Did you know that there are algae (those tiny green floating stuff in your lakes and lagoons) that radiate light. They are bio-luminescent just like glowing jelly fish!
Now you could use these little plants/ microbes ...(whatever.. I am no microbiologist) to make little energy saving lamps! They are perfect home decors too as they glow in blue to green colors! Just fill them in transparent bottles of different shapes, colors and sizes!
Wondering how to make these brilliant eco-friendly lamps?
YOU WILL NEED :
The algae: Any bio luminescent algae. Look up online what suits you.
Pyrosystis Fusiformis is preferred as its harder and easily grown.
You will order it online from culture repositories like EMPCO , or Institutes like Institute of Oceanography in Goa. Alternatively you could contact researchers to get inoculums. Or if you are a botany student collect it from a suitable water source like lagoon,canal/ the Indian Ocean during summer monsoons in Kerala.
A nutrient solution - Buy from a local medical store and if you are familiar with algal culturing prepare using...well you know what the ingredients are (just Google it up if you have forgotten; there are tons of info on how to prepare algae nutrient medium). Or make a natural solution made with seawater. Growth solutions are available online or at aquatic supply stores.
A clear container of glass or clear plastic. It must have a lid. Clear because you want the light and because the algae needs light to grow.
A suitable place- Keep in a place where there is adequate light & a moderate temperature (8 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (22 - 25 degrees Celsius). Or a regular 40-watt light bulb in a household lamp can be used too.
How To Make The Algae Lamp
1. Prepare the container- sterilize by heating if container is heat-able, else wash with detergent thoroughly.
2. Let both the inoculum and the nutrient solution Pour about 20 ml of nutrient solution.
3. Add algae culture into the container.
4. Place the lid to prevent evaporation & to keep contaminants out.
5. Incubate under mentioned conditions. It may take a few days to months depending on how well your solutions works or how well you have tended to it.
6. Do not expose to direct sunlight. Else temperature control will not be possible. Algae need twelve hours of light and twelve hours of dark.
Please note that if using a lamp, it should be placed about three feet from the container. Do not place the light directly over the container; as the heat may/can kill the organisms inside.
Now just switch on !!
Gently swirl/agitate. Bioluminescent algae detect movement when its cell walls are hit by other algae, making it glow. Thus shaking your bio lamp switches it on! No switch, no complicated engineering involved!
But, do not shake the container too hard or too often.
Algae are fast growing organisms. So you might need to keep changing containers or better still inoculate a number of other containers…to get a whole lighting decor arrangement.…!!
PS: It is possible to grow algae in the container it was shipped in, which is usually a plastic beaker. Simply pour a few inches of the culture out, and add a few inches of growth solution.
Expected Cost:
The inoculum can cost ~24$ = ~1467 Rs if you are shipping it down from a culture repository. Sounds expensive for a little light bulb, but if you get one of these systems going efficiently at home you will never have to complain about your electricity bills again!
Happy lighting!!
Now you could use these little plants/ microbes ...(whatever.. I am no microbiologist) to make little energy saving lamps! They are perfect home decors too as they glow in blue to green colors! Just fill them in transparent bottles of different shapes, colors and sizes!
Wondering how to make these brilliant eco-friendly lamps?
YOU WILL NEED :
The algae: Any bio luminescent algae. Look up online what suits you.
Pyrosystis Fusiformis is preferred as its harder and easily grown.
You will order it online from culture repositories like EMPCO , or Institutes like Institute of Oceanography in Goa. Alternatively you could contact researchers to get inoculums. Or if you are a botany student collect it from a suitable water source like lagoon,canal/ the Indian Ocean during summer monsoons in Kerala.
A nutrient solution - Buy from a local medical store and if you are familiar with algal culturing prepare using...well you know what the ingredients are (just Google it up if you have forgotten; there are tons of info on how to prepare algae nutrient medium). Or make a natural solution made with seawater. Growth solutions are available online or at aquatic supply stores.
A clear container of glass or clear plastic. It must have a lid. Clear because you want the light and because the algae needs light to grow.
A suitable place- Keep in a place where there is adequate light & a moderate temperature (8 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (22 - 25 degrees Celsius). Or a regular 40-watt light bulb in a household lamp can be used too.
How To Make The Algae Lamp
1. Prepare the container- sterilize by heating if container is heat-able, else wash with detergent thoroughly.
2. Let both the inoculum and the nutrient solution Pour about 20 ml of nutrient solution.
3. Add algae culture into the container.
4. Place the lid to prevent evaporation & to keep contaminants out.
5. Incubate under mentioned conditions. It may take a few days to months depending on how well your solutions works or how well you have tended to it.
6. Do not expose to direct sunlight. Else temperature control will not be possible. Algae need twelve hours of light and twelve hours of dark.
Please note that if using a lamp, it should be placed about three feet from the container. Do not place the light directly over the container; as the heat may/can kill the organisms inside.
Now just switch on !!
Gently swirl/agitate. Bioluminescent algae detect movement when its cell walls are hit by other algae, making it glow. Thus shaking your bio lamp switches it on! No switch, no complicated engineering involved!
But, do not shake the container too hard or too often.
Algae are fast growing organisms. So you might need to keep changing containers or better still inoculate a number of other containers…to get a whole lighting decor arrangement.…!!
PS: It is possible to grow algae in the container it was shipped in, which is usually a plastic beaker. Simply pour a few inches of the culture out, and add a few inches of growth solution.
Expected Cost:
The inoculum can cost ~24$ = ~1467 Rs if you are shipping it down from a culture repository. Sounds expensive for a little light bulb, but if you get one of these systems going efficiently at home you will never have to complain about your electricity bills again!
Happy lighting!!
Very informative article..........
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