Could nanotech create speech-powered phones?
A variety of off-grid devices use the wind, the sun, or fuel cells to power up small electronics. But what if you could charge your cell phone just by talking into it, eliminating the need for batteries or cords?
What if power cords and batteries were a thing of the past?
(Credit: CBS Interactive)What would make this possible is piezoelectricity, in which a mechanical force is converted to electricity. Some cigarette and barbeque grill lighters are an example. When a button is punched, pressure on a crystal within produces voltage, creating a spark.
In principle, the pressure to power a device could come from sound vibrations.
Crafting such piezoelectric electronics would require sensors with a specific size of crystal or ceramic material. Engineers say they have taken an early step by identifying a sweet spot at which a crystal could produce energy.
The capability of barium titanate crystals to harvest power doubles when they're about 23 nanometers in size, according to an analysis led by engineer Tahir Cagin at Texas A&M University. A human hair, for contrast, is about 100,000 nanometers wide.
However, it could be years or decades before scientists and entrepreneurs apply the findings to consumer products, he said.
"There are limitations to how much power you can generate at a given size," said Cagin, adding that an iPod or cell phone may require nano-sensors at a scale and composition different from what his research suggested.
For now, at least, wind-up radios, shake flashlights, and other devices that use kinetic energy for power are currently available. Products under development include a dance-powered iPod charger that could be worn on an arm. M2E Power is building motion-powered gadget chargers that could come to market in 2009.
At a larger scale, people are increasingly using piezoelectricity for off-grid, "green" power. Dancing feet produce electricity at nightclubs in London and the Netherlands, and a San Francisco nightclub could follow suit. A gym in Portland, Ore., has rigged some exercise equipment to generate 750 watts.
The journal Physical Review B this fall published Cagin's research, in which engineers at the University of Houston also participated.
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"What would make this possible is piezoelectricity, in which a mechanical force is converted to electricity. Car cigarette lighters are a common example. When they're punched in, pressure on a crystal within produces voltage, creating a spark."
Car cigarette Lighters use electricity running through a resistant coil to generate heat. Not piezoelectricity
Unlike flashlights or other devices, it is possible not to need any capacitors or rechargeable batteries, you just crank away if you need the light, and such technology is about a hundred years old already. We have them in our bikes. So what's new?
Dear Elsa,
While some people's speech is indeed powerful, it is mostly a metaphor. The reason we need battery-powered phones is exactly because the energy density of our voice is too low, and the signal needs to be amplified. Perhaps, you could consider a line of work that does not deal with scientific realities; have you thought of becoming a Republican operative?
WHOA, You might be scientifically correct but you sure do come off like a jerk. Frankly who gives you the right to cut people down like that? That is unnecessary my friend. Life does not go on without consequences, your day will come when someone else humiliates you. Do you hate women or something? I don't mean to get personal on you but that kind of comment calls for it. Good luck living happy.
"Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking."
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)
May I never have a friend that thinks of treats people the way you do. I seldom ever comment on stories, that is how appalling I think your original comment is. I will remember this in the future when batteries are no longer required on any mobile device. You quoted John Maynard Keynes, a supporter of eugenics may I add, who also said BTW:
"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones." that one is for you
Go ahead and have the last word.. I don't care. You are not worthy anymore.
To dispel any confusion: the British school of eugenics that interested Keynes (along with the likes of George B. Shaw and Winston Churchill) was a respected school in sociology and had nothing to do with the Nazi "eugenics", which subsequently discredited the term.
If ad hominem was needed, something of the sort "You quoted John Maynard Keynes, a noted homo may I add (he was indeed gay)" would be more befitting for a Republican concern troll, along with the phony outrage bit, which you got down pat...