Episode Transcript

EPISODE – 186

LEELA: This week… skyscraper batteries, batteries of wood, solar strips, “powerful” deep sea rocks and fool’s gold that’s not so foolish.

OPENING STING – LEELA: “Hey, hey, hey. Listen up. New, new, newsy – Newsy Pooloozi!”

THEME MUSIC

LEELA: Hello and welcome to Newsy Pooloozi – the news pool for curious kids and adults! I’m your host Leela Sivasankar Prickitt and, as ever, I’m joined by the big story explainer and sound effects finder otherwise known as my… mama!

MAMA: You can also call me Lyndee Prickitt. Hello…

LEELA: This week…

We take a deep dive in the charged-up world of batteries – yes, many batteries aren’t quite as green as we’d like them to be – but never fear. Innovation is here!

We’re talking about mammoth batteries the size of skyscrapers – or is that skyscrapers that double up as batteries??

A re-look at using wood to make batteries – you heard me correctly.

But what about solar strips instead of panels that could charge us all up?

Never mind “powerful” deep sea rocks.

Oh, and it turns out fool’s gold might not be so foolish but in fact pretty… well, you gotta listen to the end to find out.

MUSIC UP

LEELA: Alright then, let’s dive on in. First up, it’s the…

BIG NEWS STORY STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The big news story of the week!”

MAMA: You know what, I’m really charged up about today’s big story.

LEELA: Oh, oh, very good one… I mean, I heard what you did there.

MAMA: Oh, yeah, more of that to come too, because I’ve fully charge up the puns on this story…

LEELA: Bahh doomp boom.

MAMA: Yes, we’re talking the latest news –

LEELA: And breakthroughs.

MAMA: On batteries and energies. Yep, we’re diving into the whole “who what when where why and how” of getting fully charged up.

LEELA: I guess we should start out with… what even is a battery? I know there’s something in your phone and laptop called a battery – though I’ve never seen them, come to think of it, and round-rectangular ones into remote controls and alarm clocks. But then batteries are in electric cars and I’m sure they look nothing like those. So, are they all the same thing?

MAMA: Yes and no. Basically, they’re all devices that transform chemical energy into electric energy. And most of them can be recharged over and over.

LEELA: Like with the laptop. OK, but how does it happen, exactly?

MAMA It’s a complicated process that I know you’re already learning about and you’re sure to learn

more about in advanced chemistry and physics classes. But suffice to say when certain chemicals

come into contact with each other, it creates a reaction that sends a flow of electrons from one material to the other through an external circuit to, you know, power things.

LEELA: Chemicals like lithium perhaps? I’m always here about lithium-ion batteries. I listen in science class.

MAMA: Yes! Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable and are used in cell phones, laptops, even toothbrushes, electric bikes, and yes, electric vehicles too. Lithium is in high demand.

LEELA: But there are other chemicals used in batteries, too, right?

MAMA: Yes, nickel, lead, something called carbon black… and some of those chemicals, or elements as they are more accurately known, are non-renewable.

LEELA: Ah ha! I know what that means! Non-renewable, as in, once we run out, there’s no more left!

MAMA: Correct! And on top of that – getting those elements out of the earth is not an easy or cheap process. And that is what makes batteries in general a not-so-great long-term solution as the world tries to be more environmentally friendly.

LEELA: Well, it’s annoying, almost depressing actually.

MAMA: Yes, but that’s progress for you – two steps forward and one step backwards. Focus on those forward- steps, OK? Enter… a project that’s hoping to turn a skyscraper into… wait for it… a battery.

LEELA:  Whoa! Now that’s the way to multi-task!

MAMA: Totally. It’s not just a pretty building housing people and offices, oh no. So, remember, batteries are all about transforming stored energy into another kind of energy.

LEELA: That would be electric energy

MAMA: Exactly. Now, as we just discussed, many batteries use chemicals or elements to transform that stored energy into –

LEELA: electricity.

MAMA: But in this new project, instead of chemical reactions, something called kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy are going to be used.

LEELA: NO way! I just learned about this in science class!

MAMA: Oh, wow. I thought you’d lear n that later in physics class. Well, what is it?

LEELA: So… gravitational potential energy is the energy created when an object is at a certain height. So – the mass (like how big or heavy) the object is, and of course how high off the ground it is, determines just how much energy is created.

MAMA: Well, done. You and your science teacher get a star. And kinetic energy is when an object is moving, so when an object falls, the force of gravity causes that potential energy to be converted into kinetic energy. So, if you drop a paper clip out of a second-story window, that’ll be less energy created then if you drop a brick, right?

