European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 !ce"info!org!

u"#EIJST


26
An Electric Gauge Shifting Approach to Tap Free Electricity From Live Plants And
Germs


Chungpin Liao
1,,!,"
and #in$%uang &ang
,!


1
Graduate School of Electro-Optic and Materials Research,
National Formosa Uniersit!, "u#ei,
$ai#an 6%2, RO&

2
'danced Research ( )usiness *a+orator! ,'R)*-,
$aichun., $ai#an /01, RO&

%
&ha2ra Ener.etics, *td3, $aipei,
$ai#an 2%1, RO&

/
&orrespondin. author4 cpliao5alum3mit3edu

A'stract
Energy i$ a %atter of life and death for all li&ing 'eing$ on earth( let alone it$ crucial role on the ri$e and fall
of hu%an ci&ili)ation! *nd al%o$t all life for%$ on thi$ planet can trace their energy $ource$ 'ac" to the
ulti%ate $ole origin( the $olar energy! +or generation$( %an"ind ha$ ne&er cea$ed pur$uing %ean$ to directly
con&ert $unlight into electricity( and yet ha$ only achie&ed %eager e,cite%ent$ on $olar panel$! -n an
alternati&e front( $iphoning electricity fro% the green plant$ -the large$t $olar light har&e$ter$ glo'ally( ha$
e$$entially $cored no noticea'le $ucce$$! In thi$ or"( a no&el gauge %anipulation approach i$ propo$ed to
thi$ end and pro&ed fea$i'le!

(ey)ords* Ground, Electricit! from plants, Electricit! from .erms, Solar ener.!, Rectification

1+ ,ntroduction
)ein. an o+li.ator! process #ell adapted +! plants and other or.anisms, photos!nthesis conerts li.ht ener.!
from the sun into chemical ener.! that is then used to fuel the plants6 actiities associated #ith meta+olism and
the ma2in. of +iomaterials3 $he aera.e rate of ener.! capture +! photos!nthesis .lo+all! is immense,
appro7imatel! 1%0 tera#atts 81-%9, #hich is a+out si7 times lar.er than the po#er consumption of human
ciili:ation 8/93 Other than ener.!, photos!nthesis also accounts for the source of car+on in all or.anic
European International Journal of Science and Technology .ol! 2 No! 4 /ay 2003


21
compounds #ithin liin. +odies, namel!, it is estimated to conert around 100;11< thousand million metric
tons of car+on into +iomass each !ear 8<, 693

"o#eer, photos!nthesis itself does not proide electricit! in an e7trinsic manner for the man2ind3 $hat is,
si.nificant flo#s of electrons and ions present in all +iochemical reactions, onl! occur #ithin plants or
or.anisms3 $appin. electricit! e7ternall! from spots of positie and ne.atie potentials at a plant6s surface
#ould harest onl! minimal currents3 $hat is, t!pical olta.e differences fall in the ran.e of 031 = to 1 =, and
dra#n currents on the order of 0301 ' to 031 ', accordin. to e7perimental o+serations3 $his is +ecause a
plant #ith its lar.e internal resistance is neer a .ood +atter! itself3 For this reason, up to the moment, +urnin.
plant +iomaterials continue to +e a ia+le, thou.h ta#dr!, means for heat or electricit! .eneration on this
planet3 *i2e#ise, a+undant char.e carriers constantl! sloth +ac2 and forth #ithin the +odies of .erms, +acteria,
irus, etc3, and !et onl! tric2lin. flo#s can +e dra#n to the e7ternal #orld ,e3.3, as #as also eidenced latel!
on a marine +acteria Sheanella oneiden$i$ usin. minerals-li2e iron o7ide for respiration throu.h shuttlin.
electrons across their cell mem+ranes in a still unclear manner 819-3 >n short, pra.maticall!, deriin.
noticea+le currents directl! from either .reen plants or micro-or.anisms remains a far-fetched dream up to this
da!3

Nonetheless, if the #hole matter is ie#ed from an electric .au.e perspectie, practical current tappin. from
.reen plants and .erms instantl! +ecomes not that difficult +ut strai.htfor#ard3 $he reason is to +e addressed
+elo#3 ?rior to that, ho#eer, an ela+oration of the earth6s .round is in order3

