GMU:Bioelectronics, aesthetics and other interesting things/Crystal radio

Joe Davis. Bacterial Radio

Joe Davis (2011). Bacterial Radio, http://www.biofaction.com/synth-ethic/?p=44 Bacterial Radio exhibits several bacterially-grown platinum/germanium electrical circuits (crystal radios) on glass substrates.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Images: aec.at, http://prix2012.aec.at/prixwinner/7023/

• 

Image: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/257542392_fig3_Fig-7-Joe-Davis-Bacterial-Radio-11-Joe-Davis-reverses-the-main-goal-of-synthetic

Minerals, crystals, carbon, Biogenic silica

• Biogenic silica (bSi) forms one of the most widespread biogenic minerals. For example, microscopic particles of silica can be found in bacteria, animals and plants. In order to conduct voltage for his bacterial radio Joe Davis used orange marine puffball sponges (Tethya aurantia). Silica is an amorphous metal oxide formed by complex inorganic polymerization processes.

Crystal radio

“A crystal radio is a basic resonant circuit requiring only induction, capacitance and a radio “crystal,” a mineral semiconductor used to convert received radio signals into DC electrical signals that can be resolved with headphones as sound. These simple circuits require no batteries, tubes or transistors and operate with only the difference in voltage between the antenna and the ground.” (bacterial radio, http://prix2012.aec.at/prixwinner/7023/)