Clothes with Fiber Nanogenerators to Charge Gadgets

The Future Of... Clothes

Would you like to charge your mobile phone without ever having to plug into an electrical outlet? The University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University are both developing materials to enable the storage of energy inside clothing. Smart Planet correspondent Sumi Das explores the schools' work on "smart" clothes.

Collected from: YouTube - The Future Of... Clothes

One day your pants may power up your iPod

UC Berkeley researchers are perfecting microscopic fibers that can make electricity from simple body motions. The nanofibers may soon be woven into clothing, creating the ultimate portable generator.

Researchers are envisioning hikers powering up their digital cameras while trekking up a mountain or a jogger charging up her cellphone in mid-run.

The Pentagon is hot for it too: Soldiers would no longer have to carry heavy batteries to power their gear. Along with the National Science Foundation, the Pentagon's secretive advanced research agency is helping fund the project.

For now, the "smart power suit" is still a lab experiment, said UC Berkeley mechanical engineering professor Liwei Lin, who is overseeing the development of the fibers.

Collected from: One day your pants may power up your iPod - Los Angeles Times

New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing

Shown is a fiber nanogenerator on a plastic substrate created by UC Berkeley scientists. The nanofibers can convert energy from mechanical stresses and into electricity, and could one day be used to create clothing that can power small electronics. (Chieh Chang, UC Berkeley)

BERKELEY — In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," University of California, Berkeley, engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles.

These nano-sized generators have "piezoelectric" properties that allow them to convert into electricity the energy created through mechanical stress, stretches and twists.

"This technology could eventually lead to wearable 'smart clothes' that can power hand-held electronics through ordinary body movements," said Liwei Lin, UC Berkeley professor of mechanical engineering and head of the international research team that developed the fiber nanogenerators.

Collected from: 02.12.2010 - New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing

Sources

YouTube - The Future Of... Clothes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ck2Qynjrc
One day your pants may power up your iPod - Los Angeles Times
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/20/business/la-fi-hot-pants-20100520
02.12.2010 - New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/02/12_electric_nanofibers.shtml

Related

Fiber nanogenerators give new meaning to the term 'Power Dressing'
http://www.gizmag.com/fiber-nanogenerators-power-suit/14178/
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100212141246.htm
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
http://www.physorg.com/news185204588.html
Worldchanging: Bright Green: Sparks for Your Stride: Kinetic Energy Conversion News
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011439.html
Professor Liwei Lin
http://www.me.berkeley.edu/faculty/lin/
Home Page of Liwei Lin
http://www.me.berkeley.edu/~lwlin/
2010Nanogenerator.pdf (application/pdf Object)
http://www.me.berkeley.edu/~lwlin/papers/2010Nanogenerator.pdf
Direct-Write Piezoelectric Polymeric Nanogenerator with High Energy Conversion Efficiency - Nano Letters (ACS Publications)
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl9040719?prevSearch=Liwei%2BLin&searchHistoryKey=

New Super Battery Created Under Super-High Pressures

Super-High Pressures Used to Create Super Battery: 'Most Condensed Form of Energy Storage Outside of Nuclear Energy'

Using super-high pressures similar to those found deep in the Earth or on a giant planet, Washington State University researchers have created a compact, never-before-seen material capable of storing vast amounts of energy.

Washington State University chemist Choong-Shik Yoo, seen here with students, has used super-high pressures to create a compact, never-before-seen material capable of storing vast amounts of energy. (Credit: Washington State University)

Collected from: Super-high pressures used to create super battery: 'Most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy'

WSU Researchers Use Super-high Pressures to Create Super Battery

 "If you think about it, it is the most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy," says Choong-Shik Yoo, a WSU chemistry professor and lead author of results published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

The research is basic science, but Yoo says it shows it is possible to store mechanical energy into the chemical energy of a material with such strong chemical bonds. Possible future applications include creating a new class of energetic materials or fuels, an energy storage device,  super-oxidizing materials for destroying chemical and biological agents, and high-temperature superconductors.

The researchers created the material on the Pullman campus in a diamond anvil cell, a small, two-inch by three-inch-diameter device capable of producing extremely high pressures in a small space. The cell contained xenon difluoride (XeF2), a white crystal used to etch silicon conductors, squeezed between two small diamond anvils.

Collected from: University Relations - WSU Researchers Use Super-high Pressures to Create Super Battery

Nature Chemistry | Article

Two- and three-dimensional extended solids and metallization of compressed XeF₂

Minseob Kim, Mathew Debessai & Choong-Shik Yoo

The application of pressure, internal or external, transforms molecular solids into extended solids with more itinerant electrons to soften repulsive interatomic interactions in a tight space.  [...] Here, we present new discoveries of novel two- and three-dimensional extended non-molecular phases of solid XeF₂ and their metallization. At ∼50 GPa, the transparent linear insulating XeF₂ transforms into a reddish two-dimensional graphite-like hexagonal layered structure of semiconducting XeF₄. Above 70 GPa, it further transforms into a black three-dimensional fluorite-like structure of the first observed metallic XeF₈ polyhedron. [...]

