Money doesn't grow on trees, but electricity might someday.
Iowa State University scientists have built a device that mimics the branches and leaves of a cottonwood tree and generates electricity when its artificial leaves sway in the wind.
Michael McCloskey, an associate professor of genetics, development and cell biology who led the design of the device, said the concept won't replace wind turbines, but the technology could spawn a niche market for small and visually unobtrusive machines that turn wind into electricity.
"The possible advantages here are aesthetics and its smaller scale, which may allow off-grid energy harvesting," McCloskey said recently in his ISU laboratory. "We set out to answer the question of whether you can get useful amounts of electrical power out of something that looks like a plant. The answer is 'possibly,' but the idea will require further development."
Also at:
techtimes.com
Reference:
Michael A. McCloskey, Curtis L. Mosher, Eric R. Henderson. Wind Energy Conversion by Plant-Inspired Designs PLOS ONE, 2017; 12 (1): e0170022 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170022
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 02 2017, @11:11PM
I've been hearing about this tech for a while now, doesn't sound like anything new has happened, just a publication to let us know they're still at it.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Friday February 03 2017, @12:49AM
just a publication to let us know they're still at
Enough about your mom & dad's Twitter feed!
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by darnkitten on Friday February 03 2017, @03:08AM
I've heard of this, but I thought it was further along...
On the other hand, I like this design, [businessinsider.com] which also uses trees for design inspiration. [newwind.fr]