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/
Minerals, crystals, carbon, Biogenic silica, semiconductors and other interesting things
- A mineral is a naturally occurring substance, representable by a chemical formula, usually solid and inorganic, carries a crystal structure. The silicate minerals compose over 90% of the Earth's crust.
- A crystal is a solid material whose constituents, such as atoms, molecules or ions, are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions.
- Carbon's abundance, its unique diversity of organic compounds, and its unusual ability to form polymers at the temperatures commonly encountered on Earth enables this element to serve as a common element of all known life. It is the second most abundant element in the human body by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen.
- 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.
- A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow (as opposed to ionic conductivity) intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator.
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/)