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In ‘Electric Garden,’ Ricky Boscarino Leads a Tour of His Whimsical Handbuilt Home

25 Mar, 2025

This post was originally published on Colossal

In December 1988, artist Ricky Boscarino was on the hunt for real estate. Not just any property would do, though. “It was really my boyhood ambition to built my dream house, where literally all my dreams could come true,” he says in the short documentary “Electric Garden.” Little did he know that over the course of the next four decades, a dilapidated hunting cabin would transform into a veritable way of life.

Luna Parc emerged on a wooded six-acre parcel in northwestern New Jersey and has been in progress continually since 1989. “Family lore is that we were carpenters for many, many generations,” Boscarino says. “My whole life became about making things with metal, wood, glass, fabric, concrete.”

With numerous additions and labyrinthine levels, Luna Parc includes a kind of living museum, where Boscarino adds new work all the time, plus studios devoted to various mediums, living spaces, and an expansive sculpture garden. At 5,000 square feet, the self-described “madcap” artist’s vibrant, elaborately ornamented home evokes a fairytale dwelling or a whimsical, Tim Burton-esque construction.

Boscarino continues to add new details to Luna Parc, whether electrifying a concrete sculpture garden with colored lights or adding new works to the museum. The house occasionally opens to the public during the summer months, and you can learn more and plan your visit on Boscarino’s website. Watch the documentary in full on Vimeo.

a gif from a short documentary of an artist seated inside of a round window in a colorful, whimsical house he built himself
a detail of a miniature sculpture with a tiny painting, chair, and table with a full-size pair of keys
a gif of a large, whimsical house in the woods that an artist built from scratch
a man stands in the middle of a sculptural garden that he created himself, with lighting features that glow in blues and yellows

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article In ‘Electric Garden,’ Ricky Boscarino Leads a Tour of His Whimsical Handbuilt Home appeared first on Colossal.

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Lithium–CO2 battery provides green energy alternative

Lithium–CO2 battery provides green energy alternative

Scientists at the University of Surrey have developed eco-friendly batteries that are not only designed to store more energy but could also help tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Lithium–CO2 ‘breathing’ batteries release power while capturing carbon dioxide, providing a greener alternative that may one day outperform today’s lithium-ion batteries.

Until now, lithium-CO2 batteries have faced setbacks in efficiency — wearing out quickly, failing to recharge and relying on expensive rare materials such as platinum. However, researchers from Surrey have found a way to overcome these issues by using a low-cost catalyst called caesium phosphomolybdate (CPM). Using computer modelling and lab experiments, tests showed this simple change allowed the battery to store more energy, charge with far less power and run for over 100 cycles.

The study, published in Advanced Science, marks a promising step towards real-world applications. If commercialised, these batteries could help cut emissions from vehicles and industrial sources — and scientists even imagine they could operate on Mars, where the atmosphere is 95% CO2.

Dr Siddharth Gadkari, lecturer in Chemical Process Engineering at the University of Surrey and corresponding author of the study, said, “There’s a growing need for energy storage solutions that support our push toward renewable power while also tackling the growing threat of climate change. Our work on lithium–CO2 batteries is a potential game-changer in making that vision a reality.

“One of the biggest challenges with these batteries is something called ‘overpotential’ — the extra energy needed to get the reaction going. You can think of it like cycling uphill before you can coast. What we’ve shown is that CPM flattens that hill, meaning the battery loses far less energy during each charge and discharge.”

To understand why the CPM worked so well, teams from Surrey’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and the Advanced Technology Institute used two approaches. First, they dismantled the battery after charging and discharging to study the chemical changes inside. These post-mortem tests found that lithium carbonate, the compound formed when the battery absorbs CO2, could be reliably built up and removed — an essential feature for long-term use.

They then turned to computer modelling using density functional theory (DFT), which allows researchers to explore how the reactions unfold on the material surface. Results showed how the CPM’s stable, porous structure offered a suitable surface for key chemical reactions.

Dr Daniel Commandeur, Future Fellow at the University of Surrey and corresponding author of the study, said, “What’s exciting about this discovery is that it combines strong performance with simplicity. We’ve shown that it’s possible to build efficient lithium–CO2 batteries using affordable, scalable materials — no rare metals required. Our findings also open the door to designing even better catalysts in the future.”

The discovery is said to open new doors for developing low-cost, easy-to-make battery materials. With further research into how these catalysts interact with electrodes and electrolytes, lithium–CO2 batteries could become a practical, scalable way to store clean energy, while helping reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

Image caption: Lithium–CO2 ‘breathing’ battery at the University of Surrey.

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