Many researchers around the world are brainstorming in order to find new sources of energy that are less polluting and more accessible. One avenue is to take advantage of what nature has to offer. This is how wind turbines and solar panels were born to capture the energy of the sun and the wind. Recently, Chinese researchers have managed to adapt the principle of hydraulic power to a much smaller scale: that of a drop of water.
Electricity generators powered by hydraulic power are very common, especially found at dams. As it flows, the water turns turbines by kinetic energy. The latter is captured to generate electricity. The principle of the system developed by Chinese researchers is the same: when falling, the drop of water is capable of generating energy.
Free and renewable energy
To capture this energy capacity, the researchers explained in the journal Nature that they have developed a system composed of a conductive material and two types of electrodes. The material used consists of indium tin oxide. As for the electrodes, one is made of Teflon, it is almost always electrically charged. The other is made of aluminum.
So when a drop of water falls on this system, it connects the two electrodes and thus creates an electrical circuit capable of diffusing the electrical energy generated. A drop of water falling 15 centimeters from the ground can generate 140 volts of electricity, enough to temporarily power 100 LEDs.
"The kinetic energy linked to the fall of a drop of water is due to gravity and can therefore be considered free and renewable," said one of the researchers behind the system. Enough to offer attractive prospects in terms of accessible green energy. Unfortunately, for the moment, the concept does not allow the generation of large amounts of energy. It could however be used in conjunction with other solutions.
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