Scientists generate 'electricity from thin air.'

[HiFlyer 9,343]

Is it a reflection of the state of the world, or just of my mind, that my first thought was "Uh, oh....."

Scientists generate 'electricity from thin air.' Humidity could be a boundless source of energy, they say.

Edited June 1, 2023 by HiFlyer

[martin-w 3,234]

Apparently, a multitude of these cells the size of a refrigerator could potentially generate 1KW, so they claim. 

 

[birdguy 3,943]

It seems to me that would be very location dependent.  Maritime climates could produce a lot of electricity while arid areas such as deserts very little.  Like San Francisco California and Tucson Arizona, for instance.

Noel

[dave2013 1,123]

Sounds interesting, but not very practical.  I thought that something like this would be great as a portable generator for field work, but then I read that you'd need a unit the size of a refrigerator for a single kilowatt - not very practical to lug around. 

This is also something that is still in the experimental phase.  I'm not surprised that a university is excited and making grand claims because they see grant $$$ in their future, probably taxpayer money.

Dave

 

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I thought we already new this when Isaac Newton flew a kite 😁

[DavidP 1,408]

43 minutes ago, Matthew Kane said:

I thought we already new this when Isaac Newton flew a kite 😁

Wasn't that Thomas Edison??

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

2 minutes ago, DavidP said:

Wasn't that Thomas Edison??

Yes you are correct, my memory isn't like it was 🤔

Creating controlled humidity to create electricity is a great concept though, its just harnessing the basics behind lightning

[n4gix 4,947]

3 minutes ago, Matthew Kane said:

Yes you are correct, my memory isn't like it was 🤔

Creating controlled humidity to create electricity is a great concept though, its just harnessing the basics behind lightning

How much power will it take to maintain that hypothetical "controlled humidity" I'm forced to wonder?  🙄

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

23 minutes ago, n4gix said:

How much power will it take to maintain that hypothetical "controlled humidity" I'm forced to wonder?  🙄

Good Point, kind of like trying to create a perpetual motion machine

[TuFun 426]

Ben Franklin and His Kite Experiment

Key on a string!

[TuFun 426]

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

It seems to me that would be very location dependent.  Maritime climates could produce a lot of electricity while arid areas such as deserts very little.  Like San Francisco California and Tucson Arizona, for instance.

Noel

Art Bell who lived in Pahrump, Nevada was a ham radio operator and he mention his tower was putting out quiet a bit of electricity and had to ground it.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

1 hour ago, TuFun said:

Ben Franklin and His Kite Experiment

Key on a string!

That's the one I meant 🤣

 

[FBW737 511]

Newton is the one who got clobbered by an apple falling off a tree.🤪

Edited June 2, 2023 by FBW737

[Greggy_D 935]

Nikola Tesla. The power of 3, 6, and 9. 

[martin-w 3,234]

6 hours ago, n4gix said:

How much power will it take to maintain that hypothetical "controlled humidity" I'm forced to wonder?  🙄

 

It's not exactly "controlled" humidity. Moisture is abundant in the atmosphere, all over the planet and night and day. There is no control over atmospheric humidity required. Humidity varies dependent on conditions of course.

The film itself is a fraction of a human hair thick and researchers are now attempting to stack them together. But it's not clear if the technology can be scaled up or not.

Quite a few engineering challenges to overcome I would have thought, like how you assemble one billion layers to generate 1KW. And how you design a filtration system that can prevent each one of those layers from having its nano pores covered in atmospheric dust.

Early days, but the fact this is possible with almost any material is fascinating enough.