Scientists in the US want to replace light bulbs with glowing plants

Massachusetts Institute of Technology wants to replace light with glowing plants. Light-emitting plants can be recharged in just ten seconds, reports Interesting Engineering.

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In December 2017, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced that they had found a way to create light-emitting plants.

They achieved this by implanting special nanoparticles into watercress leaves that allowed them to emit very dim light for almost four hours.

At the time, they hoped that, with further optimization, these plants would one day become bright enough to illuminate a workspace at home or in an office. This day came.

MIT engineers have upgraded their light-emitting rigs so they can charge from an LED in just 10 seconds, glow 10 times brighter than their first generation of plants, and last for minutes—they can even be recharged.

“We wanted to create a light-emitting device with particles that would absorb light, store some of it, and gradually emit it,” said Michael Strano, Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and lead author of the new study. “This is a big step towards plant lighting.”

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Specialized nanoparticles can also enhance the light output of any other type of light emitting installation.

They also contain the aptly named enzyme luciferase, a substance found in fireflies. This process is an example of the growing field of "plant nanobionics" in which researchers are developing ways to improve plants with new properties.

To keep the plants glowing longer, Strano and his team created and used a "light capacitor", which is usually part of an electrical circuit that can store photons and release them when needed.

This "light condenser" approach can work on many different types of plants, including the Thai elephant ear, which can have leaves over a foot wide. The researchers hope that such glowing plants could one day be used as a source of outdoor lighting.

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The scientists also conducted further research to assess whether the silica-coated nanoparticles interfere with the normal functioning of plants. They found that glowing plants can photosynthesize normally without any intervention.

Strano and his team are working to create installations that will produce even brighter light over longer periods of time.

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