There is a lot of extra energy lying around; you call almost call it free energy, and we are getting better at picking up all these scraps. And what are we doing with it? Making everything intelligent.
Battery-free, light-powered pacemaker may improve quality of life for heart disease patients
Oct 2022, phys.org
Wireless, battery-free pacemaker could be implanted with a less invasive procedure using a new digitally manufactured mesh design that encompasses the entire heart that works with optogenetics, which means it uses light instead of electrical signals.
via Gutruf Lab at University of Arizona: Jokubas Ausra et al, Wireless, fully implantable cardiac stimulation and recording with on-device computation for closed-loop pacing and defibrillation, Science Advances (2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq7469
High-performance and compact vibration energy harvester created for self-charging wearable devices
Nov 2022, phys.org
Microelectromechanical system piezoelectric vibration energy harvester that can amplify power generated from impulsive vibrations, such as from a human walking.
via Osaka Metropolitan University: Sengsavang Aphayvong et al, Enhanced performance on piezoelectric MEMS vibration energy harvester by dynamic magnifier under impulsive force, Applied Physics Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1063/5.0116838
Harvesting big energy from small movement
Jan 2023, phys.org
It's made of alternating tiny fibers 100 times thinner than a human hair, one made of ethylene-vinyl acetate, and one of polylactic acid.Wherever there is any movement around the layers of the fibers, electricity is generated from the friction between each layer."We can make around 400 times more electricity from motion than was previously possible from these materials."
via University of Melbourne: Artis Linarts et al, Electrospinning Triboelectric Laminates: A Pathway for Scaling Energy Harvesters, Small (2023). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202205563
Harvesting energy from moving trains
Jan 2023, phys.org
After several years of design review, CVeSS researchers created a new kind of tie that replaces the conventional wooden variety and is equipped to generate power. Their high-tech tie, placed underneath the rail, is topped with a heavy metal bar mounted on a spring creating electricity, which can then be stored in a battery."For every wheel of the train that goes by, we are harvesting 15 to 20 watts of power," said Ahmadian. "If we have a long train with maybe 200 railcars, that's 800 wheels, making 1.6 kilowatts. Once we have stored that energy, we are able to use it to make the tracks more intelligent by embedding sensors in them."
via Virginia Tech Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety and Railway Technologies Laboratory: Yu Pan et al, A half-wave electromagnetic energy-harvesting tie towards safe and intelligent rail transportation, Applied Energy (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118844
Device transmits radio waves with almost no power—without violating the laws of physics
Jan 2023, phys.org via The Conversation
What we showed is that a powered signal source is not needed. Instead, random thermal noise, present in all electrically conductive materials because of the heat-driven motion of electrons, can take the place of the signal driving the antenna.It seems like it violate the second law of thermodynamics. But the resolution of this seeming paradox is that the receiver in our system is powered and acts like a refrigerator. Nearly all of the power consumption happens at a base station that does not have constraints on energy use.
via University of Washington: Zerina Kapetanovic et al, Communication by means of modulated Johnson noise, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201337119
Image credit: Kilonova Gamma Ray Burst GRB 211211A, artist impression. Aaron M Geller, Northwestern CIERA and IT Research Computing Services. 2022
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