Globally, the buzzword today is green power! And there is no doubt that by using renewable energy to the maximum extent, we will be able to stave off depletion of the non-renewable energy sources. However, one of the biggest drawbacks of using renewable energy to generate power is that the power generation is highly dependent on the availability of the natural sources – wind, sun or rain, thereby contributing to a great deal of uncertainty.
Considering this biggest hindrance, Elias Siores with his colleagues at the University of Bolton, UK, invented a 20 centimeter long piezoelectric polymer ribbon which could generate electricity when disturbed either by a rain drop falling, or the wind blowing on it. Greater the disturbance, greater would be the power generation. This piezoelectric material was then subsequently coated with polyvinylidene fluoride in an effort to maximize voltage, and thereby the power generation for the mildest of disturbance it encountered.
Further, this ribbon was coated with a flexible photovoltaic film and attached to electrodes to harness the power generated – the result usually being 1-2 watts of solar energy generated from just 10 square centimeters of the exposed ribbon. This invention is set to appear in the journal Smart Materials and Structures, and can be said to be unique because of the fact that it combines different forms of renewable energy thereby cutting out the factor of fickleness, commonly associated with renewable sources of energy.
However, the biggest drawback of this discovery is that since it generates a low output of energy, it can be best utilized only for small scale applications such as powering a cell phone. But this path can perhaps, in the long run, would be able to eliminate the fickleness associated with usage of renewable sources of energy.
Via: NewScientist
