With all the focus on clean energy, I thought this clever little lamp is powered by dirt(y) clean energy was pretty interesting. Marieke Strap’s Soil lamp literally harnesses it’s energy from mud. Similar to the process of the microbial fuel cell, the metabolic reaction that is generated by mud, copper and zinc filled cells creates enough energy to power the highly efficient LED.
Source: Marieke Strap via Notcot
Image Sources: Flickr, MocoLoco & Pruned




I hate to see things like this making the news; so-called “potato-powered lamps” or “mud-powered lamps” or whatever. The principal of these batteries is exactly that of conventional, disposable batteries; two metals of different electronegativity values are placed in an electrolyte, and electricity flows until the metal is spent. The electrolyte, whether potato, orange, lemon, mud or person, doesn’t matter a bit and certainly offers no “green cred”.
In essence, this is a huge, wasteful disposable battery. The only “green” thing in it is the choice of LED, which is probably a practical one as such a homebrew battery wouldn’t power an incandescent bulb.
Да уж… Тут как в пословице: Аз, буки и веди страшат, что медведи
Читал про это в Википедии. Вообще конечно занятная тема.