Using bio-luminescent bacteria's to light the streets and homes

[andrew2343]

what if, with genetic engineering, we could make some auto sustainable bio luminescent bacteria's, and squeezed them inside street and home lights? this would greatly reduce the amount of power cites would consume, thus reducing global warming.

[Paprika]

You wouldn't even need genetic engineering, there are plenty of bioluminescent bacteria out there (especially in the sea, glowing fish use Vibrio fischeri to make their glowing) however if you used the same sized street lights you wouldn't get nearly enough light. However, if you're down with the GM stuff, why limit yourself to bacteria?

http://www.archdaily.com/372998/can-glowing-trees-one-day-replace-electric-streetlights/

It's been proposed that we use trees for this purpose, which would give off way more light and be easier to keep alive! Hooray!

[andrew2343]

yea forgot about the trees.. trees are a better idea. they would give us light in a nice beautiful package

[miis]

There are some serious problems with energy use and light intensity. Compared to any bioluminescent bacteria or anything else, the energy needed to maintain reasonable light intensity is much higher than a living organism can output.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/why-your-streetlights-wont-be-replaced-by-glowing-trees-anytime-soon/

[Buzzkil88]

well they made a sheep glow in the dark using flourescent proteins from a jelly fish... so anything is possible.

[Cheebsta]

well they made a sheep glow in the dark using flourescent proteins from a jelly fish... so anything is possible.

Only under UV, like "Glo Fish":

"Anything" is a bit of a stretch though, thermodynamics will have something to say about it somewhere along the way. Give that link in miis post a read, it gets into those parts.

[Buzzkil88]

"Anything" is a bit of a stretch though, thermodynamics will have something to say about it somewhere along the way. Give that link in miis post a read, it gets into those parts.

Yes but all laws are meant to be broken...

[Paprika]

You could maybe *power* the lights we already have with electricity from bacterial fuel cells though, depending on the voltage needed you might not need a huge cell to power each streetlamp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_fuel_cell

I've seen small ones (like Jam-jar size) put out enough juice to power LED's. Still using bacteria for cheap lighting, but with decent light levels! and no genetic engineering involved for those people who aren't ok with that kind of thing.

[Cheebsta]

Yes but all laws are meant to be broken...

Physics don't like conforming to this rule very often, lol. Though, like Wernher said, you do have to be real careful with that impossible thing.

[Wesreidau]

So is the goal here to create a better light bulb or to prevent global warming through new light bulbs? I think only one of these is within the realm of possibility.

[Buzzkil88]

Physics don't like conforming to this rule very often, lol. Though, like Wernher said, you do have to be real careful with that impossible thing.

but you have to keep in mind the things that have changed. The world was flat once upon a time, the atom was unsplittable once upon a time... We are entering a new age in science. Dark matter is getting closer and closer to being conquered. They are breaking ground with the Higgs Boson. The Tokamak is ever so close to construction (just looked it up again, and construction is already going). All things change over time.

[Cheebsta]

but you have to keep in mind the things that have changed. The world was flat once upon a time, the atom was unsplittable once upon a time... We are entering a new age in science. Dark matter is getting closer and closer to being conquered. They are breaking ground with the Higgs Boson. The Tokamak is ever so close to construction (just looked it up again, and construction is already going). All things change over time.

The world was never actually flat, and the discovery did not make it round. Our knowledge and understanding changes, the nature of things, not so much. I made very clear though I wasn't saying impossible.

[MBobrik]

why bother with street lighting ? give everyone night vision goggles for free. on the long run it will be cheaper and more energy efficient. + we will get rid of all the light polution. Astronomers around the world will praise us

Edited July 23, 2013 by MBobrik

[Galacticruler]

This is a great idea...if your lights are the size of a car.

[Buzzkil88]

The world was never actually flat, and the discovery did not make it round. Our knowledge and understanding changes, the nature of things, not so much. I made very clear though I wasn't saying impossible.

of course it was never flat.... hahaha but just like you said, our knowledge and understanding changes.... the current laws of thermodynamincs are nothing more than what we understand right now. The nature of things is something we do not fully understand. We have theories, and some are hard to disprove, but that does not make them disprovable.

[Brotoro]

Bioluminescence is feeble.

[Cheebsta]

of course it was never flat.... hahaha but just like you said, our knowledge and understanding changes.... the current laws of thermodynamincs are nothing more than what we understand right now. The nature of things is something we do not fully understand. We have theories, and some are hard to disprove, but that does not make them disprovable.

This is more along the lines of 2+2=banana, the square root of 50 is Venus, or 2 years going past in the time it takes to read this sentence. If it's got "Law" in it's name you're in trouble if it's your job to prove it wrong, lol.

[Kerbface]

why bother with street lighting ? give everyone night vision goggles for free. on the long run it will be cheaper and more energy efficient. + we will get rid of all the light polution. Astronomers around the world will praise us

Uh... my head hurts... I can't stand to wear glasses for more than a few hours at a time, let alone goggles.

[Buzzkil88]

This is more along the lines of 2+2=banana, the square root of 50 is Venus, or 2 years going past in the time it takes to read this sentence. If it's got "Law" in it's name you're in trouble if it's your job to prove it wrong, lol.

hahahaha lol. this about killed me. I think we will end the discussion on a good note. Nice talkin to you Cheebsta, might have to do it again sometime.

and if you didn't notice, i am a skeptic of everything. Ten minutes with Einstein and i'd be saying "nope, you're doing it wrong" lol