LEELA: And a LOT less dangerous.

MAMA: (Get out of the way!) And the higher up that brick was dropped, the more it would hurt! (Really, get out of the way!) Well, that is the concept being used in the skyscraper battery.

LEELA: Wait. Bricks are gonna fall from the skyscraper?

MAMA: Yeah, no. That was just an example to help you understand the energy – which you know anyway. If the architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and the energy company Energy Vault, have their way it would be huge weights INSIDE the skyscraper’s walls that will go up and down to transform their gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy into electrical energy, aka –

LEELA: Electricity. Totally cool. Talk about a BIG BATTERY. And – since no chemical elements are being used – I’m guessing it’s a cleaner energy storage solution?

MAMA: Bingo.

LEELA: And more sustainable too?

MAMA: Yes, if they use renewable energy, like from wind or solar, to lift these massive weights to the top of the building, then yes – it will be sustainable indeed!

LEELA: Actually, it’s creative genius – of using what’s right under our noses, instead of chemicals, to create energy reminds me of a story we did last year – about how trees can be used as batteries!

MAMA: Ah yes! the Finnish paper company who came up with a better use of paper during the pandemic, when everyone was online NOT using paper, so paper companies had to make better use of their product.

LEELA: I think we should replay that story from our Finnish correspondent, Ameyaa Kohli.

MAMA: OK – let me dig into the vault, yes, that would be Episode 143… alright. Let’s replay that story right now then, shall we?

AMEYAA: Thanks, you guys!

Like you said – as we become a more digital world, the demand for paper is really dropping.

That means paper producers need to find new ideas to make money.

So, the Finnish paper company, called Stora Enso, found a new use for the part of wood that holds the tree together, called lignin.

Lingin is basically the glue in the tree that makes wood hard and not mushy!

Well, guess what? Lignin contains carbon.

And carbon is a great material for a vital component found in batteries.

Yes, we’re talking about electric vehicle batteries being made from wood!

OK, well, part of the battery, made from A PART of wood – but still, how crazy is that?

This is super helpful because – as you’ve said on this podcast many times – making electric car batteries isn’t easy.

Finding the rare materials needed can be dangerous and bad for the environment.

Well, this invention, called “Lignode,” could be a safer and more sustainable option!

I guess we could say it’s a real “positive” innovation!

Get it?

Positive, like a positively charged battery?

This is Ameyaa Kohli, reporting for Newsy Pooloozi!

LEELA: Ha ha, gotta love those charged-up puns. Very clever… Thanks a lot, Ameyaa!

MAMA: And there’s another green innovation coming out of Scandinavia – that could even mean the end of batteries.

LEELA: Wait, what?

MAMA: Yes, there’s said to be a solar revolution happening in Sweden.

LEELA: What? Sweden? The sun barely shines up there!

MAMA: Good point. But there’s a fancy printer producing precious strips of solar paper – each one containing  108 miniature solar cells that COULD soon find their way into everyday gadgets – from keyboards to headphones.

LEELA: Uh, why?

MAMA: Well, according to the company Exeger they have breakthrough technology that can harvest electricity from almost any light source.

LEELA: What, like not just sunlight?

MAMA: Right – like maybe candlelight or even (much more slowly) moonlight – can even generate a charge.

LEELA: Huh, so these strips would store solar energy to be used by our devices.

MAMA: Very simply put, yes.

LEELA: But how? I mean, solar panels are huge, and you need several of them to give enough electricity for a whole house?

MAMA: These guys say they came up with a new so called electrode material that offers 1,000 times better conductivity.

LEELA: Wow – skyscraper batteries. Woody batteries. And solar strips. OK. I’m feeling less depressed about powering up the world now.

MAMA: Two steps forward.

LEELA: I’d rather not think about the one step backward.

MAMA: Just do the math. With any luck we might still come out ahead.

[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zx4shcw#zw2k8hv

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_battery

https://www.enel.com/company/stories/articles/2024/03/gravity-storage

https://www.science.org.au/curious/technology-future/batteries

https://www.epa.gov/hw/lithium-ion-battery-recycling#:~:text=Although%20innovations%20are%20happening%20quickly,based%20leaching%20process%20(hydrometallurgy

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/solar-panels-battery-exeger-powerfoyle-b2554294.html

https://www.batterytechonline.com/materials/the-crucial-role-of-carbon-black-in-li-ion-batteries

https://www.storaenso.com/en/newsroom/news/2022/11/lignode-makes-it-possible-to-make-batteries-from-trees]

WORLD WRAP STING – LEELA: “What’s that? I’ll tell you what. That’s the halftime bell! Which means… it’s time to hear what’s making news around the rest of the world. Hold on tight, it’s around the world in 80 seconds.”

