BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Researchers have dicovered a way to plug into the power generated by trees, according to media report Tuesday.

    Children all over the world who have tried the potato or lemon battery experiments know that an electrical current can be generated by creating a reaction between the food and two different metals. However, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a different way to harvest power from trees. They use the same metal for both electrodes specifically in order not to confuse this effect with the potato effect.

    While proving that trees can provide a source of power is a significant step, a key question remains: can the tiny voltage produced by a tree be harnessed for anything useful?

    After spending the summer surveying trees, the researchers discovered that big leaf maple trees generated a steady voltage of up to a few hundred millivolts. By adding a device called a voltage boost converter, the research team has managed to obtain a usable voltage of 1.1 volts, enough to run low-power sensors.

    A member of the team admits that “tree power” isn't as practical as solar energy, but believes that the system could be scaled-up as a low-cost option for powering tree sensors that help detect environmental conditions or forest fires. Using the electronic output to keep track of a tree's health is another possibility.

    The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Transactions on Nanotechnology.

    (Agencies)