ArtificialTree
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Glass leaves sweat to generate electricity, get nervous in public situations
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Michigan and MIT have created glass "leaves" with networks of veiny channels filled with water. The smallest channels extend all the way to the edges of the leaf, where open ends allow water to evaporate, which draws water along the central stem of the leaf -- at a rate of about 1.5 centimeters per second. The glass leaves have been wired for electricity by adding metal plates to the walls of the central stems and connecting them to a circuit. Researchers then charge the plates and the water inside the stems creates two conducting layers separated by an insulating layer, which acts as a capacitor. The waterflow is then periodically interrupted with air bubbles, and every time a bubble passes through the plates a small electrical current is generated -- about 2 - 5 microvolts per bubble. The team thinks that on a large scale, artificial trees could be use to generate large amounts of energy entirely through evaporation.
Artificial trees could function as solar-wind harvester
SolarBotanic is a company which researches and specializes in an emerging tech dubbed biomimicry -- which seeks to mimic nature, and use nature-inspired methods to solve human problems. SolarBotanic is focusing on energy production, and, to that end, they've developed what they call Energy Harvesting Trees. The trees aren't "real," (they're just modeled on real ones); these are composed of Nanoleafs, which use nanotechnology designed to capture the "sun's energy in photovoltaic and thermovoltaic cells, then convert the radiation into electricity." They also have stems and twigs which house nano-piezovoltaic material which act as generators producing electricity from movement or kinetic energy caused by wind or rain. The company has several patents on the technology already, and are currently seeking partners for funding and development. We don't really have any details about what these fake trees look like -- but Thom Yorke's probably going to write a song about them.
