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Batteries Powered by Leftover Food

Posted by michael on from the my-refrigerator-suddenly-becomes-very-valuable dept.

Lazyhound writes "Technologists at the University of the West of England in Bristol have come up with a cheap, organic battery that can run on household leftovers, and be manufactured for just £10." There's also a New Scientist article. The New Scientist would like to point out that they broke the story, and the BBC followed up.

5 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Potato clock by (trb001) · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I remember wiring potatoes into a clock I had as a kid, so this really is nothing new. The ability to harnass food is grand and all, but the food gets pretty smelly after a few days.

    --trb

  2. Re:Filed under brilliance for... by bhny · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In the Czech Republic children are given E. coli to help prevent allergies.

  3. Re:Interesting by Muad'Dave · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Further extrapolation:
    40W bulb * 8 hours = 40 J/s * 8 hr = 1,152,000 J
    50g sugar * 4 Cal/g = 200 Cal = 800,000 J
    Aren't they off by a factor of 2?

    --
    Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
  4. Re:Could the Colis be outcompeted? by joshsisk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They would probably sell granules like the ones they sell for septic tanks, to "refresh" your battery.

  5. Re:Flux Capacitor by wraithgar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually, the flux capacitor is a real thing. The term was borrowed for the movie cause it sounded cool. Obviously the real one isn't related to time travel ;).

    It was the point of many jokes for the quarter of my electronics class when we dealt with capacitors and inductors.