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New Light-Activated Micro-Motor
enkidu55 writes: "This link to Popular Science's website shows how a team of scientists in Germany have found that a certain polymer changes shape when hit with different wavelengths of light. They used this to stretch and compress a small spring sort of like the piston in a motor. Still pretty raw, but the potential is amazing."
This is really cool. The ability to convert light into energy seems like it could solve the Energy Crisis while doing away with Global Warming at the same time.
But I wonder if this could be the beginning of a dark future, both figuratively and literally. When we've used this technology to construct light-fuelled power plants, I imagine that each plant would be surrounded in shadow, as the light is sucked out of the air. As energy demands increase (as they tend to do as population and technology grow), more light will be used for fuel, and less will be left over for lighting the world, growing crops, &c.
We may end up in a literal Dark Age, a perpetual nighttime. We'll live entirely indoors, as lightproof tunnels are constructed between shielded communities, and scurry beneath an artificial sky, afraid of the night creatures beyond the walls. Let's take this one step at a time, and be very cautious about what we wish for; after all, it might come true. Something to think about.
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The Gnomes-Of-Bavaira are now taking LIGHT! the precious essence of HUMANITY! and turning it into RAW! movement. When will their madness end. Please for the children, write you member of congress - we need to develop our own devices, and can't let the Krouts get ahead of us again! Notify you're friends in the 51st state up North - especially if you can speak the French. Let's hope Jolly Ol' England can survive long enough for us to help her keep her innocence intact from the RAW! THRUSTING! German light-to-movment-power DEVICES!
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
Of course the nanotech folks are excited about this (as well they should be!) but could this property be built into a polymer? Rather than a single molecule pulling on an atom-scale silicon spring, how about a millimeter-scale string that can reduce its length?
Can light-activated shrink-wrap be far behind?
It appeared in the May 10 issue of Science; abstract here. Can't blame PopSci for being so late, though. They're a monthly.
Jeeze, one whole paragraph. I found a little more info here. Also, it appears this might be a good starting point.
"Light powered fully self-motive Slinky" is totaly on the top of my Christmas Wish List this year. Finally we can have a Slinky that climbs UP stairs.
Hilary Rosen's speech was about her love of money and her desire to roll around naked in a pile of money.
Ultraviolet T-Shirt Contest!
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
This makes me wonder if a motor like this could be used to turn a "shade cog" over itself so once you start the motor going it will continue to run based on its own dark/light cycle. This same shade could have more of these motors under it which generate the actual useful work.
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how does the named karma level breakdown work (what are the names and point requirements for each name)? i had around 26 points, now my karma is 'excellent'.
fear is the mind killer