Electrical en.ineers are .enerall! accustomed to treatin. local electrical .round, and ultimatel! the earth6s
.round, as an ample u+i@uitous AneutralA reseroir of positie and ne.atie char.es3 Namel!, as if tacitl!
assumed plausi+le, a .round not onl! ta2es up dumped char.es from an! circuit outlets +ut also seres as an
authentic datum for definin. electric potentials, such as in the peda.o.ical e7ample of a full-#ae rectifier
+rid.e for conertin. '& si.nals to B& ones ,See, Fi.3 1 for the rectification of a sinusoidal si.nal or radiation
input, #ith the current path from the ideal earth .round indicated durin. the ne.atie half-c!cle-3 "o#eer,
thou.h #ith its seemin. role routinel! alid to almost all electrical en.ineers, the earth6s .round potential can
actuall! +e a surprisin.l! capricious @uantit! o#in. to the d!namic char.e non-neutralit! rendered +! +oth the
artificial and natural causes3 >n other #ords, the real picture in the a+oe full-#ae rectif!in. depicted in Fi.3
1 ma! essentiall! +ecome #hat6s descri+ed in Fi.3 2 #here the .round +ecomes more ne.atie ,een thou.h
this specific issue has +een properl! resoled in electrical en.ineerin. +! appl!in. instead, e3.3, a
center-tapped transformer secondar! and diodes or other means 8C9-3
'll the more, #ithin modern cosmopolitans, +uried .roundin. electrodes are routinel! installed
not#ithstandin. to ma2e the connection to the earth3 "ence, a particular modern concern in the desi.n of
European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 !ce"info!org!u"#EIJST


2C
.eneral electrical facilities has +een the earth potential rise ,E?R- 8D93 $hat is, #hen er! lar.e fault currents
are inEected into the earth, the area around the point of inEection ma! rise to a hi.h potential #ith respect to
adEacent or distant points3 >n rural areas, on the other hand, the so-called Sin.le Fire Earth Return ,SFER-
'& electrical distri+ution s!stems, in #hich onl! a sin.le hi.h olta.e conductor for the po#er .rid is installed
#hile routin. the '& return current throu.h the earth, are often emplo!ed to sae cost, under the specious
assumption that lar.e earth currents #ill not other#ise cause ha:ards3 >n a similar fashion, some hi.h-olta.e
B& po#er transmission s!stems use the .round as a second conductor, much li2e that in the circumstances
#here su+marine ca+les use #ell-conductie sea #ater as the .round path3

>n short, the proclaimed A.roundA is in fact of a hi.hl! olatile and erratic character in +oth space and time3
O+iousl!, men ma! easil! inent #a!s to e7tract surplus ener.! from amon. or +et#een these points of
different .round potentials3 "o#eer, this scheme is normall! associated #ith undesira+l!, or inconenientl!,
lar.e spatial coera.e3 "ere, instead, an ele.ant local approach is presented in #hich e7tra electron flo#s can
+e e7tracted strai.htfor#ardl! to the e7ternal #orld from liin. plants under.oin. photos!nthesis, or from
.erms in dar2ness, #ithout hain. to #orr! a+out an! detailed +iochemical reactions and mechanisms
inoled #ithin these liin. s!stems3 $his is achieed +! ma2in. use of the aforementioned shifted .round
potential techni@ue3 >n other #ords, #ith the no# increased area +elo# the rectified si.nal cure and a+oe the
ne# ne.atie datum leel ,manifested and maintained +! ne.atie potential points on the plants or .erms-, the
seemin.l! undesira+le situation depicted in Fi.3 2 no# actuall! turn to our faor3

+ Proposed Shifted$Ground$Potential -ethod and E.periments
+1 -ethod
>t is proposed that point ) of the a+oe full-#ae rectifier of Fi.3 1 +e floatin.l! connected to the most
ne.atie potential point on a plant, or seeral plants in parallel or serial connection, ia surface-penetratin.
iron #ires3 $hen, as lon. as this ne.atie potential is sustained +! the plant,s-, its ,or their- electrons can +e
constantl! siphoned out to the e7terior as electric current source to man2ind ,See, Fi.3 % for =
plant
G 0 =-3 Note
that, this is true for either H=
plant
H is lar.er or smaller than the a+solute alue of the input si.nal ,e3.3, solar
radiation- amplitude3 $he thus-caused surplus of positie char.es #ithin the plant,s- are then scaen.ed ,or
neutrali:ed- +! the earth6s .round3 Recall that the plant itself can neer +e a .ood +atter! ,if driin. t#o
electrodes into it-, +ut throu.h proidin. onl! its ne.atie potential ,#hile .ettin. compensated at the root
from the earth6s .round-, it offers its +est contri+ution of electricit!, accordin. to our e7perimental
o+serations to +e disclosed in details +elo#3 's a side remar2, a positie diode clamp #as also sho#n
implemented near the input side ,See, Fi.3 %- ,as a common denominator for cases #ith and #ithout plant
ener.! e7traction- to further enhance the harest of electrical po#er in e7periments of all cases3

