Electrical Device Plugs Directly into Trees for Power

Researchers following upon an MIT study last year that discovered a measurable current inside trees have created a gadget that harnesses that power for electricity.

The University of Washington team sought to further academic research in the field of tree power by building circuits to run off that energy. They successfully ran a custom circuit solely off tree power.

"As far as we know this is the first peer-reviewed paper of someone powering something entirely by sticking electrodes into a tree," said co-author Babak Parviz, a UW associate professor of electrical engineering.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology study last year found that plants generate a voltage of up to 200 millivolts when one electrode is placed in a plant and the other in the surrounding soil. Those researchers are working with a company, Voltree, that holds patents for circuits to exploit this new power source.

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Ouch!

Maybe I'll be able to have some sort of lights in my house besides what comes from the LED numbers on my potato-powered digital clock.

TlalocW

Hire unemployed people to run inside big wheels or maybe pump some kind of mechanism. You know, like on Lexx, (Sci-Fi) with a huge guillotine blade over their heads for incentive! :sarcasm:

power of the wood?

Fascinating report. May things work out.