Alternative Energy

In the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) an interesting fact came to light that in near future we can recharge our cell phones or iPods by waving or stretching our arms, beating of your heart or going for a walk. We don’t need to plug-in our devices in a socket. They can be recharged with the movement of our body parts or our blood circulation inside the body will be enough to recharge the mobile. “Quite simply, this technology can be used to generate energy under any circumstances as long as there is movement,” Zhong Lin Wang who is the lead researcher, stated in a news release.

The fundamentals are quite simple. We know that movement of our body produces mechanical energy. This mechanical energy can be harnessed to recharge electronic gadgets with the help of “nanogenerator.” This nanotech device is made up of zinc oxide nanowires. These nanowires have a unique property known as piezoelectric property. The nanowires produce a small electrical pulse when they’re bent, stretched, or subjected to mechanical stress. The scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology explained how mini generators utilizing zinc oxide nanowires could also produce energy from the environment, turning low-frequency vibrations like the movement of a light breeze into electricity. Zhong Lin Wang said, the device could be used to charge iPods and BlackBerrys and their effect will be felt on defense technology, environmental monitoring and biomedical sciences. “This technology can be used to generate energy under any circumstances as long as there is movement,” he said.

The tiny zinc oxide nanowires, are of 1/5,000th diameter of a human hair. Their one of the major benefits is that the nanowires can be grown on a variety of surfaces — metals, ceramics, polymers, clothing and even tents. Zinc oxide nanowires are functional as nanogenerators in both air and liquid. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires are very good conductors of electricity.

Nanogenerators can be very useful for military and medical practitioners. The military often operates in far flung areas without adequate power back up. They can utilize their advanced electronic equipments with the help of nanogenerators. Medical practitioners too can benefit from nanogenerators. They can use their devices in case of back-up power failures. It can help in tackling bioterrorism. Because having a sensor which doesn’t need batteries could be exceptionally helpful to the military and police sampling air for potential bioterrorism attacks in the United States. Another important benefit of this new technology is it can generate electricity continuously and simultaneously. On the other hand, the greatest obstacle in developing these nanogenerators is to improve the output voltage and power.