Carnegie Mellon researchers develop world's smallest biological fuel cell

Cars and other vehicles may be the first thing that springs to mind at the mention of fuel cells, but the technology can of course also be used for plenty of other devices big and small, and a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are now looking to take them to a few new places that haven't been possible so far. To that end, they've developed what they claim is the world's smallest biological fuel cell, which is the size of a single human hair and "generates energy from the metabolism of bacteria on thin gold plates in micro-manufactured channels." That, they say, could make it ideal for use in places like deep ocean environments where batteries are impractical -- or possibly in electronic devices with some further refinements, where they could potentially store more energy than traditional batteries in the same space. The university's full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Carnegie Mellon researchers develop world's smallest biological fuel cell

Carnegie Mellon researchers develop world's smallest biological fuel cell originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/21/carnegie-mellon-researchers-develop-worlds-smallest-biological/

CYMER, INC. UNITED ONLINE, INC. SI INTERNATIONAL, INC. ZORAN CORPORATION FIRST SOLAR, INC. PROGRESS SOFTWARE CORPORATION AMERICA SERVICE GROUP, INC. FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS, INC. INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION ECLIPSYS CORPORATION