Photo credit: Paolo Bombelli
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have created an algae-powered computer that has been running continuously for 6-months. It’s comparable to an AA battery and contains a type of non-toxic algae called Synechocystis that naturally harvests energy from the sun through photosynthesis. The algae generates a tiny electrical current that then interacts with an aluminum electrode to power a microprocessor.
Sure, an algae-powered computer may not be practical, but it paves the way for eco-friendly systems in the future. This one is made from common, inexpensive and largely recyclable materials, making it easy to replicate hundreds of thousands of times to power large numbers of small devices as part of the Internet of Things (IoT). In the future, researchers see this being the most useful in off-grid situations or remote locations, where only small amounts of power are required. One example would be the Living Street Map, which is powered entirely by photosynthesis.
Sale
Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R3UB | 15.6″ Full HD IPS Display | AMD Ryzen 3 3350U Quad-Core Mobile Processor | 4GB DDR4 | 128GB NVMe SSD | WiFi 6 | Backlit KB | FPR | Amazon Alexa | Windows 11 Home in S mode
- Powerful Productivity: AMD Ryzen 3 3350U delivers desktop-class performance and amazing battery life in a slim notebook. With Precision Boost, get up to 3.5GHz for your high-demand applications
- Maximized Visuals: See even more on the stunning 15.6″ Full HD display with 82.58% screen-to-body, 16:9 aspect ratio and narrow bezels
- Backlit Keyboard and Fingerprint Reader: Biometric fingerprint reader and Windows Hello sign-in options help keep your Acer PC secure
- Internal Specifications: 4GB DDR4 on-board memory (1 slot available); 128GB NVMe solid-state drive storage (1 hard drive bay available) to store your files and media
- Acer’s Purified.Voice technology, features enhanced digital signal processing to cancel out background noise, improve speech accuracy and far-field pickup, which not only makes calls clearer, but makes talking to Alexa easier than before.
The growing Internet of Things needs an increasing amount of power, and we think this will have to come from systems that can generate energy, rather than simply store it like batteries. Our photosynthetic device doesn’t run down the way a battery does because it’s continually using light as the energy source,” said Christopher Howe, Professor in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry.