South Korean scientists have developed a material that can absorb microscopic vibrations and amplify them. This makes it possible to produce enough power to operate small appliances. This can be especially useful in the medical sector.
The technology uses tiny vibrations that are all around us. Harvesting vibrational energy to power small devices is not a new concept. The main advantage of this technology is that the power source can always produce electricity – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – unlike solar panels, for example.
But so far, electricity generated by vibrations is not very interesting. This is mainly because the amount of energy that can be generated is very low. Also, the production costs are relatively high.
Four times the power
Researchers from South Korea have now made progress in solving this first problem. It appears from study Which they published earlier this year in the journal Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. The material they developed picks up microscopic vibrations and amplifies them by a factor of 45, making it possible to produce four times more power over the same surface area than older versions of the technology.
According to researchers, the material has a number of potential applications. The shape of the material can be easily modified, allowing it to fit different form factors. Potential applications include biomedical sensors, sensors in buildings or bridges and other IoT applications.
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