Nanogenerator Produces Continuous Power From The Environment

Researchers have demonstrated a prototype nanometer-scale generator that produces continuous direct-current electricity by harvesting mechanical energy from such environmental sources as ultrasonic waves, mechanical vibration or blood flow.

Based on arrays of vertically-aligned zinc oxide nanowires that move inside a novel “zig-zag” plate electrode, the nanogenerators could provide a new way to power nanoscale devices without batteries or other external power sources.

“This is a major step toward a portable, adaptable and cost-effective technology for powering nanoscale devices,” said Zhong Lin Wang.
“There has been a lot of interest in making nanodevices, but we have tended not to think about how to power them.
Our nanogenerator allows us to harvest or recycle energy from many sources to power these devices.”

The research was sponsored by DARPA, the National Science Foundation, and the Emory-Georgia Tech Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.


SOURCE:
PhysOrg.com

This is a very cool, and honestly great discovery.

I've always wondered how power for nanotechnology could be
produced without using larger technologies that would hinder them,
so this was definately interesting to read.


Comments, Opinions?

Wang and his group members Xudong Wang, Jinhui Song and Jin Liu expect that with optimization, their nanogenerator could produce as much as 4 watts per cubic centimeter – based on a calculation for a single nanowire.

From your source. Now if that is a correct measure of power generation, why does this tech have to be limited to powering nano-devices? Why can we string up a hundred of these babies, which probably would not be bigger than a sandwich, and have it power a home desktop, TV, cell-phones etc.. etc..

what is equiveland to 100 cubi centimeters? Thats like one cubic meter right? Thats not big at all if it generates 400 watts of power to be used by a variety of devices.

Originally posted by DYepes
From your source. Now if that is a correct measure of power generation, why does this tech have to be limited to powering nano-devices? Why can we string up a hundred of these babies, which probably would not be bigger than a sandwich, and have it power a home desktop, TV, cell-phones etc.. etc..

what is equiveland to 100 cubi centimeters? Thats like one cubic meter right? Thats not big at all if it generates 400 watts of power to be used by a variety of devices.

The reason you could'nt, is because things work differently on the
nanoscale than on the macroscale, and nanotechnology does not
require very much power, when compared to devices that work in
the macroscopic world.

Yes, the nanoscale presents a paradox for traditional physics models, and from what I understand the science is still hazy as to why nano-physics still behaves the way that it does.

On the other hand, there is no reason to not invision a Very Large Array (VLA) of nanodevices, and in this instance, the VLA would span an area of some 6 square inches, just for the sake of argument. With the proper manufacturing technique, I'm sure assembly could become routine quickly if the benefits warranted the innovation.

Now, look at solar voltaics and the array of cells required to harness light energy and convert it into electrical energy. Why should nanoscale generators be viewed as limited scale applications?

I think the parallel between solar cells and nanogenerators is pretty clear.