From DAVID FULFORD-BROWN
Re Maxwell Woosnam’s idea of getting electricity from genetically
engineered trees (Letters, 29 May). I purchased a ‘potato clock’ recently.
This is a device which uses a potato (or other acid-based item) to power a
small digital clock via two wires embedded in the power source to complete
the circuit.
Although my understanding of science is minimal, I would presume that a
bigger source (such as a pine tree) or more of them would provide a larger
amount of electricity. Given a big enough or wide enough input from the
source (such as a field of potatoes or forest of trees) it must be possible
to power something like a home’s electricity needs. I don’t know if any
experiments have been conducted to establish the electrical output of trees,
but perhaps other readers would care to comment on this idea.
David Fulford-Brown
Coventry
