PAR - like the new background

Yeah... I know... I forgot solar and geothermal electricity so sue me.
Geothermal's not that exciting - heat-turbine-electricity get it? Good.
Solar is cool though. At least it's unique.
It was discovered by accident when some guy (no research remember) shined a light on some metal and noticed that electricity was produced... he wasn't searching for it.
Anyway it became known as the photoelectric effect whereby a photon of light containing a quanta of energy hits an atom of the metal and dislodges a valence electron which happens to be conducted away from the photoelectric metal by a more conductive metal underlying it. With continuous lighting a current is produced.
So what have scientists done with this newfound technology?
... ... powered calculators hoorah!!
Texas Instruments would be nothing... nothing without the photoelectric effect.
On another side note the photoelectric effect was seen by Albert Einstein as proof that light travels in particle form as well as/instead of wave form because the amount of energy needed to dislodge an electron was at a threshold level which he called a quanta. The photoelectric effect wouldn't work if light were a wave and the new realm of science known as quantum mechanics was born.

Thanx Albert... More information that'll be whizzing around in my head when I should be sleeping.

Just to add on to the chemistry question.
It is my professional opinion that anything flammable can be used to create electricity. It is not so much the chemical nature of the thing being burned, so much as the condition that it gives off considerable heat in doing so. The conventional method of "creating" electricity is through the use of a turbine generator whereby water is heated into steam creating pressure which is used to crank a turbine which in turn rotates a giant magnet around a coil of wires at very high speeds. This action creates an electrical current in the previously mentioned wires. The source of heat for boiling the water, however, does not factor into the end-product of the electricity. Obviously not all fuels are practical; the types of fuels are chosen based on availability, cost, environmental factors, and of course burnability (I love that word).
There are, however, other ways of producing electricity without resorting to burning stuff. Nuclear power is based on the constant decay of radioactive materials. As they decay they heat up the "hot"(radioactive) water surrounding them, which in turn heats up "cold"(non-radioactive) water which basically turns the same turbine as the burning stuff model. The advantage here is that there is little immediate pollution, and the decay is a long process so a few radioactive rods last a long time.
Hydroelectricity is actually just normal electricity but the original source of energy is from water. Really. The water has a certain amount of potential energy either due to falling off a cliff (a waterfall) or pressure from surrounding water pushing it through a narrow opening (a dam). The potential energy is converted to mechanical energy by having the water turn a water wheel on it's way down (or out, depending on how you look at it). The turning water wheel turns a drive shaft that cranks a turbine which rotates a giant magnet around a coil of wires.
Electricity derived from wind (it probably has it's own cool name that I can't think of right now - probably "aero-electricity", or "wintricity" - no that's probably microsoft, well... something) works on the premise that high winds blow against a fan-like "windmill" turning the propeller thingy which turns a drive shaft and cranks a turbine... and blah blah blah

Some chemical reactions also produce considerable amounts of heat without the need for rapid oxidation. In fact a simple acid/base reaction releases heat and hydrogen as a byproduct. Thus bringing me to my point about benzene. If you could find a decent reagent (I don't know of one personally) that had a particularly violent and heatfilled reaction with benzene this could also be used. Granted there would not be enough heat to drive a commercial steam turbine but there are smaller versions such as the Stirling Engine (see picture) which can create a moderate electrical current from outside sources of heat (or lack thereof - ie. icecubes) by expanding and contracting a pocket of air to drive a simple piston. The piston pushes a magnet through a coil of wires and bingo - electricity. (Notice a pattern for the actual method of producing the current?)

These methods are all viable options for the production of electricity, however, who can really be bothered using wind or water or radiation or benzene when you can burn stuff much more easily. And you get to burn stuff! Plastics, styrofoam, old shirts, dead pets, great-grandparents... these are all good for creating the power needed to run my computer at all hours of the night.

And so ends this episode of Beck's late night rants...

Tune in next week for the feature presentation: The History And Saga Of The Perpetual Motion Machine

Disclaimer:
Please note, I did not do a single scrap of research to drive your simple question to a degree of complexity that no-one appreciates, with the exception of finding a picture and link to the stirling engine because it's so cool, so I apologize for any misleading (or just plain wrong) information that I may have just posted, it is all correct to the best of my knowledge (which is derived, I'm sure, from various editions of Discover and Scientific American).
Awesome! Check out that run-on sentence... 6 commas and TWO sets of parentheses!

Anyway... I promised you a picture of the stirling engine.

This model can actually be powered by the heat from your hand when you hold it by the base.
So friggin cool...

Well Alison... I do hope you make it out ok

an answer to the Massive Attack question, that would be the 1998 landmark classic, Mezzanine, and the singer featured on the single with the fetus video, Teardrop, is not in fact Esthero, but Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins fame- though she is listed as a similar artist to Esthero on Allmusic.com
the music world meanwhile is patiently awaiting the next Esthero record which was slated to be released at the beginning of fall.

sorry pam/jess, I guess I just got caught up in the moment...

Is there anyone else out there wanting to form a curling team? Paras is on board, so that leaves two more spots, and I know someone out there's just itching to play some curling. (Nudge, nudge.)

As for the music thing, lately I've been listening to Mars Volta, Godspeed..., Elbow, Broken Social Scene and Stereolab, just to name a few.

To whom it may concern It may interest some of you to know, that someone invilved somewhere in the process has delayed the release of the new mario cart. This means, that we will have to wait until the 18th for some action. That's a tuesday for those of you who are interested. This pisses me off, but doesn't surprise me. Every major title for the game cube has been nocked back at least a week about a month before it is released. It's starting to piss me off. But I'm not an angry guy, so I'll let it slide. At least I'm not angry yet... Maybe later though... Or whenever I feel like it. So now. Now I guess I'm angry... Or is it my overuse of those three stupid dots...??

I think it's amazing that Pam asked a question about superheroes and their illnesses, and that Jess was the one who got an answer.

As for electricity from benzene, I'm not sure that it's common, because pure benzene doesn't just gush from the ground (unlike coal, which bursts forth from geyser-esque formations spewing electricity everywhere, or so I'm told.) It could, potentially generate electricity, I guess. It's a hydrocarbon with a fairly high heat of combustion (and that delightfully carcinogenic odour everyone loves).

Finally, in honour of my November which went from smooth to fuck, I'm going to end this post without a thought worthy of the finally at the start of this sentence. Moreover, this is not the end of the post. The fact that this is the end of a very long day and I'm only slightly more insane than usual will be my closing thought... or maybe big sugar and cream (mmmm!)

okay chemistry buffs... is it possible to generate electricity from benzene? I always just thought it was an incredibly harmful chemical...