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Science Technology

New Light-Activated Micro-Motor 31

Posted by timothy from the does-not-play-ogg-files dept.
enkidu55 writes: "This link to Popular Science's website shows how a team of scientists in Germany have found that a certain polymer changes shape when hit with different wavelengths of light. They used this to stretch and compress a small spring sort of like the piston in a motor. Still pretty raw, but the potential is amazing."
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New Light-Activated Micro-Motor More

New Light-Activated Micro-Motor

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  • such a good idea? (Score:5, Funny)

    by tps12 ( 105590 ) on Thursday August 01, 2002 @01:38PM (#3993412) Homepage Journal
    This is really cool. The ability to convert light into energy seems like it could solve the Energy Crisis while doing away with Global Warming at the same time.

    But I wonder if this could be the beginning of a dark future, both figuratively and literally. When we've used this technology to construct light-fuelled power plants, I imagine that each plant would be surrounded in shadow, as the light is sucked out of the air. As energy demands increase (as they tend to do as population and technology grow), more light will be used for fuel, and less will be left over for lighting the world, growing crops, &c.

    We may end up in a literal Dark Age, a perpetual nighttime. We'll live entirely indoors, as lightproof tunnels are constructed between shielded communities, and scurry beneath an artificial sky, afraid of the night creatures beyond the walls. Let's take this one step at a time, and be very cautious about what we wish for; after all, it might come true. Something to think about.
    • Just use some of the converted energy to power flood lights.

      Duh!
    • Karma: Positive (mostly affected by moderation done to your comments)

      Just an OT on your sig: I was at 42 when they changed it from numerical to something silly. Almost got to the cap. Wonder if there still is one?

      Back on topic: solar-cell covered Earth is the future. It's the first step toward solar preservation. The next step is a Dyson sphere [d.kth.se] , a shell around the sun with solar panels on the inside and batteries on the outside. It'll save as much as it can, and when the sun's due to explode it'll separate and move the pieces out of blast range, to be reused once things settle down.

      The goal is to help make the universe last longer, by delaying entropy.

      • I sure hope the "solar-cell covered Earth" is not the future. Its one of the most ecologically devastating possibilities I can imagine.

        a) Plating large areas of the Earth with solar cells would create a far more efficient green-house effect than green house gasses. Basically, green house gasses trap solar energy to heat the Earth by bouncing it back in when it is on its way back out. Solar cells trap solar energy even sooner by absorbing it and converting it to electricity which will eventually be (mostly) converted to heat. And the goal is to trap as much of that energy as possible. If we cover large areas of the Earth with solar cells, we will change the reflectivity unless the solar cells are carefully managed to absorb only what would have been absorbed by the ground and the passage back out of the atmosphere. But human nature says that that management will not occur. Instead, we would carefully strive to convert every bit of energy we could. We'd also likely have arguments over who could absorb how much in the same way we now argue over who can release how much gasses.

        b) The localized weather effects would likely hit sooner and be even more devastating. I've heard many times statements along the lines of "just plate Arizona, New Mexico, and/or the California desert areas and you could provide much of the countries needs". Such irresponsible thinking seems to be rampant. Essentially, you'd be capturing the heat of those areas and shipping it to other parts of the country. The effects would be chaotic and very difficult to predict.

        c) And for those who would say just put the cells in space and beam the power, now you're catching energy that would have never reached Earth and delivering it here to heat things up.

        d) What about the toxic effects of mining, production, and eventual disposal?

        No, solar cells are not a panacea.

        • I sure hope the "solar-cell covered Earth" is not the future.

          You're thinking short-term. In the longer term, the Earth will be demolished when the sun explodes. What I wrote about was a partial solution for the waste that will create.

          I am very little concerned about our environment because nanotechnology [foresight.org] is 10-20 years away (perhaps less) and with it we'll be able to clean up all of our messes.

          It's like my friends, the day before the cleaning lady gets there the dirty dishes are overflowing in the sink. They know they can make a mess because "the future" will clean it up for them. Not a perfect analogy, but it's funny to visit them a day before their cleaning lady arrives.

          • Ahhh. But unless nanotechnology can convert energy to matter (I wouldn't discount the possibility given some of the strange things they've found at that level), you've not addressed the main issue. The main issue was too much energy absorption and too little reflection, or changed distribution of energy absorption/reflection. The pollution involved in solar cell manufacture and disposal is of concern, but somewhat lesser.
          • Could we absorb as much as we don't need, then dispose it another way? Back in the 80's and 90's, the US and Canada tried to create a gun that would be able to shoot objects into space more efficiently than using space shuttles. They didn't quite get the distance(they welded two battleship cannons together, end-on-end), but they got a 180mile range on the thing. If we could find a way to get a more powerful gun, we could absorb the heat we don't want(which melts the polar ice caps and will eventually re-create Noah's Ark, except this time not by God's work,) and then cool down the Earth. I know it would take engergy to fire the cannons, but if we could dispose more than we use with those, we'd be off to a better start...
      • Karma: Positive (mostly affected by moderation done to your comments)

        how does the named karma level breakdown work (what are the names and point requirements for each name)? i had around 26 points, now my karma is 'excellent'.
        • Karma: Positive (mostly affected by moderation done to your comments)
          how does the named karma level breakdown work (what are the names and point requirements for each name)? i had around 26 points, now my karma is 'excellent'.

