Plants as Self-Powered Table Lamps
Technology advancements are today happening at such exponential rate that when we come across some news about future technology that might become reality in just few years from now, it leave us in awe and wonder! One such future technology I came to know recently is of glowing plant that could replace table lamp for reading as shown in figure below.
Electricity is one of the major necessities and this need is only growing. Every day we use numerous appliances and gadgets that require electricity to operate and this usage is only going to increase with time. Majorly our electricity come for non-renewable sources be it thermal, hydro or nuclear energy sources and we know very well that these resources are not unlimited. In the past several years focus is shifted to non-renewable energy sources like solar, wind etc. To meet the small energy requirements some newer ways of energy generation have been explored. Some examples are generating energy from vibrations, pressure etc. We are aware about all these developments. However, very recently a research group at MIT has come up with a new technology where plants in home could be used as table lamps.
Chemical engineers led by MIT Professor Dr. Michael Strano implanted particle of nano size into an eatable aquatic plant to make it glow, so that it can produce dim light for a few hours.
Light in the plant is powered by energy metabolism in it and with some optimizations, this technology could provide in future low intensity indoor lighting, street lighting where tree would be transformed into self powered street lights etc.
The principle or chemistry used in the technology is borrowed from fireflies. Fireflies use an enzyme called Luciferase that acts on a molecule Luciferin to give light, there is also a co-enzyme that functions to remove the reaction byproduct. Researchers took these three components bundled them with nanoparticles and exposed the plant to them so that these nanoparticles enter leaves through stomata. This is done by suspending the nanoparticles in a solution, immersing the plant in that solution and then applying high pressure.
About 20% of electricity consumption goes into lighting. This technology could provide a very good alternative for electricity powered lighting. According to Prof. Strano, using plant for lighting is a logical step as plant can self-repair, have their own energy and are already adapted to outdoor environment.
By: Mr. Sukhraj Singh - Assistant Professor (ECE), Chitkara University, H.P.
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