European International Journal of Science and Technology .ol! 2 No! 4 /ay 2003


2D
+ E.periments
$hree e7periments #ere conducted to e7amine the alidit! of the proposed theor!3 >n the first t#o, the adopted
input si.nal #as the normall! unfaora+le electroma.netic radiation from an off-the-shelf fluorescent lamp
composed of four $< fluorescent tu+es under a common metal roof and operatin. at 110 =, 60 ":3 Fith the
structure of this lamp intact, the output from the +rid.e-rectifier of Fi.3 1 ,#ith point ) connected to the local
earth .round- #as characteri:ed +! a short-circuit current ,I
$c
- of 03< m', an open-circuit olta.e ,.
o
- of DC =,
and thus a po#er output of a+out <0 mF ,See, Fi.3 % ,+--3 "o#eer, #hen #ith point ) floatin.l! connected to
the most ne.atie potential point of the series-connected four small plants of patchouli ,pogo$te%on ca'lin
'enth- rooted in soil ,See, Fi.3 % ,c-, #hich #as simultaneousl! irradiated +! a tin! 100 mFIm
2
flu7 of
artificial sunli.ht under a constant &O
2
suppl! maintained at a+out C00 ppm concentration leel-, the output
#as 10< mF ,I
$c
J 1 m', .
o
J 10C =-3 Namel!, a more than 110K increase in po#er output #as eidenced to
sustain more than 10 minutes +efore the occurrence of a .radual droopin. in po#er tapped from plants3

>n the second e7periment, Least .erms under no sunli.ht #ere emplo!ed to replace the .reen plants a+oe3
$en .rams of dr! Least po#der #ere resoled in 100 ml of pure #ater and then e@uall! distri+uted into 12
.lass cups each e@uipped #ith t#o far-separated iron #ires dippin. in the solution3 $hese cups in turn #ere
electricall! connected in series, in correct polarit!, to pla! the role of the a+oe plants3 Resultin. cures in Fi.3
/, #hen under the loadin. of 100 2, indicate that a po#er increase of more than 60K #as achieed +! the
.erms alone, and a raise of a+out 12<K #as rendered +! further feedin. the .erms #ith 030<M .lucose
solution3

>n the third e7periment, the input deice +ecame a 12 cm +! 12 cm sin.le cr!stal silicon solar panel under the
'M ,air mass- 13< leel solar radiation ,i3e3, 1 2FIm
2
, or 100 mFIcm
2
oer the full solar spectrum-3 Fhen the
earth .round alone #as used #ith the full-#ae +rid.e, the result #as4 .
o
J /362 =, I
$c
J /00 m', and thus
1
o2%a,3
J 13C<F3 'fter appl!in. the floatin. ne.atie datum from 12 small plants of patchouli in series
,themseles under the same sunli.ht-, the outcome #as4 .
o
J /36< =, I
$c
J //0 m', and thus 1
o2%a,3
J 230< F,
si.nif!in. a more than 10 K increase in po#er3 Bespite the situation lasted onl! around 2 minutes +efore the
tapped .reen po#er started to d#indle, these little plants reclaimed their i.or a da! later3 'dditionall!, #hen
#ith the plants replaced +! one liter of patchouli e7tract ,throu.h spin-.rindin. 20 . of plants- contained in a
shallo# plastic tra! ,itself under the same sunli.ht- e@uipped #ith t#o far-separated iron #ires dippin. in the
solution, the result +ecame4 .
o
J /36% =, I
$c
J /10 m', and thus 1
o2%a,3
J 13D0 F ,i3e3, an increase of more than
23<K-, thou.h sustainin. onl! 2 minutes rou.hl!3



