Sony Runs Walkman Off Sugar-Based Bio Battery

StonyandCher writes "Sony has created a battery that produces electricity by breaking down sugar. The bio cell, which measures 39 millimeters cubed, delivers 50mW — a world record for such a cell, according to the company. 'In the bio cell sugar-digesting enzymes at the anode extract electrons and hydrogen ions from the glucose. The hydrogen ions pass through a membrane separator to the cathode where they absorb oxygen from the air to produce water as a byproduct. The electrons flow around the circuit outside the device producing the electricity needed to power it.'"

Considering...

[Bullfish]

What happened for example in Mexico with tortilla prices http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6319093.stm [bbc.co.uk] and the threat to tequila production as well(!!), I wonder about the wisdom of converting our food supply to slake our thirst for energy. I would far better like to see alternative energy products like hydrogen fuel cells and the like rather than turning over arable land to energy production.

These batteries may have the potential to be good, but the impact on people, especially in the third world where food prices are a large obstacle has the potential to be nasty.

And where do hydrogen cells get the hydrogen?

[Sycraft-fu]

Remember: Hydrogen fuel cells are just batteries in effect. They aren't a method for producing power. You have to have hydrogen gas to make them work and that doesn't occur in quantities such that we can just gather it. It must be separated from another compound, water for example. Ok, but that requires energy. Where does that energy come from?

Supposing that the biogenesis theory of fossil fuel production is correct (the classic theory, that says it comes from living things over long periods and as such is not renewable) we are going to run out of it at some point. Unless you think we should all go live in the wilderness without power (in which case I say you first) we need to find alternate energy sources. Biofuels may well be a good one.

Hydrogen isn't a solution by itself. We may start using it as a more efficient way to store and transport power, but to get it we need to get energy from somewhere.

Unless we are going to take the Luddite answer of saying we need to stop using technology that requires power (which will lead to millions, perhaps billions of deaths as we cannot sustain the current population on preindustrial means) then we have to look for alternate power sources. We can't stick our heads in the sand and just whine about problems. Any energy source will come with problems, that's just life. The problems have to be weighed against the benefits.

Also please remember: Biofuels are in their infancy. Maybe we should keep investing and working, see if we can't figure out ways to make it more efficient. Plants are pretty efficient little solar cells, when you get down to it, we just need to work on getting ones that we can then efficiently turn in to other forms of energy.

Re:Screw that

[Arthur B.]

You have a twisted mind. I would *genuinely* appreciate the ability to power mobile devices with a foldable crank.

Re:And just why won't this work for....

[sholden]

It means the 39x39x39 version but was written by someone partially illiterate. See http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/08/24/sony_sugar _battery/ [reghardware.co.uk] for a picture and the dimensions specified correctly.

Re:And just why won't this work for....

[zacronos]

39 cm^3 that's a bar of length 3.9cm, height 1cm and width 1cm

Close, but no cigar. A bar that's 3.9cm x 1cm x 1cm is only 3.9cm^3. On the other hand, a bar that's 5cm x 3.9cm x 2cm is 39cm^3, which is still a nice-size battery for a laptop (assuming the article meant 39(mm^3) rather than (39mm)^3), if it can last as long as is expected of laptop batteries.