Imagine a glow-in-the-dark designer desk, or wooden fence posts that guide you home with their eerie light. Scientists in Switzerland have developed a way to make glowing wood, with the help of a fungus.

Stumbling on a piece of glowing wood out in the forest sounds like a magical experience, but it is possible. Under specific conditions, certain species of mushroom will fluoresce as they consume wood, although it’s rare and hard to recreate.

Now, scientists at Empa have managed to induce those conditions to make glow in the dark wood. The most effective combo turned out to be ringless honey fungus (Desarmillaria tabescens) and balsa wood, which was able to fluoresce for up to 10 days in wavelengths of 560 nanometers – a classic green glow.

  • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
    11·
    13 days ago

    The researchers found that the fungus and wood need to be incubated together for three months in a very moist environment. During this time the balsa wood absorbs up to eight times its weight in water, and the glow begins only when it’s exposed to oxygen.

    The most effective combo turned out to be ringless honey fungus (Desarmillaria tabescens) and balsa wood, which was able to fluoresce for up to 10 days in wavelengths of 560 nanometers

    Three months of production for 10 days of glow?

    the team found that the fungus breaks down the lignin in the wood

    The ultimate goal, they say in the paper, would be to provide energy-saving lighting in homes or public spaces.

    This seems like a pipe dream considering that part of the wood is consumed during use, meaning that the entire lighting unit needs to be replaced when it dies.

    Let’s say they get the ratio up to 1:1 (a month of glow for a month of production - probably a stretch but let’s be generous). An LED could provide more light for years of operation, and I seriously doubt that the transportation of bricks of waterlogged wood every month would be a good energy tradeoff for the electricity needed to run the LED.