05. 31. 2011
Fake leaves to power your home
Scientists are currently working on creating artificial leaves that one day we may be able to use to power our homes.
The leaves will probably be made from plastic or silicone and embedded with light absorbing materials that produce fuel from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, just like real leaves.
According to the NY Times, artificial leaves have been used and created before but up until now have been far too expensive and inefficient to produce fuel that we'd be able to use.
It's hard to tell whether an idea still in the relatively early stages will be able to provide a long term, efficient solution to power our homes and daily lives. However, it's fascinating to see scientists are inspired by the basic processes behind photosynthesis.