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DIY Living Computer Battery
An anonymous reader writes "Talk about a living battery/pollution clean up/environmentally friendly battery, this seems to fit all the buzz words. Researchers at UMass reported in the journal Science about their sediment battery. 'Derek R. Lovley, UMass microbiologist and team leader, explained how the team used water and sediment from Boston Harbor, a collection of mason jars, ordinary electrical wiring and sterile graphite electrodes to determine the science behind the mechanics of a simple, sediment battery. Using Desulfuromonas acetoxidans (a Geobacter bacteria) the researchers were able to produce enough electrical current to power a lightbulb or a simple computer.'" The linked article is low on details - post 'em in the comments if you have more information on related projects.
So now I can water cool my overclocked processor *and* power it from the creek near my house? Time to buy some garden hose extensions and some more power cables!
Of course, not all sediment has as many, ahem, "nutrients" as Boston Harbor sediment. . .
Do you still have to get a hepatitis shot if you fall in the harbor?
"The dinosaurs died because they didn't have a space program." - Niven
Did I just take the red pill?!
This is the corresponding article in Science:
Electrode-Reducing Microorganisms That Harvest Energy from Marine Sediments
Daniel R. Bond, Dawn E. Holmes, Leonard M. Tender, and Derek R. Lovley
Science 2002 January 18; 295: 483-485. (in Reports)
where's all that Karma?
"To cover itself, the movie throws in a quick mention that the human energy source powering the machines is combined with a source of fusion. This is like getting on a 747 and having the captain explain in great detail that the plane is rubber band powered, then add that it also has four jet engines."
It was here. I dunno. Just made me think of that.
http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/archive/2002/01170 2electrodes.html
http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/archive/2002/11130 2harbor.htm
Modest doubt is called the beacon of the wise. - William Shakespeare
dont forget to feed the battery.
They've actually put two of these things up in field sites, and it works well in both polluted (Tuckerton, NJ) and unpolluted (Newport, OR) areas. The energy it's harvesting is from the difference between the oxidizing environment we live in and the reducing environment in which sediment bacteria turn organic matter into methane (and no, the methane can't be effectively harvested.)
The good news is that the power supply was very steady over 3 months. The bad news is that the power so low as to be useless - it averaged at 28 MILLIwatts per square meter. The area needing to be covered in order to run a lightbulb is left as an exercise for the reader, but the answer's big. They're currently thinking this might be a good way to power long-term monitoring devices deployed in the middle of the ocean and other distant places, but as a practical power source - go get a photovoltaic!