MAMA: Food isn’t reaching those people who need it in the Gaza Strip. The World Food Programme say a million people are at risk of going hungry. The US is telling Israel they have 30 days to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza or risk having some US military assistance cut off.

The World Wildlife Foundation says average wildlife populations have fallen by 73% in the last 50 years. That along with deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and melting polar ice caps in Antarctica means, they say, we’re fast approaching a point where we won’t be able to reverse the damage.

And its liftoff for the journey to Jupiter – well, to its icy moon, Europa – thought to be one of the most promising habitable environments in our Solar System. NASA’s Europa Clipper is expected to arrive in 2030 when it’ll perform about 50 flybys, gathering detailed measurements to investigate the planet’s icy moon.

And in the much awaited “America’s Best Restroom” contest, the 2024 winner is in… a Maverik gasoline service station located near Salt Lake City International Airport. Yes, with its shiny fittings and big murals of snow-covered mountains and blue skies, it’s considered the most innovative and most decorative pitstop around.

[SOURCE: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/11/middleeast/food-northern-gaza-starvation-un-intl/index.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wk0e8zey2o

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c77l24er2z8o

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cdjem8xld1po

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/america-best-restroom-contest-2024-winner/index.html]

LEELA: Well, thank you so much for that – wait for it… that whippity-whappity-zippity-zappity wrap of what’s making headlines elsewhere in the world, Mama.

MAMA: Anytime, Leela. So, so, so… in keeping with our battery and power charging theme today, we’ve got a nature story about, well, sort of kind of, we could say, batteries.

NATURE STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “The call of nature. Get on your safari suit. Or squeeze into your scuba gear. And get ready to hop into a jeep. Or submarine. Submarine. Because Mother Nature is calling! Nature.”  

LEELA: I guess since the last story was about how trees can be used as batteries, I shouldn´t be surprised to hear that there are OTHER things in nature that can be used as batteries… but… what are we talking about here, exactly? A fruit? A vegetable?

MAMA: Ha! You can make a battery out of a lemon… I’ll let you guys google that one, for more info! But no, I’m talking about … drum roll please. Rocks.

LEELA: Uhhh, really? You mean, like drop it from a building for its energy? I mean, rocks don’t have any “powerful” qualities, surely?

MAMA: Ah, but they do! Well, certain ones do.

LEELA: I guess you’re not talking about your everyday rock, here.

MAMA: No, we are not. We are talking about special rocks from deep, DEEP, under the Pacific Ocean.

LEELA: Oooooh. Sounds dark and mysterious!

MAMA: It is! In fact, these “rocks” are actually called polymetallic…

LEELA: “poly” as in many… so many metals…

MAMA: Yes! They’re called polymetallic nodules.

LEELA: Nodules, as in like, a lump?

MAMA: Yes! A lump made up of many metals, or elements. That also gives off oxygen.

LEELA: Wait, wait, wait, I’m sorry, what? Hold up. Don’t try to see that task me. How could a rock give off oxygen?

MAMA: Well, these rock-like lumps are formed when metals found in the sea water clump together around shells or the bones or teeth of fish.

LEELA: Errr… how do these lumps manage to produce oxygen?

MAMA: Well, they couldn’t figure it out. Until they realized that because these lumps contain many of the same elements that are often used to make batteries like nickel or cobalt they can have a similar effect igniting a process called electrolysis.

LEELA: Electrolysis. OK.

MAMA: And in the same way, these little deep-sea nodules, hey, let’s call them rock batteries, shall we? They split up in the seawater to form oxygen.

LEELA: Oxygen!

MAMA: It’s pretty simple when I put it that way, right?

LEELA: Almost too simple.

MAMA: Yes, I know what you mean. And if you think you’re having a hard time believing this, you’ll be pleased to know that this discovery is kind of making scientists freak out as well.

LEELA: Yeah.

MAMA: In fact, they’re rethinking a lot of things because before they thought oxygen could only be created through photosynthesis.

LEELA: Well, I guess that’s no longer true!!

MAMA: And that is the point of this story – its making scientist wonder if if life didn’t begin the way we think it did?

LEELA: Yeah, and if oxygen can be made naturally in the deep ocean, well… hello! What else could have been happening that we don’t know about?  So many questions!

MAMA: I hear ya. My brain kinda hurts, yours?

LEELA: Yeah… Thank goodness it’s time for…

[SOURCE: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/5/24211885/dark-oxygen-discovery-ocean-abyss-battery-mining-rules]

ODDBALL STING – VARIOUS VOICES: “Step right up, step right up… Have a go at the lucky dip machine… What’s it gonna be today, eh? An oddball, no doubt!”

