So you're in
Sub-Saharan Africa. You're surrounded by more bugs than Windows 95, and there isn't a power outlet for miles. But you've seen '
The Matrix,' so really it's not that much of a stretch: a bacteria-powered cellphone charger could be the answer to the lack of phone infrastructure in the developing world, even for those without electricity.
The newest iteration of the technology comes courtesy of the brain-builders at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who have designed a microbial fuel cell (MFC) that runs on plant waste; the prototype won the first prize in a recent contest held by Dow Chemical called MADMEC, which was held to encourage new uses of materials that allow alternative or non-traditional sources of energy.
Without getting too deep into it,
MFCs use electrons -- released by feeding bacteria on sugars, starches, and other organic material -- to produce electricity. The team's prototypes, which it's calling BioVolt, run on less refined fuel than any before it, and the bacteria digest the cellulose in plant waste. The creators also say they can be produced for only about $2 a pop.
But don't start planting seeds just yet -- the technology is still very much "proof of concept". it would currently take around six months to charge a phone's battery using a BioVolt, which is about five months, 30 days, 24 hours, and 40 minutes longer than a three year-old Nokia.
From
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