Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Solar Leaves - Electrochemical and Biological
Artificial solar leaves created by the Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology group have been putting solar cells on small, flexible pieces of plastic.
(Solar Leaves)
Then, you tack hundreds of them onto the side of a house, creating an ivy-like solar array.
(Solar Leaves ivy-like on house)
Not content to rest with this innovation, SMIT attaches them in such a way that they can flutter like actual leaves. Each solar leaf is attached to a piezoelectric generator; the shaking of the leaf generates an extra bit of power.
(Solar Leaves ivy-like on house with piezoelectric connections)
I love these guys.
The leaf idea is also being used in the creation of biologically-based artificial leaves that can also harvest solar energy. At Arizona State University, Tom Moore and his co-workers are using artificial cell like structures called liposomes as light harvesting machines.
Chloroplasts do not convert sunlight into electrical current. They merely move electrons from one side of a membrane to another - a process that is eventually exploited to make chemicals. It would be a very useful ability to mimic in artificial systems: imagine chemicals factories where the reactions are not driven by, say, heat from a flame, but directly from the energy of sunlight. This is the kind of vision that Moore’s group is pursuing.The Gratzel cell produces elecromotive force (EMF), which is exactly what is needed to run the motors and electronic devices of the macroscopic world. But in a chloroplast, electron transfer has a different result. It leads to an electrochemical potential that drives microscopic motors and other devices of living cells. Electron transfer in chloroplasts occurs inside complex membrane structures. They are made from a collection of molecules called “phospholipids” - molecular “tadpoles” with a water soluble head group and a water insoluble tail. In water, phospholipids spontaneously form hollow spherical membranes called liposomes, driven by the tendency of the insoluble tail to shy away from the water.
Thomas A. Easton had a very similar idea in his 1990 novel Sparrowhawk. He imagined that plants could be genetically altered in such a way that the individual cells on a leaf could be activated in different colors - a leaf screen that could be grown by the thousands.
Via SMIT’s GROW: Solar and Wind Photovoltaic ‘Leaves’ and Solar Leaves at Cheresources.com.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/7/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.' - John Victor Peterson, 1938.
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.' - E.D. Skinner, 1929.
Time Crystals Can Now Be Seen Directly
'It is as you thought when you constructed the time crystal, my master Vaylan.' - NK Heming, 1952.
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.' - George Griffith, 1893.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
Mornine Sales Robot
'Robot-salesmen were everywhere, gesturing...'
Bipedal Robot Floats Gently While Walking
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs...'
Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.'
Elegant Bivouac Shelter Produces Water And Electricity
'There was nowhere on the planet where science and technology could not provide one with a comfortable home...'
X-Control Janus-1 A Suitcase Aircraft
'You will notice that it... fits the suitcase nicely.'
'AI Assistants' Are Actually Less Reliable For News
'Most men updated their PIP on New Year's Day...'
YES!! Remote Teleoperated Robots predicted by Technovelgy!
'...a misshapen, many-tentacled thing about twice the size of a man.'
Will Robots Ever Fold Landry?
Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson?
Will AIs Give Better Results If You're Rude To Them?
'I said, "Listen up, motherf*cker.'
Cybertruck Robotic Arm F10 Drone Launch!
Drone away!
Black Fungus Blocks Radiation
'You were surrounded by Astrophage most of the time'
Liuzhi Process Now In Use In China
'He was in a high-ceilinged windowless cell with walls of glittering white porcelain.'
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Will Robots Become Family Caregivers?
'The robant and the tiny old woman entered the control room slowly...'