LEELA: Ah ha! Wouldn’t you know it, the Lucky Dip machine has a “foolish” battery-related story for us today.

MAMA: Foolish?

LEELA: Oh, just wait. So, you know we talked about lithium is one of the elements are used in batteries to transform stored energy into electricity.

MAMA: Yes, it’s in high demand as it’s in pretty much in everything we use! And it’s not the easiest of materials to extract.

LEELA: That means to remove…

MAMA: Precisely. Lithium is found in saltwater brine, or it’s locked away inside other rocks, like granite. And to extract lithium from salt-lakes or granite mines can be expensive and bad for the environment to boot!

LEELA: Right?! We are super dependent on it, are we? But it’s expensive and not sustainable in the long run. Buttttt… what if I told you there are other places to get lithium? Like this!

MAMA: Thank you very much LEELA alright, just a second here. For our listeners at home, you have in your hand right now a trinket we bought you once during a vacation in the U.S. And it’s… a rock.

LEELA: It’s not just any rock, mother.

MAMA: Okay, to be honest, it’s a very pretty rock, called Pyrite, or something we call Fool’s Gold. It looks like gold, as in it’s a shiny rock that’s not painted, but it is not. I repeat, sadly, it is not actual real gold.

LEELA: Well, in the near future it may become just as priceless! That’s because what we know as “fool’s gold” is actually full of lithium!

MAMA: Whoa, so maybe not so full of short worthless after all.

LEELA: Quite, so, it all started when a group of researchers from West Virginia were studying some rock from like 400 million years ago.

MAMA: I’m guessing it was sedimentary rocks, which are rocks that are made up of layers and layers of stuff like mud, dust, particles and elements… that build up after millions of years.

LEELA: And to be more specific, shale, which is a type of sedimentary rock.

MAMA: So, you’re saying some researchers from West Virginia found Pyrite or Fool’s Gold within the

layers of some super old sedimentary rocks. Where does lithium come in Leela.

LEELA: That’s the strange thing. It was found within the pyrite! Which has totally stumped the researchers.

MAMA: Or would you say, they’ve been fooled by the fool’s gold?

LEELA: Good one! Anyway, for now, there’s not a lot of info out there about how the sulfur-rich mineral pyrite and lithium are linked, so the research is ongoing.

MAMA: I guess they want to make sure they “won’t get fooled again”? Hahaha. Like as in the song by The Who.

LEELA: I don´t like The Who, mother.

MAMA: Well, you sure had me fooled.

LEELA: And we’re done

[SOURCE: ]

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a60513631/fools-gold/

https://qz.com/fools-gold-pyrite-lithium-research-1851411208

https://www.newsweek.com/fools-gold-valuable-unheard-discovery-1890375

FAB FACTS STING – LEELA: “And it’s time to wrap up the podcast with the top five fab facts heard today. Here goes…”

MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 1 – In the pursuit to create more efficient batteries, scientists are hoping a skyscraper will double up as a battery. Yes, wow. Instead of chemical reactions, something else will be used, what?

Gravitational potential energy

LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 2 – In more common batteries, like those in phones, laptops and even electric bikes, chemical reactions are used to transform energy into electricity. What are some of the chemicals or elements found in batteries?

Lithium, carbon black, nickel, lead

MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 3 – But some of those chemicals, or elements as they are more accurately known, are non-renewable. Which means what?

Once they run out, there is no more left

LEELA: FAB FACT NUMBER 4 – The Finnish paper company, Stora Enso, is finding a new use for the part of wood that holds the tree together – creating sustainable batteries. What’s that part of the tree called?

Lignin

MAMA: FAB FACT NUMBER 5 – And it turns out “fool’s gold” might not be so foolish or worthless after all as it is full of lithium which is needed for a popular kind of battery. What’s the real name of fool’s gold?”

Pyrite

And don’t forget, if you want to test yourself later on, then go to the Lucky Dip page of our website,  newsypooloozi.com, that’s pool-o-o-z-i, and take this quiz online in your own time!

LEELA: And that brings us to the end of this episode of Newsy Pooloozi!

THEME MUSIC

LEELA: If you enjoyed this dip in the coolest pool of news and information then why not tell a friend about us? Think of the things you could chat and laugh about.

MAMA: Or… even tell your teacher – think how impressed they’d be with your charged-up facts and vocabulary.

LEELA: OK then, see you next week in the happy, splashy giant Newsy Pooloozi!

-ends-