bioelectrochemistry

[jsouha_omega]

hello, i'm new here.

I'm a high school student. i have a research subject which requires us to make a problem. Mine's a complicated one. I am going to test the effect of the electricity on plants. I mean i have leads to how my research will go: how can acids be a bridge to plants and electricity? and including the electron transport chain? is that also related? thanks for reading i hope you can give me some advices. I hope that i may be able to come up with something. I aspire to be a chemist someday..... thanks.....

[<Ragnarok>]

Wouldnt electricity applied to this plant directly, kill it.?

[insane_alien]

ragnarok, there is a matter of scale involved.

 

if i stick 1 microamp of electricity through you then no harm will come to you.

 

if i stick 1 megaamp of electricity through you then you will die.

 

even 10 milliamps in the right place(heart) will kill you.

 

it all depends on the current and location it is applied.

[Theophrastus]

Jsouha_omega, in this matter, I recommend you be a little more precise, and narrow your querry. First, choose a particular part of the plant, (following some serious research into relevant biochemical processes, and function, of course) to which you can apply electricity.

Secondly, create a hypothesis, to how electricity, may effect, this particular biochemical system. (What it may ionize, how might it effect various constituents, and components, etc.) You can then, take a group of identical healthy plants, and apply graduated quantities of electricity, with each plant's quantity, varying precisely the same as the one before it, so that it forms a range, which you can then study, from no electrical input, to greatest electrical input. You then control all other variables, keeping them equal (ie moisture, soil quality, sunlight) and watch for effects. You can then examine your observations, and form a conclusion, based upon the results. (Again, research is a must in this) Anyhow,l hope this helps, and best of luck.

 

ps: (An idea) I don't know what your interests are, but now that I think of it, it might be interesting to see the effects of electrical stimuli, on relevant organs, which contribute to sexual reproduction, in plants.

 

pps: Personally though, this project seems a little complex, it may be a little simpler, from the perspective of analysis, to study the biochemical processes of the plant metabolic process, and then add particular chemicals to the soil, to study their possible effects, on the plant. It may also have real- life applications, due to wastage, from industries.

[Bishadi]

hello, i'm new here.

I'm a high school student. i have a research subject which requires us to make a problem. Mine's a complicated one. I am going to test the effect of the electricity on plants. I mean i have leads to how my research will go: how can acids be a bridge to plants and electricity? and including the electron transport chain? is that also related? thanks for reading i hope you can give me some advices. I hope that i may be able to come up with something. I aspire to be a chemist someday..... thanks.....

 

 

have you read up on getting electricity FROM plants (trees)?

 

"This is really something out of left field," he said. "In my 25 years of practicing patent law, I've never seen anything like this."

 

Lagadonis said tests have generated 0.8 volts to 1.2 volts by driving an aluminum roofing nail half an inch into a tree attached to a copper water pipe driven 7 inches into the ground. But the electricity is useless because it's unstable and fluctuates.

 

The trick will be to learn how to filter and stabilize the electricity so it can be used to charge batteries, Lagadinos said.

 

"It's a renewable source and it's an unlimited source," he said. "It's virtually untapped. The issue is clean energy and it's readily available. There are trees everywhere."

 

Manwell said his skepticism is science-based.

 

"There's a fundamental law of physics," he said. "The energy has to come from somewhere."

 

http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2006/01/09/story12-Plugged-in-Startup-hopes-to-tap-electricity-from-trees.html

 

and remember, you can actually contribute in these fields (brand new of today's science.)

 

do some googling and enjoy the ride.

 

what to keep in mind is that in chemistry, they believe the combinations are a reductionary process but you will find, that is not the case; they combine to increase the total potential of the energy, the mass is just there for the ride, too.

[Theophrastus]

Electricity from trees? Not to be rude, but this sounds like definite pseudoscience. The energy- producing biochemical reactions, within plants, occur on a molecular level, and while I do admit it may be possible to utilise these reactions, for generation of electricity, I don't see how the hell, one can go about doing so, by focusing on the plant, on a macroscopic level.

 

Originally posted by Bishadi

Lagadonis said tests have generated 0.8 volts to 1.2 volts by driving an aluminum roofing nail half an inch into a tree attached to a copper water pipe driven 7 inches into the ground. But the electricity is useless because it's unstable and fluctuates.

 

Actually, a very simple explanation for this so- called "phenomenon" might be a redox reaction between the two metals, however given the distances involved, and the fact that tree sap, rich in polysaccharides and the like IIRC, would make for a very poor electrolyte (correct me if I'm wrong), I doubt it could generate the voltages described.

 

Furthermore, try and keep things relevant to the original poster's querry. I really don't see how hammering nails into trees, absentmindedly, and then seeing if you generate a current (highly unlikely anyway), would make for a fruitful inquiry.

Edited August 6, 2009 by Theophrastus

[insane_alien]

there should be sufficient ions to make a half decent electrolyte. but it wouldn't be very practical because of high internal resistance.

 

a much better way of getting electricity from trees is burning them and using the heat to generate steam to turn a turbine.

[Bishadi]

Electricity from trees? Not to be rude, but this sounds like definite pseudoscience.

 

did you test it?

 

is the quote from a guy in patent law? Did HE say, HE produced the potential (practically)?

 

I doubt it could generate the voltages described.

so you are being pessimistic without cause other than your personal knwledge being tested.

 

 

Furthermore, try and keep things relevant to the original poster's querry. I really don't see how hammering nails into trees, absentmindedly, and then seeing if you generate a current (highly unlikely anyway), would make for a fruitful inquiry.

 

 

because the attitude of yours is lost in contesting ME

 

not the idea, the guy in patent law (to contest literally) or the publisher

 

i posted an idea for a 'student' to think on as it was similar, easy and posted with something to read

 

your post was nothing but condescending (offered nothing but negativity to the thread)

 

at least i offered something the "inquisitive" may never have seen before

and go check for him/herself (or any who wish to GO BEYOND the current communities "reductionary" thinking)

[iNow]

because the attitude of yours is lost in contesting ME

That's what happens when you continue to make posts which are irrelevant or wrong.