Home > Press > American Chemical Society Podcast: Tiny generator powers wireless device
Abstract:
Imagine a new genre of tiny implantable sensors, airborne and stationary surveillance cameras and sensors and other devices that operate without batteries on energy collected from the motion of a heart beat and have wireless communications capability. And the power plant for those devices is a "nanogenerator" that could even produce energy to charge an iPod from the movements of a person walking down the street.
American Chemical Society Podcast: Tiny generator powers wireless device
Washington, DC | Posted on June 29th, 2011
That's the topic of a new episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast series, which was released today. The podcast features Zhong Lin Wang, Ph.D., of the Georgia Institute of Technology who, described development of the first practical iteration of the device. Wang and colleagues boosted the power output of earlier devices by thousands of times and its voltage by 150 times. Wang reported on the achievement at an ACS National Meeting held in March in Anaheim, Calif.
And the news gets even better. In a development just reported in the ACS journal Nano Letters, Wang and his colleagues also showed for the first time that they could integrate such a nanogenerator into an electronic circuit. It can transmit data wirelessly to an ordinary commercial radio at distances up to 30 feet. The generator can produce electricity using energy from a gentle breeze, movements of a person walking and other sources to power those wireless data transmissions.
"This development represents a milestone toward producing portable electronics that can be powered by body movements without the use of batteries or electrical outlets," Wang says in the podcast. "Our nanogenerators are poised to change lives in the future. Their potential is only limited by one's imagination."
####
About American Chemical Society (ACS)
The nanogenerator may find a broad range of other applications that require more power, according to Wang. He lists, for example, personal electronic devices powered by footsteps activating nanogenerators inside the sole of a shoe; implanted insulin pumps powered by a heartbeat; and environmental sensors powered by nanogenerators flapping in the breeze.
The new podcast is available without charge at iTunes and from ACS’ website at www.acs.org/globalchallenges.
Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions is a series of podcasts describing some of the 21st Century’s most daunting problems, and how cutting-edge research in chemistry matters in the quest for solutions. Global Challenges is the centerpiece in an alliance on sustainability between ACS and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Global Challenges is a sweeping panorama of global challenges that includes dilemmas such as providing a hungry, thirsty world with ample supplies of safe food and clean water; developing alternatives to petroleum to fuel society; preserving the environment and assuring a sustainable future for our children; and improving human health. During the 2011 global celebration of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC), Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions also is focusing on the main themes of IYC — health, environment, energy, and materials.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Michael Bernstein
202-872-6042
Michael Woods
202-872-6293
Copyright © American Chemical Society
If you have a comment, please
Contact us.
Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
News and information
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Sensors
Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013
Imec and Renesas collaborate on ultra-low power short range radios: Collaboration will develop robust wireless solutions for future electronics May 16th, 2013
Physicists discover a new kind of friction: Friction in the nano-world May 16th, 2013
HELIOS Program Develops Complete Supply Chain for Integrating Photonics with CMOS Circuit via IC Fabrication Processes May 14th, 2013
Discoveries
Beautiful "flowers" self-assemble in a beaker: Elaborate nanostructures blossom from a chemical reaction perfected at Harvard May 17th, 2013
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Announcements
Artificial Forest for Solar Water-Splitting: Berkeley Lab Researchers Report First Fully Integrated Artificial Photosynthesis Nanosystem May 17th, 2013
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
NIA Public Briefing: Nanotechnology and the Council of Europe May 17th, 2013
Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect May 17th, 2013
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals
Moth-Inspired Nanostructures Take the Color Out of Thin Films May 17th, 2013
Add boron for better batteries: Rice University theorists say graphene-boron mix shows promise for lithium-ion batteries May 17th, 2013
DNA-Guided Assembly Yields Novel Ribbon-Like Nanostructures: Approach could be useful in fabricating new kinds of materials with engineered properties May 16th, 2013
Advancements and developments of solid-state nanopores sensors May 16th, 2013
Battery Technology/Capacitors/Generators/Piezoelectrics
Add boron for better batteries: Rice University theorists say graphene-boron mix shows promise for lithium-ion batteries May 17th, 2013
New Mechanism Converts Natural Gas to Energy Faster, Captures CO2 May 7th, 2013
Microwave oven cooks up solar cell material: Nanocrystal semiconductor for photovoltaics, medical sensors, heat reuse May 6th, 2013
Improving materials that convert heat to electricity and vice-versa May 5th, 2013