ALL SCI-FI

[bulldogtrekker]

Scientists turn leaves into batteries
Treehuger by Megan Treacy

.....A team of researchers at University of Maryland has tackled this issue by discovering one of the simplest possible ways to make a battery: find a leaf, bake it and add sodium. Well, at least the anode of a battery.

"Leaves are so abundant. All we had to do was pick one up off the ground here on campus," said Hongbian Li, a visiting professor in the department of materials science and engineering in UMD's A. James Clark School of Engineering.

The researchers are working on making batteries that use sodium where most rechargeable batteries use lithium because sodium can hold a greater charge although it cannot withstand as many charge and discharge cycles as lithium....

LINK for full story:
http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/scientist-turn-leaves-batteries.html?platform=hootsuite

[Bud Brewster]

_______________________________________

So you think you know how leaves are constructed and how they turn sunlight into chlorophyll and all that good stuff? Hmmm?

Think again, nature boy! Consider this excerpt.

The underside of the leaf is porous, typically used to absorb water, but in this case the pores absorb the sodium electrolyte. The top side is tough nanostructured carbon that absorbs the sodium and holds the charge.

Any article that uses phrases like that to describes the structure of leaves is worth reading! I mean . . . nanostructured carbon that absorbs the sodium and holds the charge? Tell us more, Commander Data!
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)