Scientists invent a battery powered by dirt
Posted on 19. Oct, 2009 by Jonathan Cherry in Technology
We look hot in our white lab coats
With the looming electricity price-hike eminent, people who live in filthy houses may be onto something the rest of us could adopt.
Harvard scientists have apparently invented a battery that derive energy from naturally occurring bacteria in soil. The charge coming out of the device is strong enough to charge a cell phone or power LED lights.
The MFC batteries, which were recently honored as one of Popular Mechanics‘ 10 Most Brilliant Innovations of 2009, were first tested in Tanzania in 2008. The MFC came in the form of a five-pound bucket, and was made up of a graphite- cloth anode, chicken-wire cathode, mud with manure, a layer of sand which acted as an ion barrier and salt water which acted as an electrolyte.
It sounds like a good idea while the dirt still exists. Coal was probably also considered ‘dirt’ at some stage, but we guess this dirt you don’t have to burn.
More: 10 most brilliant Innovators of 2009 – Popular Mechanics
[via Inhabitat]
