Box-o-bees t1_j4vqnbt wrote
Reply to comment by danielravennest in Scientists Have Developed a Living “Bio-Solar Cell” That Runs on Photosynthesis by everlovingkindness
>Plants are only about 2% efficient in converting sunlight
I wonder how much faster they would grow if it was increased to say 22%? Would be a crazy cool experiment.
danielravennest t1_j4w0lq5 wrote
They simply can't. The best that can be done is about 6% for photosynthetic bacteria, who don't need to waste energy making cell walls, roots, and other defining features of plants. Genetically modified bacteria have been made that emit ethanol and diesel molecules, but that only becomes competitive at about $100/barrel for petroleum. Prices haven't been high enough for long enough to get that industry off the ground, and attempts to make the process cheaper have stalled.
AbidanYre t1_j4vsct7 wrote
Sounds like a different way of getting [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hothouse_(novel)).
SnipingNinja t1_j4wwxyb wrote
I was expecting the link to go to grey goo
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