|
![](/i/fill.gif) |
On Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:11:17 +0100, Orchid XP v8 <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
>
> The chemical reaction behind it is apparently understood, since genetic
> engineers apparently use biolunimescence all the time as a marker during
> experiments.
They do that by attaching genes from a bioluminescent organism, thus
making the modified organism glow if the new genetic material was
successfully introduced. Direct use of just the chemicals has only limited
use.
As far as I know, the chemicals involved can not (yet?) be synthesized;
they are produced by biological means.
> not. At worst the chemicals just stop working.
I was being facetious. In theory you could of course produce the chemicals
elsewhere, and then just "fill it up" like you would an oil lamp. I am not
sure about the longevity of the chemicals, though, especially since they
react with oxygen.
> A far more serious problem is that the reaction is driven by chemical
> rather than electrical energy. If you can find a way around that you've
> got a viable product.
I think it might be difficult to make a non-biological distribution system
that gives acceptable efficiency while maintaining a constant brightness.
The worse problem, however, is that the chemicals are not easily produced
in large quantities, and the production processes may not be particularly
efficient.
--
FE
Post a reply to this message
|
![](/i/fill.gif) |