European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 !ce"info!org!u"#EIJST


%0
!+ Summary and Conclusions
's an essential means for harestin. solar ener.!, #hich in turn facilitates nearl! all forms of life on earth, the
+ios!nthesis process ta2in. place in .reen plants does not proide direct electricit! to the man2ind3 Efforts
attemptin. to dra# si:a+le electric currents from plants hae +een in ain3 "ere, a noel method to tap
si.nificant electricit! freel! from liin. plants or .erms, durin. the process of rectif!in. an '& input, is
proided and erified3 >n short, +! chan.in. the .round .au.e to a ne.atie potential manifested and
maintained +! a liin. plant ,or a series of them- or .erms, ia connectin. the datum port of a full-#ae
rectifier to #here this ne.atie potential is, e7tra electron current can +e deried from the plant,s- or .erms3
$he demonstrated effectieness of this method si.nifies a milestone for man2ind to e7tract free electricit!
from essentiall! all 2inds of liin. plants and micro-or.anisms for the first time, #ithout the tradeoff of
needin. to 2no# the manifold comple7 +iochemical details inoled #ithin these liin. s!stems3 *astl!, more
effectie plants or .erms should +e continuall! e7plored for een +etter results3

/+ Ethics
'lthou.h this current #or2 aims to proide a ia+le means for siphonin. free electricit! from liin. plants or
or.anisms ,includin. chloroph!ll e7tracted from al.ae-, it is neer an intention of the authors to cause
si.nificant dama.e, or een life threat, to potential plants or liin. creatures inoled in such proposed
applications3 On the contrar!, there should deise proper application limits and re.ulations +! all man2ind3 >n
particular, the fashion this method +e emplo!ed ou.ht to simulate that of e7tractin. molasses from maple trees
#herein a +eni.n, mutual +enefitin. ecolo.! is #arranted3 Nonetheless, siphonin. electrons relentlessl! from
carcino.en cells mi.ht itself constitute a alua+le e7ception3

0eferences
13 Nealson M", &onrad ?G ,1DDD-, *ife4 past, present and future, 1hilo$! Tran$! 4! Soc! 5ond!( 6( 6iol! Sci!
%</ ,1%D2-4 1D2%;%D3
23 Fhitmarsh N, GoindEee ,1DDD-, $he photos!nthetic process, >n Sin.hal GS, Ren.er G, Sopor! SM, >rr.an.
MB, GoindEee, 7oncept$ in photo'iology: photo$ynthe$i$ and photo%orphogene$i$ ,Mlu#er 'cademic,
)oston- pp3 11;<13 A100 7 10
1<
.rams of car+onI!ear fi7ed +! photos!nthetic or.anisms #hich is
e@uialent to / 7 10
1C
2NI!r J / 7 10
21
NI!r of free ener.! stored as reduced car+onO ,/ 7 10
1C
2NI!r- I
,%1,<<6,D00 secI!r- J 1321 7 10
1/
NI!rO ,1321 7 10
1/
NI!r- I ,10
12
NIsec I $F- J 121 $F3A
%3 Ste.er U, 'chter+er. F, )lo2 M, )ode ", Fren: F, Gather &, "ane2amp G, >m+oden B, Nahn2e M, Most
M, Mur: R, Nut:in.er "G, Piesemer $ ,200<-, Su$taina'le de&elop%ent and inno&ation in the energy
$ector ,Sprin.er, )erlin-, pp3 %23 A$he aera.e .lo+al rate of photos!nthesis is 1%0 $F ,1 $F J 1 tera#att
J 10
12
#att-3A
European International Journal of Science and Technology .ol! 2 No! 4 /ay 2003


