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Scientists have created a computer that uses algae and will never run out of battery.
The breakthrough uses a species of blue-green algae called synechocystis that has been feeding a microprocessor regularly for a year using only water and light as fuel.
The formula is about the length of an AA battery and uses photosynthesis to generate a small electric current, which interacts with an aluminum electrode and keeps an Arm Cortex M0 microprocessor running.
“The expansion of the Internet of Things demands an increasing amount of energy, and this will have to come from systems that can generate energy, rather than simply storing it as batteries,” said Professor Christopher Howe, from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.
“Our photosynthetic camera doesn’t discharge like a battery, because it continuously uses light as a source of force. “
Although pc’s formula is based on photosynthesis, it does not need light to function and can continue to produce energy even when it is dark. In fact, algae process their food even in dark situations and therefore continue to generate a current, the researchers believe.
The Arm Cortex M0 processor operated in semi-external situations, with mild, grass-associated temperature fluctuations, and after six months of continuous operation, the effects were submitted for publication in a review article now in the journal Energy.
This formula can be used to force small Internet of Things devices, an umbrella term for smart generation that includes meters, lights, speakers, and other devices that connect to the Internet. It is estimated that there will be one trillion such devices by 2035. .
The researchers say it will most likely be most useful in off-grid conditions or in remote locations where it’s difficult to get large amounts of power. In addition, using traditional lithium-ion batteries for those products would not be practical, as it would require 3 times more lithium than what is produced year in the world.
“We were inspired by the smoothness with which the formula worked over a long period of time; we thought it would be avoided after a few weeks, but it continued,” said Dr Paolo Bombelli, from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.