Spinach May Soon Power Mobile Devices

neutron_p writes "For the first time, MIT researchers have incorporated a plant's ability to convert sunlight to energy into a solid-state electronic "spinach sandwich" device that may one day power laptops and cell phones."

Comments

Efficiency

[the JoshMeister]

My first instinct was, "Wait a minute... they want to add a third wheel to solar energy?" We already have silicon solar panels that convert sunlight into energy. So why add something in between? Wouldn't that be less efficient?

The more I researched, though, the more I realized that my initial reaction was somewhat rash. Think about it: if nature already has a time-proven method, why not harness that rather than reinventing the wheel? Especially if the "reinvented" (silicon) method is less efficient.

I found a CNN article from 2 October 2003 where this idea was explained. Back then, less than a year ago, it was estimated that the efficiency would reach 10 percent by the end of 2004. According to one source referenced by another poster, we're already at 12 percent, and now achieving 20 percent is expected! (According to the CNN article, 20 percent is the efficiency of our current silicon solar power.) If the technology continues to develop at this rate, it could become more energy-efficient than silicon and allow for some very cool technology in the not-too-distant future.

(What exactly that technology might be, I'm not too sure. Who wants a disposable cell phone battery when current ones can be recharged in a couple hours? Anyone have any thoughts on how this tech could be best used?)