When plants engage in photosynthesis, sunlight breaks apart water and
CO2 to release oxygen and build plant-and people-food. It's cheap and
ubiquitous but not much use for powering a home.
Photovoltaic devices use semiconducting material like silicon in a
related way, with incoming photons knocking loose electrons to generate
electricity. Such devices can produce a lot of electricity on a bright
sunny day. Unfortunately, they're too expensive for most folks to
afford.
But what if you combined the two? That's exactly what an international
consortium of scientists have done, creating a truly green solar
cell-and one that can be made from something as common as grass
clippings. The findings are in the current issue of Nature: Scientific
Reports.
This "electric nanoforest" only produces a trickle of electricity at
present, but with refinement it could begin to produce useful amounts of
current. Plus, the raw materials are durable and cheap: any living green
vegetation will do-nature has seen to that. If such devices can be
improved substantially enough, plant-based photovoltaics may finally
bring affordable solar power to the remote villages where it's needed
most.
-David Biello
http://news.yahoo.com/electricity-using-plants-sunshine-140008597.html
"General Electric and those associated with them who make a profit will
probably see to it that this never happens."
Consul Nicholas Moore
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