Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nanopart

[Slartibartfast]

Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Thats just plain awesome. I wonder what else we can do to make our cities resemble fictional places such as Rivendel

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Thats just plain awesome. I wonder what else we can do to make our cities resemble fictional places such as Rivendel

I wonder if I could put that in my........nevermind.... :mrgreen:

 

[Cardinal]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

The idea of using trees to replace street lights is an ingenious one – not only would it save on electricity costs and cut CO2 emissions, but it could also greatly reduce light pollution in major cities.

How would replacing glowing light bulbs with glowing leaves reduce light pollution?

Also, I wonder how the trees, which I've always believed requires darkness to grow, would feel about their leaves being permanently glowy.

 

[MKULTRABOY]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

...trees, which I've always believed requires darkness to grow...

Found another republican.

:muffled laughter:

 

[Cardinal]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

Found another republican.

:muffled laughter:

Yes, whether I'm a Republican or not is directly associated with me hearing that trees need darkness. :roll:

 

[Barbbtx]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

How would replacing glowing light bulbs with glowing leaves reduce light pollution?

Also, I wonder how the trees, which I've always believed requires darkness to grow, would feel about their leaves being permanently glowy.

If it's found to not hurt the trees I think it's an awesome idea.
However, I just thought of something else. We might want to make sure we also have lots of unlit trees in the area for the birds to sleep in.

 

[MKULTRABOY]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

Yes, whether I'm a Republican or not is directly associated with me hearing that trees need darkness. :roll:

Dont matter what you hear, it's all about what you believe. Anyways, Im pretty sure trees go through aerobic respiration expending energy at night. I'm pretty sure they grow during the day too.

 

[ARealConservative]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

Yes, whether I'm a Republican or not is directly associated with me hearing that trees need darkness. :roll:

many plants need darkness to toggle between vegetative growth and flower/seed production

but darkness itself is a misnomer, an incandescent bulb produces light, but to a plant, it is the same as darkness. It is a specfiic wavelength that is needed, not just light.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

How Does Darkness Affect Plant Growth? | eHow.com

The photosynthetic process occurs most readily when the sunlight available to the plant is the greatest. This is why plants in the tropics grow so large. They are near the equator where the sunlight is directly overhead much of the year. However, photosynthesis can occur in the dark. It does not occur as rapidly as during the daylight, but it is possible. If this were not the case, plants would shut down entirely every night when the sun went down.

 

[Anarcho-fascist]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

How would replacing glowing light bulbs with glowing leaves reduce light pollution?

It would increase light pollution when compared to well designed street lights.

Under a high wavelength of ultraviolet light, the gold nanoparticles were able to produce a blue-violet fluorescence to trigger a red emission in the surrounding chlorophyll. [emphasis mine]

It still requires energy input. Is the sun be able to produce enough of these wavelengths, and is the reaction slow enough for the light to last through the night without a bunch of extra energy input? Even if the tree lights are as energy efficient as LEDs won't much of the light be spent illuminating the tree?

It's cool, but I'm unsure about how eco-friendly it really is.

 

[Goshin]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

High gosh-wow factor, but a little thought reveals that it is probably completely impractical.

 

[spud_meister]

Re: Gold Nanoparticles Could Transform Trees Into Street Lights Read more: Gold Nano

High gosh-wow factor, but a little thought reveals that it is probably completely impractical.

Of course, it'd be good in parks and the like, but the tree roots would rip up roads, and it'd take a hell of a lot longer to replace one that dies, and the plant they used is a semi-aqauatic herb, no mention if this would work in other, more practical plants.