People who use solar energy systems to power their houses can watch their electric meters slow, stop or even run backward when the sun shines. But when the sun goes down, the power decreases. Now an MIT professor, Daniel Nocera, has developed a fuel cell that "banks" solar energy and makes electricity 24/7.

Fuel cells and batteries are alike in that they produce no greenhouse gases, but batteries store electrical energy in a closed system that eventually runs out. Fuel cells have the advantage of running indefinitely as long as certain materials (in this case, hydrogen and oxygen) are present. The hydrogen-oxygen reaction has always required hi-tech containment because it's highly corrosive, but the Nocera's new system was demonstrated using only a glass jar.

He says the process is cheap, efficient and easy to manufacture. The system is made from abundant materials.

And we love this part: Nocera was inspired by nature's own strategy for storing energy from the sun.

Questions can be sent to Jim Parks at jrparks@mac.com. To find out more about Jim Parks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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