The hosts discuss batteries and their various uses, including experiments using snails as living batteries and creating batteries using crab shells. They also talk about national parks, battery age, and the concept of edible batteries. Additionally, they explore different types of batteries and innovative energy storage methods, as well as microbial batteries that extract energy from sewage waste.
Scientists have developed an edible battery made from safe and eco-friendly materials as a proof of concept for safer battery technology.
Platypuses possess electroreceptive ability, using their bills to detect electricity and locate prey.
Thermal batteries and redox flow batteries are the most promising technologies for grid-scale storage.
Deep dives
Edible Batteries: A Safer Alternative
Scientists in Milan have developed an edible battery made from materials found in almonds, riboflavin, activated charcoal, nori, and beeswax. This rechargeable battery operates at 48 microamperes for 10 minutes and can power an LED light for that duration. While not intended for intentional consumption, this battery serves as a proof of concept for safer and eco-friendly battery technology. Researchers are also working on edible transistors to create fully edible electronics for various applications.
The Electrosensitive Platypus
Researchers discovered that platypuses possess the ability to detect electricity using their bills. A study conducted in 1986 demonstrated that platypuses favored a charged 1.5-volt alkaline battery over a dead battery and a dead shrimp tail when searching for food in a pool. This marked the first reported instance of electroreception in a mammal. Platypuses rely on their bill's sensitivity to electric fields to locate prey such as shrimp and crayfish. Their electroreceptive ability is comparable to the range of electric fields generated by living freshwater shrimp.
Promising Battery Technology for Grid-Scale Storage
The most promising battery technology for grid-scale storage includes thermal batteries and redox flow batteries. Thermal batteries use heat as a means of storing energy and can be used for applications that require heat or can be converted into electricity. Redox flow batteries involve storing two different electrolytes with opposite charges in separate tanks and mixing them together when energy is required. Other battery technologies used for grid-scale storage include lead-acid batteries and molten salt batteries. The choice of battery technology depends on factors such as cost, efficiency, and availability of materials.
Bonus Fact: Microbial Batteries
In 2013, engineers developed a microbial battery that used exoelectrogenic bacteria as an anode and a cathode made of silver oxide. The bacteria consumed organic waste in the electrolyte solution, spewing electrons as a byproduct. The battery demonstrated an energy extraction efficiency of approximately 22% from wastewater, equivalent to some solar cells. However, further research in this area has been limited, and other battery technologies have been explored instead.
Another Bonus Fact: Unintentional Battery Consumption
Children unintentionally swallowing batteries can lead to dangerous reactions in the body due to water electrolysis, where the battery reacts with saliva to produce oxygen and hydrogen. To mitigate this risk, scientists in Milan have developed an edible battery that comprises safe and edible materials like almonds, riboflavin, activated charcoal, nori, and beeswax. While not intended for intentional consumption, this battery serves as a proof of concept for safer battery technology and potential applications in implants and sustainability.
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Batteries are all around us, in things we use all the time, and in all different shapes and sizes, so of course we know exactly how they all work, right? Nope! Not even close! The bizarre breadth of our battery banter includes Ben Franklin, tiny computers, and...shrimp?
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