By Good News Network Sunday, February 13, 2011 Researchers following upon an MIT study last year that discovered a measurable current inside trees have created a gadget that harnesses that power for electricity. The University of Washington team sought to further academic research in the field of tree power by building circuits to run off that energy. They successfully ran a custom circuit solely off tree power. "As far as we know this is the first peer-reviewed paper of someone powering something entirely by sticking electrodes into a tree," said co-author Babak Parviz, a UW associate professor of electrical engineering. Thanks to Steve G. for submitting the link!
Electrical Device Plugs Directly into Trees for PowerYou've heard of solar power. How about tree power?
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology study last year found that plants generate a voltage of up to 200 millivolts when one electrode is placed in a plant and the other in the surrounding soil. Those researchers are working with a company, Voltree, that holds patents for circuits to exploit this new power source.
"It's not exactly established where these voltages come from. But there seems to be some signaling in trees, similar to what happens in the human body but with slower speed," Parviz said. "I'm interested in applying our results as a way of investigating what the tree is doing. When you go to the doctor, the first thing that they measure is your pulse. We don't really have something similar for trees."
Next, a device was developed as a boost converter, to take a low incoming voltage and store it to produce a greater output. Working with input voltages as tiny as 20 millivolts -- unlike any existing device -- it produces an output of 1.1 volts, enough to run low-power sensors.
"Normal electronics are not going to run on the types of voltages and currents that we get out of a tree," said co-author Brian Otis, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering. But as new generations of technology come online, he believes it is valuable to explore the possibilities.
Tree power is unlikely to replace solar power for most applications, Parviz admits. But the system could provide a low-cost option for powering tree sensors that might be used to detect environmental conditions or forest fires. The electronic output could also be used to gauge a tree's health. (Source for more info: http://uwnews.org)
Top 10 Good News Stories of the Week You've heard of solar power. How about tree power? Researchers following upon an MIT study last year that discovered a measurable current inside trees have created a gadget that harnesses that power for electricity. Speaking at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, President Obama proposed a new national wireless initiative in a city where high-speed internet services have served as a model for the what the future of America could look like. Iraq is delaying the purchase of 18 American fighter jets and has decided to funnel the money into food for the poor instead. Iraq, like, many Middle Eastern countries in the wake of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, is under pressure to demonstrate its commitment to helping its own people. (AP) Video of the Week: Reel Wisdom: Lessons From 40 Films
Do you enjoy the challenge of putting your knowledge to the test? A new addictive trivia game from OhMyGov.com gives people the power to save lives while they engage in frivolous play on the Internet. For every correct answer, the website donates funds to to provide one day's worth of safe drinking water for a child in Africa.
Across the state of Missouri, dog rescue programs are thriving in prisons, creating a more humane inmate population while getting shelter dogs ready for adoption. As the program evolved, the idea of removing from shelters the dogs that were deaf, and thus hard to adopt, and teaching them sign language, has led to dogs being delivered to a school for deaf children.
A 4-year-old girl is being praised as a hero after escaping a car accident to get help for her trapped mother and injured little brother. She walked nearly a quarter of a mile through a foot of snow and braved the 21-degree weather before coming across a farmhouse and finding help. (NY Daily News)
It seems preposterous now that a telecast like the first Super Bowl -- aired by two major networks -- could have disappeared, but copies were never saved, and videotape of the event has long been sought as the Holy Grail of sports memorabilia. The long search is over, ending with a man and a shopping bag, and tapes that had been stored in a Pennsylvania attic for 38 years. (WS Journal)
In the United States, which contains 8 percent of the world's forests, there are more trees than there were 100 years ago, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. By 1997, the planting of new trees outpaced harvesting by 42 percent. (MNN)
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