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Light without electricity? Glowing algae could make it possible

> Because these algae are photosynthetic ... "We’re storing carbon while we’re producing light"

The circle of light! Perpetual illumination! Let the algae do photosynthesis using their own light output as energy!

What's happening, chemically? Let's see ... it's luciferin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Luciferin_Light_Emission_... Isn't that CO2 being emitted on the right, there?

6 hours agocard_zero

I think they mean the algae is in sunlight during the day and growing, producing light only at night.

4 hours agoshellfishgene

[dead]

12 minutes agoaaron695

Could be. So over the mentioned four weeks, the algae is reproducing more cells in sunlight, and emitting light at night, while gradually wearing out in some way and "retaining 75% of their brightness". Then at the end of the month you have a bucket of tired algae, and that's the stored carbon. I don't know what you do with it. You probably shouldn't chuck it in a river. Its likely fate is methane, wherever you put it.

3 hours agocard_zero

That sounds kinda like carbon capture, but decentralized to these light nodes

3 hours agocalifornical

It seems to me that it has the same problem as carbon capture, which is how to make the result inert, or which deep hole to pump it into. Two people apparently silently disagreed with this, I wonder what was bothering them?

an hour agocard_zero

if the output is consistent, could be used for producing biofuel or plastic.

27 minutes agogostsamo

I hope this works. A decade ago I submitted glowing microbes to the epa but they blocked it. My read from going through that was that it was politically impossible. Hopefully times have changed.

Edit: my microbes were gmo, these are not, so no epa rules. Good luck to them!

5 hours agotechnotony

did you keep a few of your gmo cultures?

5 hours agoarthurcolle

Modern LED lights really draw no power at all in the grand scheme of things

an hour agoScroll_Swe

This feels like weird framing. They still need energy to produce it.

I have a genetically engineered luminescent petunia plant. It’s neat, but a ways off from being useful for anything.

8 hours agoceejayoz

Wow.. this is maybe the plant for anyone interested: https://light.bio/

7 hours agoaetherspawn
[deleted]
5 hours ago

It rather resembles the CGI protomolecule from 'The Expanse'.

7 hours agowalrus01

So can torches and candles.

8 hours agocassianoleal

The sun?

8 hours agodullcrisp

Why all the bother with 3d-printed gel shapes? Why not just use a mat of these things, all glowing, and then put it behind an LCD panel. Then you can have moving pictures without all the bother of 3d printing.

Then you can take the next step and both their apparent output further by replacing the algae with tiny blue LED modules.

7 hours agosandworm101

I think it's fine for research, curiosity, aesthetic and coolness factor. Not everything need to be 'practical'.

7 hours agokiba

good for car dashboards, maybe for not vital areas

7 hours agom3kw9

I don’t want algae on my vital areas

6 hours agoRazengan

Technically [nerd emoji] nothing is possible without electricity

(No I don’t go to any parties)