Tech & Biz

Solar Power and Photosynthesis: Breakthrough

by Erik Larson | December 1, 2008 at 01:01 pm

1029 views | 60 Recommendations | 9 comments

US researchers have taken photosynthetic molecules from plants, attached them to gold sheets, and are harvesting solar power. Still in the intial stages of research.

Gold leaf doesn't grow on trees, but it can now harvest power from the Sun. A team of US chemical engineers has extracted photosynthetic molecules from plants and attached them to thin sheets of gold, creating a photosynthesising cyborg.

Organisms have been photosynthesising for at least 3.5 billion years, and over that time have developed elegant combinations of protein and light-absorbing dyes to help convert sunlight into power.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, Kane Jennings and Peter Ciesielski's team at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to take those proteins to build their own photosynthetic devices.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Terri Potratz

at 15:31 on December 1st, 2008

Very cool

Erik Larson

at 18:29 on December 1st, 2008

thanks terri and moonwolf, i agree- money doesn't grow on trees, but solar power does

thanks for the pics, toms

hot new look, Terri

talentedchimp

at 21:40 on December 1st, 2008

Power (not the authoritarian kind) = money. So maybe one day it will. And when we all have free abundant power we can do away with money.

Excellent post.

Uwe Paschen

at 19:50 on December 1st, 2008

Nice post. This has been in the works for some time, yet it is hard to mimic Nature and as effective as Nature is it self.

Rachel Nixon

at 20:37 on December 1st, 2008

Fascinating!

Maireid Sullivan

at 20:44 on December 1st, 2008

Fabulous news!

mtippett

at 22:02 on December 1st, 2008

Gold is the new black gold.

Erik Larson

at 00:10 on December 2nd, 2008

thanks everyone for commenting and recommending- fascinating and great news, indeed- money is a convenient medium, but, imho, this exponentially accelerating information technology revolution looks to be on track to make everything nearly free- sunshine and rain come down out of the sky, plants grow out of the ground, without human interference. Interesting analogy from mtippet; the material they're currently using is gold, and it's producing energy- with more research and production on a mass scale, this could be a factor in an energy revolution that puts oil out of business by undercutting the cost. If the true cost of oil was factored in; war, political manipulation, pollution and human suffering, i wouldn't be surprised to find it's already cheaper to go completely green, now- and renewables keep getting cheaper.