Scientist Generates Electricity from Foods

Back to Light is a creatively scientific series by photographer Caleb Charland that explores the naturally electrifying power of ordinary objects like fruits and loose change. The images in the series features a number of materials, including consumables readily found in one's pantry, generating enough power to light lamps and LED lights. 

The ongoing photo project, which began in 2010, was initially inspired by the powerful simplicity of the potato battery. The science enthusiast explains, "By inserting a galvanized nail into one side of a potato and a copper wire in the other side a small electrical current is generated. The zinc coating on the nail gives off electrons due to the electrolyte environment within the potato. These electrons then travel along the copper wire providing the electrical voltage to illuminate a small light emitting diode. The utter simplicity of this electrical phenomenon is endlessly fascinating for me."

Orange Battery

Additionally, Charland reflects on his own project by saying: "This work speaks to a common curiosity we all have for how the world works as well as a global concern for the future of earth’s energy sources. My hope is that these photographs function as micro utopias by suggesting and illustrating the endless possibilities of alternative and sustainable energy production."

Charland tells us that he hopes to expand his project this summer by making "little hydro electric generators and installing them in the landscape." Until then, the photographer is showing a selection of his works at Schneider Gallery in Chicago and has a solo show coming up at Gallery Kayafas in Boston from May 17th through June 7th. 

Battery From a Single Potato

Grapefruit and Pomelo Battery

Vinegar Battery 

Fruit Battery Still Life (Citrus) 

Coin Battery 

Electricity From a Ring of Apples 

Fruit Battery with Hanging Apples 

Limes and Lemons 

Vinegar Batteries with Glassware and Shelf 

Garage of Organic Batteries

Potato Power, LaJoie Growers LLC, Van Buren, Maine

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There's a gun that silences people without pain or discomfort!

There's a gun that silences people without pain or discomfort!

Japanese researchers developed a gun that could stop people from talking from 30 meters away. The “SpeechJammer” does not harm the individual at all but does mess with their brain’s cognitive processes.
The gun records the target’s speech and fires it back at them at a delay of a few hundred milliseconds. This affects the brain’s cognitive abilities and causes the person to stutter and then stop talking.

The gun is based on the principle that speaking requires constant auditory feedback. This process is disturbed when there is a delay between when someone says something and when they hear it. When there is this delay, the person gets confused and stops speaking. The SpeechJammer may be the perfect solution to hush those speaking too loudly in a quiet place or just for people who talk too much.

(Source)

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There is an area in Canada with less gravity than the rest of the Earth!

There is an area in Canada with less gravity than the rest of the Earth!

In the 1960s, scientists began to chart Earth’s gravitational fields. You would expect that gravity be the same across the world. It’s not like you feel incredibly heavy in the United States while you practically float around in South America. You always feel the same gravitational pull.
 
However, they found that gravity actually did vary. In Canada, there are certain areas with less gravity than normal. The Hudson Bay, for example, is “missing” gravity.

There are two theories as to why this may be true. One theory cites convection as the cause. Convection pulls the Earth’s plates downward, which decreases the mass in that area and decreases the gravity. The other theory cites the Lauren tide Ice Sheet as the cause. The Ice Sheet melted 10,000 years ago and left a huge indent in the Earth, which could mess with the gravity.

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