Researchers led by MIT professor Daniel Nocera have announced the creation of “artificial leaves” that can convert the energy of sunlight directly into a chemical fuel that can be stored and used later as an energy source. The leaf uses abundant material and could prove a breakthrough in the search for new fuel systems.
The artificial leaf is a a silicon solar cell with different catalytic materials bonded onto its two sides. If you simply place the leaf in water, it generate streams of oxygen bubbles from one side and hydrogen bubbles from the other. No wires or control circuits needed.
It is perfect timing to watch the silicon leaves falling from the trees around MIT with the arrival of autumn.
Source: Science Blog
http://www.ioga.com/Special/crudeoil_Hist.htm
http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm
there seems to be a pretty good correlation between war and government intrusion into the oil market and price increase of a barrel of oil.
Based on this I dont know why we would want to give control of the oil and gas industry to government. They are the ones who make war and interefer with the proper functions of the market place. It seems rather contradictory to me.
The price of oil fell sharply during the 1980’s when the economy was doing very well. It seems very clear to me that war and regulations are what drives the price of oil higer, not Exxon/Mobil.
If that industry is nationalized look for gasoline to be around 15 dollars per gallon.
very interesting and informative post, Really very good to read it out
“One suspects that the private sector developing this would, indeed, be the oil and gas industry.”
And they’ve been such sterling corporate citizens up to this point.
That’s reason alone to nationalize hydrogen production.
And if that’s not enough?
DuPont and Dow have been real charmers too.
No. It’s time to take energy security out of the hands of both publicly and privately held corporations and the away from the free market. They’ve all proven they are good for little but corruption and war profiteering.
woosty
don’t i wish
make me realize how hard it is to find a teddy roosevelt when you need one
“The private sector would develop this no problem to compete with oil and gas.”
One suspects that the private sector developing this would, indeed, be the oil and gas industry.
Bron,
Man you just don’t get it. It’s not the fuel cell technology that’s new. It’s just that these guys at MIT have been working for years to perfect cutting the perfect leaf shape.
After another ten years they’ll have them so they chamge color with the seasons and……..THEN, they’ll decide they’re ready for consumers.
pete, in a perfect world where the gubernmint was not perverted….would that bitch slap not be met with an even bigger bitch slap because of monopolizing and interference?
The private sector would develop this no problem to compete with oil and gas
=======================================================
you really should look up exxon’s quarterly profits for the last five years.
my guess is that the invisible hand of the market is going to bitch-slap this leaf.
i could be wrong, hell i hope i’m wrong.
We are the tree. WE ARE THE TREE!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
There is oil and natural gas, but it is a finite resource and polluting as well. This technology, if it works as advertised, should be on the same basis as the Internet and the highway system and needs to be regarded as a national resource.
That should NOT keep the private sector from developing new and improved technologies if they can invent a better mousetrap.
why would you nationalize a discovery like this? Why not allow a bunch of people to license it and develop new ways to use this?
You could have one of these at your house and use it to supply hydrogen to run your fuel cells and stove and heating system.
If the government nationalizes it, it will become a novelty at some USDA booth at the county fair.
Anyway we dont need a Manhattan project to develop this, there is plenty of oil and natural gas and coal for the foreseeable future.
The private sector would develop this no problem to compete with oil and gas. All nationalization would do is guarantee it would never compete with hydrocarbon fuels.
Otteray Scribe:
my 10th grade chemistry professor gave us a demonstration using a battery to seperate the O2 and H. He then lit the gas and it made a nice little pop. I have always remembered that.
I was wondering if the leaf caused a reverse reaction to release the H and O2. Where a fuel cell combines H and O2 to form water.
Is this just some type of flat battery? Obviously electrons are moving to create a current or maybe not. But then how do you split the H and O2 bond without putting some sort of energy into the system? A material that has a stronger attraction for hydrogen? Palladium possibly?
Very interesting.
OS,
This device doesn’t violate the laws of thermodynamics. It takes its initial input energy to break the bonds from solar heating the water. But carbon free hydrogen? We should be putting a Manhattan Project level effort as a nation into developing and deploying this technology . . . and production should be kept nationalized. We’ve already seen what oil companies are willing to do to our national security in the name of profits. Energy security is too key to national security to allow a profit motive to start an illegal war again. We need to handle energy independence in such a way as to ensure that that abuses of the Bush Administration in the name of their personal oil derived profits are never again allowed to make national security decisions like to invade Iraq instead of those who really attacked us on 9/11, Saudi Arabia as aided by the Bush/Cheney/House of Saud criminal-business cartel.
Bron,
A hydrogen fuel cell burns the hydrogen with the oxygen. The hydrogen fuel to use in the fuel cell has to come from somewhere.
One of the most interesting puzzles facing scientists is how to break the molecular bond of H and O in water without violating the First Law of Thermodynamics. I don’t know how this gadget works, but it sounds as if it accomplishes just that.
Water is, literally, our most abundant fuel source. The problem has been how to get at the hydrogen.
I hope these leaves are engineered to rake themselves up in the Fall …..
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell2.htm
“The polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the most promising fuel cell technologies.”
I wonder if they just reversed the process?
what is the difference between this and a hydrogen fuel cell?
Didnt Bush promote this [hydrogen fuel cells] technology back in 2003?
Industrial hemp would be the best raw source to make single use plastics. These cells could be made out of hemp.
If my dog poop bag was biodegradable all of us would win!
“have hold” = “have to hold”