This Week's Science Bits from SWTG

An edible battery, India moves forward with gravitational wave detector, and a stone on Mars

An Edible Battery

A team from the Italian Institute of Technology has created rechargeable batteries from edible components like seaweed, vitamins, and quercetin, the plant pigment found in onions. They glued the pieces together with beeswax and, because it’s a good electric conductor, they sprinkled some gold on the contacts. Yes, gold is edible in the sense that it just passes through (if you know what I mean). The researchers say the batteries may have use for medical applications where you’d rather have a battery that doesn’t contain toxic compounds. Press release here. Paper here.

Image: Ilic et al., Advanced Materials (2023)

India Moves Forward With Gravitational Wave Detector

The Indian government has approved $320 million for the construction of a gravitational wave interferometer, LIGO-India, that will resemble the ones located in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The combined data from many interferometers makes it possible to pin down the positions and distances of the sources to a higher degree of accuracy. LIGO-India is expected to go online by the end of the decade. More here.

Computer rendering of the planned interferometer. Image: LIGO-India

NASA’s Mars Rover Has Lost Its Companion Stone

The Perseverance Rover that roams Mars had accidentally picked up a stone with one of its wheels more than a year ago (left image). Recent images show that the stone is now gone (right image). More here.

 Images: NASA