Research presented on Thursday at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) hinted at the fact that, in the future, people would no longer have to plug their mobile devices in sockets in order to replenish their power source, but would only wave their hands, go for a walk, or stretch their arms. The energy will be gathered from the motion of the body, or even from the blood flow inside each individual, and will be sufficient to power up gadgets such as cell phones and iPods.
“This research will have a major impact on defense technology, environmental monitoring, biomedical sciences and even personal electronics. Quite simply, this technology can be used to generate energy under any circumstances as long as there is movement,” Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) School of Material Science and Engineering Regents' Professor Zhong Lin Wang, the lead researcher of the new system, says.
Among the most important applications for the new technology, the expert enumerates advanced electronic devices, which could be operated by military personnel even when far behind enemy lines, as well as medical devices that could continue to operate even when main and back-up power fails. The basic principle of the new technology is actually very simple – converting the low-frequency vibrations that can be detected in everything from the blowing of the wind to a heart beat, into electricity, via the use of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, which can conduct electrical current very well.
This chemical compound is actually a piezoelectric-electric device, in that it is capable of generating electricity when subjected to mechanical stress, such as bending, pressing, pulling, or twisting. According to Zhong, each of these microscopic wires has between 1/5,000th and 1/25th the diameter of an average human hair strand. Furthermore, he adds, the wires themselves can be grown on a number of very different materials, including metals, polymers, ceramics, tents, and clothes.
The impressive research has been possible with funds coming from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Energy (DoE), the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Find us on Google+
