MIT Works To Power Computers With Spinach

KingFishKingFish
edited September 2004 in Science & Tech
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have used spinach to harness a plant's ability to convert sunlight into energy for the first time, creating a device that may one day power laptops, mobile phones and more.
Photosynthesis, the process by which plants use light beams for energy rather than eating food like animals, has been known to scientists for decades. But attempts to combine the organic with the electronic had always failed: Isolate the photosynthetic proteins that capture the energy from sunlight, and they die. Inject the water and salt needed to keep the proteins alive, and the electronic equipment is destroyed. That was until Shuguang Zhang, associate director of MIT's Center for Biomedical Engineering, discovered that protein building blocks called detergent peptides could be manipulated to keep the proteins alive up to three weeks while in contact with electronics.
Popeye will be proud. -KF

Source: eWeek

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    I'm peptide the sailor man.... woo woo.....

    // never mind... what a horrible joke..... :crazy:
  • KingFishKingFish
    edited September 2004
    well, you get points for trying :)
  • EMTEMT Seattle, WA Icrontian
    edited September 2004
    That's awesome, I wonder how the efficiency compares to solar cells.
  • KingFishKingFish
    edited September 2004
    Will it make your computer fart too?

    //end back joke thread
  • turboICEturboICE
    edited September 2004
    MIT eh? well i go to IIT...congrats and cant wait to see this one in the future!
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