Now, charge your mobile phone while you walk
Scientists have developed a new device that can generate
electricity from your body movements to power your mobile phone. The device built by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology consists of four discs layered on top of one another. The
first disc is made of copper, and rotates. The next is a polymer and
remains stationary, and the third is a gold layer that is divided into
sectors, with alternating sections cut out, to make something that looks
like a bicycle wheel. The last layer is made of acrylic. When
the copper disc rotates, positive charges in the copper move past the
negative charges in the polymer. This causes an imbalance of charges in
the gold layer, with each "spoke" of gold having either more positive or
more negative charges. The imbalance means that when a wire is connected between sectors, a current flows. The
team led by researcher Zhong Lin Wang said the device can generate power
as long as something causes the copper disc to rotate. The
device works on the same principle as static electricity. For example,
when you walk on a rug in wool socks, electrons build up in the socks
(and in you), and when you touch a metal doorknob, they jump from your
finger, making a spark, 'LiveScience' reported. Wang said the new device is more efficient than a traditional generator, at least for its size. A
generator works by moving either a wire through a magnetic field or a
magnetic field over a stationary wire. Either one requires a certain
number of turns of wire to make a certain voltage, plus a strong magnet.
However, the device the researchers created can be made thin and flat.
The prototype demonstrated by Wang was about 10 centimetres across, and
swinging it in the hand generated enough electricity to power a small
array of lights, or about 5 volts, which is enough to charge an iPhone. Wang said the device is 50 times more efficient than a traditional generator of the same size.
Apple’s Vice President of Design has given a little insight into the way Apple creates its products in a rare interview. Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/apple-s-jony-ive-believes-we-re-surrounded-by-anonymous-poorly-made-objects#hqbWP8tRmXUrrGSK.99
Apple’s Vice President of Design has given a little insight into the way Apple creates its products in a rare interview. Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/apple-s-jony-ive-believes-we-re-surrounded-by-anonymous-poorly-made-objects#hqbWP8tRmXUrrGSK.99
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