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scientist have find electricity flowing in an unexpected place — across the surface of rocks .
Mineral coatings on rocks turn sunlight into electricity , turning on like a low-cal replacement when the sunshine polish off them , consort to a study published April 22 in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into chemical vigour . And solar cubicle make electricity through the photoelectrical effect , in which sunlight jostle electrons gratuitous from atoms , causing current to flow in semiconductors like silicon . But scientist bed very little about natural , non - biological systems that produce electricity .
In the new sketch , researcher analyzed the the mineral coat on tilt lying in northernChinaand software on karst — an eroded landscape of limestone — and red land particles in southerly China . [ In Images : Mysterious Desert Varnish ]
They used microscope and X - ray spectroscopy — a method that reveals the element that make up a substance — to cipher out that the coatings were full of iron and atomic number 25 , two element that are used in solar cell coating .
They found that illumination transformed into electricity inside the coatings , but not in the inherent John Rock . When the light that hit the minerals change , the photoelectric currents also shifted quickly , turn over on and off like a light switch , according to a statement .
These natural photoelectric program cover vast expanse of desert , karst and red soil particles throughout the world , the source noted . " The native semiconducting iron / manganese - rich coatings may play a use like , in part , to photosynthetic systems and thus provide a classifiable driving forcefulness " for some of the principal chemical reactions on Earth ’s surfaces , the researchers wrote in the study .
Originally published onLive skill .
