Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

How Artificial Leaves Could Generate Clean Hydrogen

Posted by Soulskill on from the leaving-well-enough-alone dept.

An anonymous reader writes "At Imperial College London, researchers have embarked on a £1m project to study, and eventually mimic, photosynthesis. Part of the 'artificial leaf' project involves working out exactly how leaves use sunlight to make useful molecules. The team then plans to build artificial systems that can do the same to generate clean fuels such as hydrogen and methanol. These would then be used in fuel cells to make electricity or to directly power super-clean vehicles."

6 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. FARK by gurps_npc · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This is not an announcement of an advance, it is an announcement of intention to BEGIN research.

    Not news. Fark.

    I hereby announce that I am studying how bees fly. I plan on creating a bee suit to let 300 pound people fly.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
    1. Re:FARK by confused+one · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Best way to store hydrogen is using a carbon atom.

    2. Re:FARK by bythescruff · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ...working out exactly how leaves use sunlight to make useful molecules.

      Finally, we know what stage 2 is!

      Stage 1: (whatever)

      Stage 2: Solve the mystery of photosynthesis, which has been baffling scientists for decades.

      Stage 3: Profit!

      --
      Chuck Norris: Socialism == a thousand years of darkness.
  2. Yeah right by nmrtian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Photosynthesis has traditionally been one of the "hard" problems to solve. These guys are going to figure it out for 1 million pounds and then use it to produce fuel? I'll put my money on cold fusion first.

  3. Re:Finally! by flaming+error · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > I thought we were talking about a feature missing in an FOSS package.
    But aren't we?

    AFAIK there's no reason any joe off the street can't go do photosynthesis research and post his findings. Funding and specialized advanced degrees are real nice to have, but they're technically not part of the scientific method.

  4. Re:Finally! by VisceralLogic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Great point! Historically, a lot of ground-breaking research has been done by folks without degrees or funding... just an insatiable curiosity.

    --
    Stop! Dremel time!