Putting it into practice

Ben proving it is possible to read by bioluminescent light

We wanted to provide some proof of concept of these ideas. We built the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUFscEVK5Ks bacterial bubble lamp] to investigate this, and also read the Jungle Book using a flask containing E. coli expressing our bacterial luciferase.

We had thought about bacteria being used for emergency lighting, and our advisor Fernan printed a fire exit sign, which was placed over a plate containing one of our strains of E. coli. In a real system we would imagine using anhydrobiosis to create bacteria 'in hibernation' which could be activated when needed.

Modelling

Figure 1: The solar radiation spectrum for direct light at both the top of the Earth's atmosphere and at sea level.

Figure 2: The emission spectrum of V. Fischeri (shown in black)

Figure 3: Photopic (black) and scotopic (green) luminosity functions.

<math>F=683.002\ \mathrm{lm/W}\cdot \int^\infin_0 \overline{y}(\lambda) J(\lambda) d\lambda</math>

where

<math>F\,</math> is the luminous flux in lumens,

<math>J(\lambda)\,</math> is the spectral power distribution of the radiation (power per unit wavelength), in watts per metre.

<math>\overline{y}(\lambda)</math> (also known as <math>V(\lambda)\,</math>) is the standard luminosity function (which is dimensionless).

<math>\lambda\,</math> is wavelength in metres.

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Terrestrial Reference Spectra, a common standard used in photovoltaics

1,413 – 1,321W/m² "Chapter 8 – Measurement of sunshine duration" (PDF). CIMO Guide. World Meteorological Organization. http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/publications/CIMO-Guide/CIMO%20Guide%207th%20Edition,%202008/Part%20I/Chapter%208.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-01.