Another Great Idea in an Old Movie

You Can't Take it With You

We love this old 1938 Jimmy Stewart movie around this house. So you should see it!

If you see it you may be intrigued by this optimistic scene:

I remember in college another guy and I had an idea [....] We wanted to find out what made the grass grow green. Now that sounds silly and everything, but it’s the biggest research problem in the world today and I’ll tell you why. Because…there’s a tiny little engine in the green of this grass and the green of the trees that has the mysterious gift of being able to take energy from the rays of the sun and store it up. You see that’s how the heat and power and coal and oil and wood is stored up. Well, we thought if we could find the secret of all those millions of little engines in this green stuff, we could make big ones. And then we could take all the power we could ever need right from the sun’s rays. (Thanks http://1morefilmblog.com/wordpress/you-cant-take-it-with-you-capra-1938/ for transcribing it!)

Now that sounds pretty fresh in light of all the solar cell hubbub that's all the rage. In fact someone is going right for the green:

A North Carolina State University-led team has created 'artificial leaves – water-gel-based solar devices which can act like solar cells to generate electricity.

The devices show it's possible to make solar cells that more closely mimic nature, and could also be less expensive and more environmentally friendly

than current silicon-based solar cells. (Read more here: http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/51728-artificial-leaves-produce-electricity )

 The world is a wonderful place.

And you should watch that movie - that's only ONE of the good ideas in it! (Hint - most of them aren't about science topics - they are about a life well lived).