.Air Force Eyes Purple Bacteria to Power Drones
The Air Force doesn’t exactly want its drones powered by purple bacteria. Instead, the air service would like to use a synthetic dye, based one the microorganisms, to juice up its robotic planes.
Let me explain: The U.S. armed services are on a slow crawl towards environmental friendliness, investing in everything from massive solar arrays to algae-based jet fuels to trash-powered generators. Military-funded researchers are also experimenting with downright novel methods to come up with green fuel and power. Like this bacteria-and-drones project.
The Air Force is sponsoring a University of Washington research effort to generate power using a bacterial pigment that can convert solar energy to electricity, Defense News reports. The pigment, found in purple microorganisms that thrive in shallow water, harnesses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide to carbohydrates, which the bacteria then uses for energy.
Dr. Minoru Taya’s University of Washington lab has created a synthetic version of the pigment and embedded it into solar energy cells (the components of solar panels). When the dye-sensitized cells are hit by sunlight, the pigment launches an electron circuit, yielding electricity. That process can repeat over and over, so the cells rarely need replacing.
Right now, the cells are used commercially to recharge cell phones. It would take a lot more of them to charge an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), but the military thinks the project is feasible. Mostly because dye-sensitized cells are cheap and small compared to the silicon alternative. They’re a little less efficient, but cost a quarter as much to produce. And the cells are lightweight and thin, so they could spread across the wings of an UAV without taking up extra space.
And that’s exactly what the Air Force wants: panels of dye-sensitized cells that run along the wingspan of UAV’s, charging a battery that could power the plane’s propeller, surveillance systems, onboard computers and flight controls.
So far, the Air Force has spent $450,000 on the project, and expect to power an UAV with the mock bacterial dye within three to five years. But the cells could be used in other projects before that. The military is considering a bacteria-inspired solar “power shade” that would fit over Army tents to keep the electricity flowing inside.
Wired
Let me explain: The U.S. armed services are on a slow crawl towards environmental friendliness, investing in everything from massive solar arrays to algae-based jet fuels to trash-powered generators. Military-funded researchers are also experimenting with downright novel methods to come up with green fuel and power. Like this bacteria-and-drones project.
The Air Force is sponsoring a University of Washington research effort to generate power using a bacterial pigment that can convert solar energy to electricity, Defense News reports. The pigment, found in purple microorganisms that thrive in shallow water, harnesses sunlight to convert carbon dioxide to carbohydrates, which the bacteria then uses for energy.
Dr. Minoru Taya’s University of Washington lab has created a synthetic version of the pigment and embedded it into solar energy cells (the components of solar panels). When the dye-sensitized cells are hit by sunlight, the pigment launches an electron circuit, yielding electricity. That process can repeat over and over, so the cells rarely need replacing.
Right now, the cells are used commercially to recharge cell phones. It would take a lot more of them to charge an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), but the military thinks the project is feasible. Mostly because dye-sensitized cells are cheap and small compared to the silicon alternative. They’re a little less efficient, but cost a quarter as much to produce. And the cells are lightweight and thin, so they could spread across the wings of an UAV without taking up extra space.
And that’s exactly what the Air Force wants: panels of dye-sensitized cells that run along the wingspan of UAV’s, charging a battery that could power the plane’s propeller, surveillance systems, onboard computers and flight controls.
So far, the Air Force has spent $450,000 on the project, and expect to power an UAV with the mock bacterial dye within three to five years. But the cells could be used in other projects before that. The military is considering a bacteria-inspired solar “power shade” that would fit over Army tents to keep the electricity flowing inside.
Wired
posted by madtom at 7:38 PM
8 Comments:
I can beat your purple bacteria story--- land drones fueled by dead bodies:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,532492,00.html?test=latestnews
Hey what a great Idea, they could put that on cars, and we could drive down the roads mowing the curb for fuel
Anyway, they are talking about electric drones, biofuel to make steam, to make electricity, to power wheels and stuff. wave of the future, no one can stop progress, not even republican
You call this progress? You can't stop progress and that is why this global warming (governance) is a dieing religion. Progress will be drilling and nuclear power plants and it will come when people wake up to the reality of what is being shoved down our throats. Next year elections will be the beginning of the end for this idiocy.
Thermoelectric generators staked in 6 mile deep wells.
Solid state, no moving parts, cheep electricity from earths own heat..
If we had a thing like a free market and this process had a chance of working at anything close to the cost efficiency of a coal powered or nat gas powered generator--- they'd be in everyone's backyard RIGHT NOW! I'm not against miracle energy, I've lost money on some of them. I just need to see it works before I will believe it. So far, none of these world saving/changing devices are even remotely practical. Assuming the process works, how much does it cost to drill a 6 mile deep hole (hard to say since it's only been attempted 3 times from what I can read and only in then in ideal conditions), and how much energy can be derived from a single well? Device costs, maintainance, etc. What is the KWH cost? How many gas wells could be drilled for the same cost and how much energy would they produce in comparison? Given the choice, would you invest in this of nuclear or gas/oil? When it makes sense, these things will happen, but now it isn't even close.
The whole process is now at the limits of available technologies, You don't need the six miles, it could work stating at 4, 4.5 mi. at choice locations, but the temperatures variations are critical, ad I think they are just starting to work at the available temperatures, about 350 deg.
Now let me change your question a little, we need a power station, in the Gaza strip, Iraq, Iran, KSA, any Stan, which would you rather deliver at those locations, Heat Mining, or Nuclear power?
I think you could design either station to provide similar load generation for similar cost. Your choice
IF that were possible, somebody would damn sure be doing it--- and NO ONE needs it as badly as Israel and has the wherewithal to make it happen. They don't cuz they can't.
The same could be said for nuclear, if it were so worth it, we would have more of them long time ago...
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