Dirt power: Who wants an LED lamp that runs on soil?
In the race for sustainable fuels, we've seen some real doozies -- like yo-yo power, pedal-power, fart power, and yes, even poo power. Now add another contestant to the list of ideal, but highly unlikely solutions for the new energy economy: dirt. You might find yourself wondering: can dirt actually power up our iPhones and junk? According to designer Marieke Staps, it can. She's built a lamp that runs on the metabolic power of the soil.According to Staps, the only maintenance required by the lamp is a splash of water every now and then to re-energize the soil, and you can have eco-friendly power "forever and ever." While I'm pretty sure that the lamp can't quite live up to that claim, the lamp could be a pretty cool gadget for the green tinkerer.
Basically, the soil is packed into cells that contain zinc and copper in order to conduct electricity. The LED feeds off of the metabolic process of the biological life in the soil. Apparently, there are soil clocks that operate on the same principles.
Marieke's website describes the energy collected from the soil as "free and environmentally friendly energy," though that's not exactly the case. The electricity produced is part of a chemical reaction, and when it's run its course, the part will have to be replaced. Therefore some argue that the process is not nearly as eco-friendly as it sounds.
Still, who doesn't want to get power from soil? That would be awesome.
[via Treehugger]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-13-2008 @ 4:51PM
Tim said...
Who wants one? First of all, how many millions of yard lights are out there ... both solar and traditional power? Think of the ease of simply staking in an LED yard light that has no need for batteries or power cords, anywhere you want. Even in the shade (something solar lights don't quite care for). It's genius if it works.
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11-14-2008 @ 12:32PM
Nbdy Imprtnt said...
"cells that contain zinc and copper" ... yup, just a plain old electrochemical cell. No magic here.
"The electricity produced is part of a chemical reaction, and when it's run its course, the part will have to be replaced."
and that "part" would be a zinc and/or copper plate that had to be mined from the ground, extracted from ore and formed into its final shape.
"...some argue that the process is not nearly as eco-friendly as it sounds."
I'd like to meet anyone who tries to argue the opposite.
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