Soil Clock

The Dutch have been busy working with the dirt and not just piling it up to hold back the sea. Marieke Staps has literally figured out how to put the sands of time to work powering a modern digital clock. Marieke’s dirt powered clock was revealed to the world at the 2008 Dutch Design Week and just this last month was showcased at the Dwell on Designs Kitchen Ecology Show. How does a simple pile of dirt create a power for a modern digital clock? It’s simple, well at least Marieke thinks it is. The clock equipped with two electrodes one copper and one zinc, which plug directly into a pot of dirt. Apparently the dirt functions as an electrolyte, which is a conductive material that has the ability to flow. A biological life flourishes in the soil through it’s natural metabolism energy is produced, at least enough to power a small clock. The catch to this entire thing is you need to plant alive and continue to supply it water so that the plants natural metabolism continues. Don’t waste any time. Get your hands on one of these amazing little inventions.

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