Isn't it odd...
...how everything seems to go in a circle?
I was doing some research today on alternative energy sources, and I found a new one that I had ideas about, but never thought that anyone has tried to make work.
Artifical Photosynthesis.
"Photosynthesis - [foh-tuh-sin-thuh-sis]
-noun Biology, Biochemistry (esp. in plants)
The synthesis of complex organic materials, esp. carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, using sunlight as the source of energy and with the aid of chlorophyll and associated pigments."
Now, the cool thing about artifical photosynthesis is, we are using non-natural chemicals (supposedly ones that are nothing more than a catalyst, meaning they are not part of the reaction) to reproduce photosynthesis, but even better, we are taking this carbon dioxide (the gas that is causing global warming) and turning it into hydrogen, electricity, and even methane!
After reading this, I thought to myself how, the whole time we have been on this planet, the solution to our energy problem was right here with us....plants.
Another awesome thing about this, if we do manage to get a full scale version of this going, the carbon dioxide we have already put into our air (the same stuff that is causing our crazy weather, incredibly hot summers, and melting of the polar ice caps) can be reprocessed into oxygen and carbohydrates!
These carbohydrates can be used as storage of food for humans!
This blows all other renewable energy sources away becuase, it is cheap, unlike ALL other renewable energies, it is proactively clean, it wouldn't require extensive modification to the land, there is no toxic waste, and I could keep going.
The only thing I see as being a problem is if we take too much carbon dioxide out of the air, but we have been doing a good job of putting it back in, so I don't think that would be an issue. We just set up some burners, and burn more out into the air.
Another is, if we can make all of this hydrogen, energy prices will drop, sharply! We wouldn't even have to change our vehicles! Just simple modifications to the designs already in use today, and you can have a hydrogen powered vehicle! (See: BMW) But, the problem is, the heat. If we take in so much sun light, convert it into other energies, and then expel these energies back into the air, it is going to hang around.
I always wonder about the global warming we are experiencing now, and the amount of heat humans put out every day. The cars we drive, 33% of the fuel they burn is exhausted into the air as heat through the cooling system, the human body; 98.6 (average)...and we give off heat, waste heat from power plants, heat from the removal of heat from buildings. It makes you wonder if all of this heat is just....building up.
I will have to do more research on that last part. Till then, if you read all of that, thank you!
Remember, comments are always welcome!
I was doing some research today on alternative energy sources, and I found a new one that I had ideas about, but never thought that anyone has tried to make work.
Artifical Photosynthesis.
"Photosynthesis - [foh-tuh-sin-thuh-sis]
-noun Biology, Biochemistry (esp. in plants)
The synthesis of complex organic materials, esp. carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, using sunlight as the source of energy and with the aid of chlorophyll and associated pigments."
Now, the cool thing about artifical photosynthesis is, we are using non-natural chemicals (supposedly ones that are nothing more than a catalyst, meaning they are not part of the reaction) to reproduce photosynthesis, but even better, we are taking this carbon dioxide (the gas that is causing global warming) and turning it into hydrogen, electricity, and even methane!
After reading this, I thought to myself how, the whole time we have been on this planet, the solution to our energy problem was right here with us....plants.
Another awesome thing about this, if we do manage to get a full scale version of this going, the carbon dioxide we have already put into our air (the same stuff that is causing our crazy weather, incredibly hot summers, and melting of the polar ice caps) can be reprocessed into oxygen and carbohydrates!
These carbohydrates can be used as storage of food for humans!
This blows all other renewable energy sources away becuase, it is cheap, unlike ALL other renewable energies, it is proactively clean, it wouldn't require extensive modification to the land, there is no toxic waste, and I could keep going.
The only thing I see as being a problem is if we take too much carbon dioxide out of the air, but we have been doing a good job of putting it back in, so I don't think that would be an issue. We just set up some burners, and burn more out into the air.
Another is, if we can make all of this hydrogen, energy prices will drop, sharply! We wouldn't even have to change our vehicles! Just simple modifications to the designs already in use today, and you can have a hydrogen powered vehicle! (See: BMW) But, the problem is, the heat. If we take in so much sun light, convert it into other energies, and then expel these energies back into the air, it is going to hang around.
I always wonder about the global warming we are experiencing now, and the amount of heat humans put out every day. The cars we drive, 33% of the fuel they burn is exhausted into the air as heat through the cooling system, the human body; 98.6 (average)...and we give off heat, waste heat from power plants, heat from the removal of heat from buildings. It makes you wonder if all of this heat is just....building up.
I will have to do more research on that last part. Till then, if you read all of that, thank you!
Remember, comments are always welcome!