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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 23 2017, @09:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the a-bit-tart dept.

Scientists have added cadmium to bacteria, causing them to accumulate cadmium sulphide crystals on their surfaces:

Scientists have created bacteria covered in tiny semiconductors that generate a potential fuel source from sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. The so-called "cyborg" bugs produce acetic acid, a chemical that can then be turned into fuel and plastic. In lab experiments, the bacteria proved much more efficient at harvesting sunlight than plants. The work was presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington.

[...] These newly boosted bacteria produce acetic acid, essentially vinegar, from CO2, water and light. They have an efficiency of around 80%, which is four times the level of commercial solar panels, and more than six times the level of chlorophyll.

Also at IEEE.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:01AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:01AM (#558318)

    You're looking at the yellow section of the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 704 fire diamond [wikipedia.org], aren't you? One thing that indicates is reactivity with water, presumably because water is commonly used to suppress fires. The reactivity profile you linked mentions water just once: "Addition of a small amount of water may largely eliminate the risk of explosion [NFPA 491M.1991.p. 7]." The other thing the yellow panel indicates is instability, such as when heated, compressed, or shocked. It looks to me as though this has to do with the stability of the substance by itself. The Wikipedia article explains the meaning of the numbers. Your site gives a reactivity/instability rating of 3 to concentrated, stabilized hydrogen peroxide, about which it says:

    Decomposition can build up large pressures of oxygen and water which may then burst explosively. Avoid oxidizable materials including iron, copper, brass, bronze, chromium, zinc, lead, manganese, silver, catalytic metals. Avoid mechanical impact, uncovering the container, contact with combustible materials, light, temperatures above 95F, hot wires, catalytic impurities. (EPA, 1998) ... Concentrated peroxide may decompose violently in contact with iron, copper, chromium, and most other metals or their salts, and dust(which frequently contain rust).

    https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/5023