          I'm not 100% sure, but I've seen "Bad", "Positive", and "Excellent." It would appear that:

          Karma < 0 == "Bad"

          0 < Karma < 25 == "Positive"
          Karma > 25 == "Excellent"

          I wish I had had the chance to hit the cap. It was a fun game. ;-)

        • how does the named karma level breakdown work

          the breakpoints are:

          -10 Terrible
          -1 Bad
          0 Neutral
          12 Positive
          25 Good
          99999 Excellent

          Or at least those are the values in the slashcode CVS, which we think are what Slashdot is running. The 50 cap is still in place, you just don't see it.

          See also Taco's journal entry. [slashdot.org] There was also a discussion thread where Taco talked about it but since it was not associated with an article ("user created sid") the posts have since expired (two week threshold.)
      • I can see fields of windmills and solar pannels together, but that would have to be in the desert or tundra. Otherwise, we'd better use windpower and try to decrease the friction in all of our motors to make things like cars, refrigerators, and anything else more energy-efficient. The idea of having light-powered things for motors is an excellent idea, but it's only really practical for powerstations and outdoor equipment like tractors(which would require A LOT of light in order for it to perform the way it's ment to.)

  • Oh crap, the Germans are at it again! (Score:3, Funny)

    by zulux ( 112259 ) on Thursday August 01, 2002 @01:40PM (#3993418) Homepage Journal
    The Gnomes-Of-Bavaira are now taking LIGHT! the precious essence of HUMANITY! and turning it into RAW! movement. When will their madness end. Please for the children, write you member of congress - we need to develop our own devices, and can't let the Krouts get ahead of us again! Notify you're friends in the 51st state up North - especially if you can speak the French. Let's hope Jolly Ol' England can survive long enough for us to help her keep her innocence intact from the RAW! THRUSTING! German light-to-movment-power DEVICES!

  • Of course the nanotech folks are excited about this (as well they should be!) but could this property be built into a polymer? Rather than a single molecule pulling on an atom-scale silicon spring, how about a millimeter-scale string that can reduce its length?
    Can light-activated shrink-wrap be far behind?
    • I can see it already on TellSell: The amazing stowaway bag! Put all your clothes that you don't use in it, together with all your sleeping bags and mattrasses, close it and shine blue light on it, with the torch that comes with the bags! Look! Instantly the bag starts shrinking, and doesn't stop until it's so small, you can put it in your breastpocket! Isn't that amazing! Only 199 dollars/euros per bag!

  • Thought this sounded familiar (Score:3, Informative)

    by Peter T Ermit ( 577444 ) on Thursday August 01, 2002 @01:41PM (#3993426)
    It appeared in the May 10 issue of Science; abstract here [sciencemag.org]. Can't blame PopSci for being so late, though. They're a monthly.

  • More info (Score:3, Informative)

    by eikonoklastes ( 530797 ) on Thursday August 01, 2002 @01:45PM (#3993456) Journal
    Jeeze, one whole paragraph. I found a little more info here [uni-muenchen.de]. Also, it appears this [uni-muenchen.de] might be a good starting point.

  • Christmas List (Score:2, Funny)

    by Xunker ( 6905 )
    "Light powered fully self-motive Slinky" is totaly on the top of my Christmas Wish List this year. Finally we can have a Slinky that climbs UP stairs.

    • Re:Christmas List (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Of course, if this ever becomes the case, it would be only a matter of time before Fox came out with the special "WHEN SLINKIES ATTACK", featuring this cherished childhood toy gone bad.
  • Boy wouldn't that be something, to take the light from and convert it into something else?!

    Boy too bad instead of moving small springs we can't convert light into something immediately useful like electricity.

    Written in Colorado at 10,500ft elevation in a home powered by solar electricity (8 of our panels are older than me and have lost less than 25% or so of their original capacity during the last 20 years.) Transmitted via two way Starband satellite internet.

  • DUPLICATE (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Jesus...

    http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/05 /1 0/1630227&mode=thread&tid=126
  • Ultraviolet T-Shirt Contest!

  • Self sustaining? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by CXI ( 46706 )
    This makes me wonder if a motor like this could be used to turn a "shade cog" over itself so once you start the motor going it will continue to run based on its own dark/light cycle. This same shade could have more of these motors under it which generate the actual useful work.

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