Micropower
Micropower describes the use of very small electric generators and prime movers or devices to convert heat or motion to electricity, for use close to the generator.[1] The generator is typically integrated with microelectronic devices and produces "several watts of power or less."[2] These devices offer the promise of a power source for portable electronic devices which is lighter weight and has a longer operating time than batteries.
Microturbine technology
The components of any
Researchers at
Scientists at Lehigh University are developing a hydrogen generator on a silicon chip that can convert methanol, diesel, or gasoline into fuel for a microengine or a miniature fuel cell.[5]
Professor Sanjeev Mukerjee of
The
The Future Warrior Concept of the U.S. Army envisions a 2- to 20-watt micro turbine fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon being used to power communications and wearable heating/cooling equipment for up to six days on 10 ounces of fuel.[8]
Other microgenerator/nanogenerator technologies
Professor
Professor
The windbelt is a micropower technology invented by Shawn Frayne. It is essentially an aeolian harp, except that it exploits the motion of the string produced by aeroelastic flutter to create a physical oscillation that can be converted to electricity. It avoids the losses inherent in rotating wind powered generators. Prototypes have produced 40 milliwatts in a 16 km/h wind. Magnets on the vibrating membrane generate currents in stationary coils.[19][20]
Piezoelectric nanofibers in clothing could generate enough electricity from the wearer's body movements to power small electronic devices, such as iPods or some of the electronic equipment used by soldiers on the battlefield, based on research by University of California, Berkeley Professor Liwei Lin and his team. One million such fibers could power an iPod, and would be altogether as large as a grain of sand. Researchers at Stanford University are developing "eTextiles" — batteries made of fabric — that might serve to store power generated by such technology.[21]
Thermal resonator technology allows generation of power from the daily change of temperature, even when there is no instantaneous temperature difference as needed for thermoelectric generation, and no sunlight as needed for photovoltaic generation. A phase change material such as
See also
- Battery (electricity)
- Cell phone
- Electrical generator
- Electronics
- Fuel cell
- Gas turbine
- Hub dynamo
- Integrated circuits
- Laptop
- Microelectronics
- Microelectromechanical systems
- Portable fuel cell applications
- Windbelt
- Nanogenerator
References
- ^ "Micropower definition - Dictionary - MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2010-11-10. MSN Encarta dictionary. Retrieved November 10, 2010
- ISBN 1-56677-387-3
- ^ [1] "Engine on a chip promises to best the battery," ScienceDaily, viewed 9/20/2006
- ^ [2] "Georgia Tech microgenerator can power electronics," ScienceDaily, 1/25/2005, viewed 9/20/2006.
- ^ [3] "Power plant on a chip? It’s no small matter to Lehigh scientists," ScienceDaily, 9/24/2001, viewed 9/20/2006
- ^ [4] "Military Looks To Northeastern Professor For A Future Powered By Fuel Cells." ScienceDaily, April 22, 2004, Source: Northeastern University. retrieved Jan. 24, 2007
- ^ [5] "New power sources needed for soldier of the future," ScienceDaily, 9/13/2004, viewed 9/20/2006
- ^ "Future Warrior Concept". Archived from the original on 2012-07-25. Retrieved 2012-06-05. U.S. Armay Natick Soldier Research, "Future Warrior Concept." retrieved June 20, 2007
- ^ [6] June 4, 2007 press release, University of Utah. retrieved July 25, 2007
- .
- ^ Ultra-wide bandwidth piezoelectric energy harvesting Archived 2016-05-15 at the Portuguese Web Archive
- ^ [7] Atlanta, Georgia, April 5, 2007. From a (UPI) story. retrieved July 25, 2007
- S2CID 4810693.
- New York Times, page D1, April 10, 2007. retrieved July 25, 2007
- ^ [9] Atlanta, Georgia, July 19, 2007. From a (UPI) story. retrieved July 25, 2007
- ^ [10] Toon, John "Nanogenerator Provides Continuous Electrical Power. Device harvests energy from the environment to provide direct current." Press release, Georgia Institute of Technology, April 5, 2007. retrieved July 25, 2007
- MIT. April 05, 2007. retrieved July 25, 2007
- ^ [12]"Nanogenerators grow strong enough to power small conventional electronic devices." ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101108151416.htm
- ^ "Windbelt - Third World Power - Wind Generator - Video - Breakthrough Awards - Popular Mechanics". Archived from the original on 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-06-18. Ward, Logan "Windbelt, Cheap Generator Alternative, Set to Power Third World; 2007 Breakthrough Awards; The Innovators: Shawn Frayne" Popular Mechanics, November 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ^ The Windbelt Technology Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [13] Hsu, Tiffany,"One day your pants may power up your iPod." Los Angeles Times, reprinted in the Chicago Tribune, May 20, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2010
- ^ "System draws power from daily temperature swings,"Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ScienceDaily, 15 February 2018. [14]
- ^ Anton L. Cottrill, Albert Tianxiang Liu, Yuichiro Kunai, Volodymyr B. Koman, Amir Kaplan, Sayalee G. Mahajan, Pingwei Liu, Aubrey R. Toland, Michael S. Strano." Ultra-high thermal effusivity materials for resonant ambient thermal energy harvesting." Nature Communications, 2018; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03029-x