Potato power: the spuds that could light the world_ Natalia Carolina C Ferreira

 

Summary 

The article “Potato power: the spuds that could light the world”, written by Jonathan Kalan, tells about an interesting source of energy: Potatoes. According to some studies, one potato can provide enough power for LED lamps during 40 days. Basically the principle of the production of energy from potatoes is that the acid inside of the potato causes a reaction with a negative electrode (anode), such as zinc, and a positive electrode (cathode), such as a copper. During this reaction, electrons flow from the anode to the cathode and the energy is released. The author mentions an interesting studied of PhD students, Alex Goldberg and Boris Rubinsky of the University of California, Berkeley. They discovered that a boiled potato produces more energy due to the fact that after be boiled, organic tissues of the potato are broken down and this cause a resistance reduction. Their study also released that cutting the potato could also increase the power making a series with sandwiched by a cooper and zinc plate. Using these techniques they could improve the power in 10 times, what it is interesting economically. Kalan also mentions that the world produces a large quantity of potatoes, in 2010 it did about 330 billions of tones. Potatoes are a good alternative because are cheap, easy for store and last so much time. However, potatoes are less desirable than he modern sources such as solar power mainly because batteries of potatoes don't have a good aesthetic. 

 

 

Comments 

It's an interesting article because talks about a different source of energy and it follows a simple principle of chemistry. Besides it is a cheap source it doesn't harm the environment like some sources of energy that are used nowadays. If potatoes were used instead of electricity , even in only lamps, a large amount of energy would be saved.