CNN ran an interesting true/false question asking if it is possible to harness power from spinach. Turns out, the answer is a surprising yes — with current research hitting 12% efficiency in the lab. From the article,
“In 2004, a group of scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. found a way to harness the ability of spinach to convert sunlight to energy.
Accordin to the Boston Globe, they “successfully combined tiny proteins found in spinach with solid state electronics,” and produced a source of solar power which they believe could one day power mobile phones. The protein complex was so small, you could fit 100,000 on a pinhead.”
Spinach plants are apparently very efficient, churning out a lot of energy relative to its size and weight. By isolating the energy-producing properties of efficient plants, researchers are getting closer to creating organic solar cells at 20% or more efficiency. Since this study is about three years old, I’d be curious to see how far they’ve come in advances. Anyone from MIT care to comment? For more information, jump here.