%1
/3 Ener.! >nformation 'dministration ,2006-, 8orld 7on$u%ption of 1ri%ary Energy 'y Energy Type and
Selected 7ountry 9roup$, Retrieed from4 http4II###3eia3doe3.oIpu+IinternationalIiealfIta+le1C37ls3
<3 Field &), )ehrenfeld MN, Randerson N$, Fal2o#s2i ? ,1DDC-, ?rimar! production of the +iosphere4
inte.ratin. terrestrial and oceanic components, Science 2C1 ,<%1/-4 2%1;/03
63 McGra#-"ill ,2001-, ?hotos!nthesis, /c9ra-:ill Encyclopedia of Science ; Technology 1%
,McGra#-"ill, Ne# Lor2-3
13 Fhite GF, Shi P, Shi *, Fan. P, Bohnal2oa '&, Marshall MN, Fredric2son NM, Pachara NM, )utt NN,
Richardson BN, and &lar2e $' ,201%-, Rapid electron e7chan.e +et#een surface-e7posed +acterial
c!tochromes and Fe,>>>- minerals, 1roceeding$ of the National *cade%y of Science$ 21N*S3, March 2<
Earl! Edition3
C3 Schuler & ' ,1DD/-, Electronic$, /th Ed3 ,McGra#-"ill, Ne# Lor2-, pp3/C-603
D3 )eat! "F and Fin2 BG ,2006-, The Standard :and'oo" for Electrical Engineer$, 16th Ed3 ,McGra#-"ill
?rofessional, Ne# Lor2-3

Figure Legends
Fi.3 1 ,a- ' full-#ae rectifier +rid.e for conertin. '& si.nals to B& ones, #ith the current path from the
ideal earth .round indicated durin. the ne.atie half-c!cle sho#nO ,+- ' sinusoidal si.nal or radiation inputO ,c-
$he full-#ae-rectified sinusoidal input si.nal, if the A.roundA emplo!ed is an authentic datum of potential

Fi.3 2 ,a- ' ne.atiel! shifted A.roundAO ,+- ' ne# full-#ae-rectified result o#in. to a ne.atiel! shifted
.round, #ith enlar.ed area ,electricit!- under the rectified cure and a+oe the ne# .round leel

Fi.3 %,a- $he setup of the proposed method, #ith the A.roundA port of the full-#ae rectifier floatin.l!
connected to the most ne.atie potential point on a plant or / plants in seriesO ,+- Fith an EM radiation from a
/-tu+e fluorescent lamp as the input si.nal, the one #ith ?atchouli ,/ in series- ne.atie potential .round
rectif!in. sho#s 110 K more po#erO ,c- ' +ase containin. 1 ?atchouli plants

Fi.3 / Fith an EM radiation from a /-tu+e fluorescent lamp as the input si.nal, the one #ith Least .erms ,12
+eds in series- ne.atie potential .round rectif!in. sho#s 60 K more po#er, and a raise of a+out 12<K #as
rendered +! further feedin. the .erms #ith 030<M .lucose solution





European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 !ce"info!org!u"#EIJST






































Fi.3 1 ,a- ' full-#ae rectifier +rid.e for conertin. '& si.nals to B& ones, #ith the current path
from the ideal earth .round indicated durin. the ne.atie half-c!cle sho#n ne.atie half-c!cle
Vin
R1
100k
Vout
B
A
>
>
>
>
>

Fi.3 1 ,+- ' sinusoidal si.nal or radiation input

Fi.3 1 ,c- $he full-#ae-rectified sinusoidal input si.nal, if the A.roundA emplo!ed is an
European International Journal of Science




Fi.3 2 ,a- ' ne.atiel! shifted A.roundA
Fi.3 2 ,+- ' ne# full-#ae-rectified result o#i
enlar.ed area ,electricit!- under the rectified cur
Fi.3 %,a- $he setup of the proposed method, #i
floatin.l! connected to the most ne.atie potenti
f Science and Technology .ol! 2 No! 4


ed result o#in. to a ne.atiel! shifted .round, #ith
rectified cure and a+oe the ne# .round leel

d method, #ith the A.roundA port of the full-#ae rectifier
.atie potential point on a plant or / plants in series
2 No! 4 /ay 2003
European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 !ce"info!org!u"#EIJST




































Fi.3 %,+- Fith an EM radiation from a /-tu+e fluorescent lamp as the input si.nal, the one
#ith ?atchouli ,/ in series- ne.atie potential .round rectif!in. sho#s 110 K more po#er

Fi.3 / Fith an EM radiation from a /-tu+e fluorescent lamp as the input si.nal, the one #ith Least
.erms ,12 +eds in series- ne.atie potential .round rectif!in. sho#s 60 K more po#er, and a raise of
a+out 12<K #as rendered +! further feedin. the .erms #ith 030<M .lucose solution

Fi.3 %,c- ' +ase containin. 1 ?atchouli plants