Sea Creatures to Provide Basis for New Electronics?

hakaii writes to tell us that the shells of tiny sea creatures may help to lay the foundation for new electronic devices including an improved pollution detector. "Using a chemical process that converts the shells' original silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) into the semiconductor material silicon, researchers have created a new class of gas sensors based on the unique and intricate three-dimensional (3-D) shells produced by microscopic creatures known as diatoms. The converted shells, which retain the 3-D shape and nanoscale detail of the originals, could also be useful as battery electrodes, chemical purifiers - and in other applications requiring complex shapes that nature can produce better than humans."

Comments

diatoms

[mastershake_phd]

Diatoms, is there anything they cant do? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

used to filter beer

[daniel23]

I stumbled over some industrial use of diatom earth quite some time ago, things like adding the stuff to color mixtures to give it the right viscosity. But the best is: it's used to filter the yeast out of beer. All those surreal 3d structures of the diatom skeleton (and TFA pictured an extremly boring one, they have thorns and what not) help to catch the yeast cells when thrown into a tank of mature beer, the diatom earth ("sand") slowly sinks to the bottom and takes most of the yeast cells with it.
The beer is pumped off and put into bottles afterwards and the remaining goo goes to the waste or recycling. Which has to happen soon, if they wait to long (or in summer), the yeast sort of explodes running over the container it was put in and is hard to remove...

Re:so, who will patent this

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

I watched a movie called the corporation not so long ago,

Torrent (via mininova) available here. Everyone watch this - it's great.

Re:so, who will patent this-cynicism

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Thankfully patents only last ten years. Feel better?

Uh, where do you live where patents only last ten years?

I don't feel better no.