In a breakthrough,an Indian American rocket scientist has invented a mini power plant,which could replace expensive power houses and transmission lines. Christened 'Bloom Box',it would be unveiled by K R Sridhar in the Silicon Valley tomorrow,a preview of which was given at the CBS's popular show '60 Minutes' this weekend. It is just like a laptop of the power sector,the CBS reported. Sridhar has formed the company Bloom Energy,which has raised some USD 400 million from venture capitalists of the Silicon Valley at a time when it is tough to get money during days of economic recession. Among its board of directors is the former Secretary of State Collin Powell,who joined it last year. Formerly a rocket scientist and served as advisor to NASA,Sridhar says in 10 years or so 'Bloom Box' for residential areas would be available at USD 3,000 (less than Rs 1.5 lakh) to produce electricity in a small home round the clock year after year. Having earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras,earlier he was a professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering as well as Director of the Space Technologies Laboratory (STL) at the University of Arizona. The key to this unique Bloom Box is the "fuel cell device" which consists of a stack of ceramic disks coated with secret green and black "inks." These disks are separated by cheap metal plates.
