Day: May 16, 2022

There’s “green energy” and then there’s truly GREEN energy, or rather, blue-green energy. A colorful colony of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, known as blue-green algae, have successfully powered a computer microprocessor for longer than six months, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

The little bio-based battery-alternative could serve as a way to power small electronics without rare earth elements and lithium, materials in short supply and under growing demand, according to the study researchers. Plus, the system could also help bridge the electricity divide, providing another power supply for people in rural areas or low income countries, said senior author Chris Howe, a biochemist at Cambridge University, in a press statement.

During a pandemic lockdown, the algae-computer system was placed in a the window of scientist, Paolo Bombelli’s, home. It sat there from February to August 2021, and all the while it was working, according to reporting from New Scientist. In the additional months since Bombelli and his colleagues ended the first round of testing, the scientists say the algal device and computer have kept running. To which Gizmodo says: Way to go microbes!

Cyanobacteria harvest energy from sunlight and make it into food for themselves. For this study, the researchers put the power-providing microorganisms (specifically, Synechocystis sp.) into a plastic and steel enclosure, about the size of an AA battery, along with an aluminum anode.

Throughout the experiment, the connected microprocessor was programmed to do a bunch of a calculations, and then check its own work. It did this in 45 minute increments, followed by 15 minutes of standby, continuously for months with the cyanobacteria unit as its only power source.

The researchers offered two hypotheses for how their system created current. In the so-called “electrochemical” model, the microbes simply produced the right conditions for the aluminum anode to oxidize—or release electrons, which then create an electrical output. In the “bio-electrochemical” model, the cyanobacteria themselves generated electrons which transferred across bacterial membranes to the aluminum anode, making a current. Because the aluminum anode didn’t seem to degrade much over time, the scientists think the latter explanation is more likely than the former.

Even though the algae rely on a light source to feed, the bio-system continued to produce enough power to run the microprocessor in the dark. The scientists basically attributed this phenomenon to leftovers. When there was light, the cyanobacteria cooked up an over-abundance of food, and when it was dark the microorganisms kept munching on the extras.

The computer, a microprocessor called the Arm Cortex-M0+, drew an average 1.05 microwatts, and an electrical current of 1.4 microamps, with a voltage of 0.72 V from the cyano-cube over the course of the experiment. For comparison, a standard AA battery starts out its life with 1.5V, that lessens with usage.

Though the experiment’s results are promising, it’s important to keep in mind that the computer processor tested uses very little energy—requiring only 0.3 microwatts to run. For context, even an energy efficient, LED lightbulb uses about 10 watts. More research is needed to know exactly how much the tiny AA battery sized-device could scale up, Howe told New Scientist. “Putting one on your roof isn’t going to provide the power supply for your house at this stage.”

Lego has partnered with yet another popular franchise, recreating its IP with little plastic bricks. This time, it’s Transformers, the 1980s toy line of robots that change into vehicles and vice versa. The first set to emerge is none other than series hero Optimus Prime, leader of the good-guy Autobots. Incredibly, like the original toy, the Lego robot also transforms into the tractor half of a semi truck.

The Lego Optimus Prime is comprised of 1,508 pieces and stands 13.5 inches tall in robot form. Thankfully, it’s the original 1980s depiction rather than the needlessly complex version from the Michael Bay reboot movies. In robot mode, it has 19 points of articulation, which is probably more than what the original toy had.

In addition, Optimus comes with a ion blaster gun, an “energon” battle axe, and jetpack. It also comes with a (the?) Matrix, an orb that bestows leadership upon the holder according to series lore, and an energon cube, the glowing Clif Bars digested by the inhabitants of the Transformers universe.

In truck mode, the original Optimus was based on a Freightliner FL86. The Lego kit isn’t an exact match for it, but gets the COE form generally correct. In vehicle mode the Lego version measures 10.5 inches long. There’s no trailer like the original toy had, not even one you can buy separately. It’s probably just as well, because its appearance and disappearance in the cartoon was so nonsensical that fans have had to conjure an entire backstory to explain it.

Lego is certainly plumbing the depths of 1980s nostalgia, with kits for the Ghostbusters Ecto-1, and the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine comprising other recent releases. The Lego Optimus Prime will cost $169.99 when it goes on sale June 1.

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