03-02-2009, 09:05 PM
From the article, it looks like using solar power to produce hydrogen is not the breakthrough they are talking about. The major breakthrough is a means to actually reproduce photosynthesis, which is the ultimate source of 99.9% of the energy ever stored on this planet.
Recall your high school Biology: Plants take photons from any light source and use the energy to liberate the hydrogen and electrons from water. The waste product is oxygen. They use the released electrons in a transport chain to produce ATP. The energy stored in ATP is then used to make glucose, which the plant stores to be oxidized later for growth and reproduction.
When glucose is oxidized, electrons are transported along a chain again and hydrogens are transferred back to oxygen to form water and make energy.
The guys at MIT have pretty much dupilcated this process using sunlight, and catalysts to release both oxygen and hydrogen from water.
The breakthrough seems to be an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to catalyze the release of oxygen from water.
Combined with catalyzed hydrogen production, you now have both oxygen and hydrogen which can be recombined in some sort of energy cell (I guess this duplicates the electron transport chain?) to make water and store energy.
That's the deal right there. You can, hypothetically, store the energy from sunlight efficently and inexpensively, instead of having to use it right away. The water can be recycled over and over again in such a process.
Recall your high school Biology: Plants take photons from any light source and use the energy to liberate the hydrogen and electrons from water. The waste product is oxygen. They use the released electrons in a transport chain to produce ATP. The energy stored in ATP is then used to make glucose, which the plant stores to be oxidized later for growth and reproduction.
When glucose is oxidized, electrons are transported along a chain again and hydrogens are transferred back to oxygen to form water and make energy.
The guys at MIT have pretty much dupilcated this process using sunlight, and catalysts to release both oxygen and hydrogen from water.
The breakthrough seems to be an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way to catalyze the release of oxygen from water.
Combined with catalyzed hydrogen production, you now have both oxygen and hydrogen which can be recombined in some sort of energy cell (I guess this duplicates the electron transport chain?) to make water and store energy.
That's the deal right there. You can, hypothetically, store the energy from sunlight efficently and inexpensively, instead of having to use it right away. The water can be recycled over and over again in such a process.
Moristans: err
What the f*** Skelas - I know this is NSFW, but I coudn't watch this at work...
-Orsun
What the f*** Skelas - I know this is NSFW, but I coudn't watch this at work...
-Orsun