight.
Over the course of the last two weeks since the documentary’s release, a GoFundMe page for the Rolles has raised over $200,000 in donations.
Though the campaign has raised almost double the amount that the Fyre organizers owe Rolle, she plans on sharing all of the excess funds with her fellow Bahamians who suffered from the event, especially those who are still owed money.
“I am going to help the people who worked with the festival as much as I can here, and then other islands too, I will give it to them,” Rolle told CBS News. “It makes me happy knowing the world has cared about me and I will pass it all along and let everybody enjoy it. That might be the best thing for me at this time.”
(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Maryann Rolle
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Even though Alfonso Garcia is not on the field with the Los Angeles Rams, the football players still consider him a part of the team.
Garcia, who works at the L.A. Memorial Stadium, always keeps the facility “in tip top shape” for the football team. So as a means of showing some love to their beloved colleague, the Rams decided to surprise him with two tickets to the upcoming Super Bowl game against the New England Patriots.
In a video that was uploaded to the team’s Twitter page, Garcia can be seen walking into one of the stadium offices – and he is confused when he is greeted by Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
“One of the guys that works here, he said the general manager, Les, wanted to speak to me,” Garcia later told CBS Los Angeles. “And, well it made me a little nervous because that’s not an office you really want to get called into.”
Upon sensing Garcia’s anxiety, Cooks laughs and says there is no reason to be nervous. Instead, he just wants to give Garcia a gift.
“On behalf of the team and organization, we would love to invite you and your son, Josh, round trip [to the] Super Bowl,” Cooks said. “You mean so much to us and everything that you do does not go unnoticed.”
Garcia is overwhelmed. Fighting back tears, he says that he has always wanted to go to the Super Bowl since he was a little boy – and now, he will be able to bring his own son to the game as well.
“Oh my god, are you serious?” Garcia says emotionally. “This is a dream come true.”
“From the bottom of my heart thank you, I love you guys. To have this and be with you guys in something so special like this. Wow, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Everybody.”
(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Los Angeles Rams