a, Transparent phase III at 3 GPa, typical for phases I, II, III and IV below 40 GPa. b, Yellowish phase IV at 47 GPa. c, Reddish phase IV at 53 GPa. d, Black phase V at 74 GPa. All images are under transmitted lights. Scale bars: 100 µm (a)…

a, A 2 × 3 × 1 supercell of phase IV in Pnnm–2 at 52 GPa. b, View along the c axis of phase IV, showing the lone-pair electrons of Xe and F roughly overlapping. c, Unit cell of the fluorite-like 3D extended phase V in Fmmm at 98 GPa. (See Su…

Collected from: Two- and three-dimensional extended solids and metallization of compressed XeF2 : Nature Chemistry : Nature Publishing Group

While the science is still fundamental, it’s still fun to consider what the applications would be:

• new energetic material or fuel
• an energy storage device
• super oxidizing materials
• high-temperature superconductors

Collected from: Super battery is most powerful energy storage ever (besides nuclear power) - SmartPlanet

Sources

Super-high pressures used to create super battery: 'Most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy'
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100704162218.htm
University Relations - WSU Researchers Use Super-high Pressures to Create Super Battery
http://www.wsunews.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=20580&TypeID=1
Two- and three-dimensional extended solids and metallization of compressed XeF2 : Nature Chemistry : Nature Publishing Group
http://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nchem.724.html
Super battery is most powerful energy storage ever (besides nuclear power) - SmartPlanet
http://www.smartplanet.com/technology/blog/science-scope/super-battery-is-the-most-powerful-energy-storage-ever-besides-nuclear-power/2758/

Related

WSU Chemistry: Yoo, Choong-Shik
http://www.chem.wsu.edu/faculty-research/yooc
Choong-Shik Yoo Group: Novel Energetic Materials Research
http://yoo.chem.wsu.edu/researchprojects/novelmaterialresearch
New ultra-battery is the most powerful non-nuclear energy storage ever
http://gizmodo.com/5580592/new-ultra+battery-is-the-most-powerful-non+nuclear-energy-storage-ever
New ultra-battery is the most powerful non-nuclear energy storage ever
http://io9.com/5580592/new-ultra+battery-is-the-most-powerful-non+nuclear-energy-storage-ever?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+gizmodo/full+(Gizmodo)
Superpowered energy-storing wonder stuff created in lab • The Register
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/05/wonder_energy_stuff/

World's First Osmotic Power Plant

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

Norway's Statkraft opens first osmotic power plant

The world's first power project that generates energy by mixing fresh water with sea water has opened in Norway.

The Norwegian renewable power company Statkraft has built a prototype osmotic power plant on the Oslo fiord.

clipped from www.google.com

New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity

TOFTE, Norway — Norway unveiled the world's first osmotic power plant on Tuesday, harnessing the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater to make clean electricity.

"While salt might not save the world alone, we believe osmotic power will be an important part of the global energy portfolio," the head of state-owned power group Statkraft, Baard Mikkelsen, told reporters.

Statkraft, which claims to be the biggest renewable energy company in Europe, is running the osmotic power plant prototype in a former chlorine factory on the banks of the Oslo fjord, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of the Norwegian capital.

clipped from www.google.com

Statkraft claims to be the biggest renewable energy company in Europe

clipped from www.google.com

Statkraft hopes to start building the first commercial osmotic power plant in 2015

clipped from news.cnet.com

The plant is driven by osmosis that naturally draws fresh water across a membrane and toward the seawater side. This creates higher pressure on the sea water side, driving a turbine and producing electricity.

Once new membrane "architecture" is solved, Statkraft believes the global production capacity for osmotic energy could amount to 1,600 to 1,700 terawatt hours annually, or about half of the European Union's total electricity demand.

clipped from www.statkraft.com

HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit arriving for the opening at Tofte.

Read more about Osmotic Power and the new plant

The oil- and energyminister's speech for the opening of the plant.

The Norwegian Government's article on osmotic power.

Statkraft's pages on osmotic power.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Statkraft - Osmotic Power Plant

clipped from www.youtube.com

Sources:

1. BBC News - Norway's Statkraft opens first osmotic power plant
2. AFP: New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity
3. AFP: New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity
4. AFP: New Norway power plant uses salt to make electricity
5. Norway opens world's first osmotic power plant | Green Tech - CNET News
6. The world's first osmotic power plant opened
7. YouTube - Statkraft - Osmotic Power Plant
8. YouTube - The World's First Osmotic Power Prototype Opens Today

Related:

1. Statkraft is Europe's largest renewable energy company - Statkraft
2. Harnessing the power of sea water, Norway unveils world's first salt power generator | Mail Online
3. Osmotic Power Debuts in Norway - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com
4. World's First Osmotic Power Plant Opens | Green Business | Reuters

Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System -- Deep-Ocean Renewable Energy

Clipped from: Hydrothermal vent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hydrothermal vent

A hydrothermal vent is a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots.

Hydrothermal vents are locally very common because the earth is both geologically active and has large amounts of water on its surface and within its crust. Common land types include hot springs, fumaroles and geysers. [...]

A black smoker, a type of hydrothermal vent

Clipped from: Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System - Video

See the only system ever patented that allows the awesome power of deep-ocean hydrothermal vents to be used to generate electricity on a massive scale.

Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System - The funniest videos are a click away

Clipped from: Welcome To Marshall Hydrothermal

Deep below the surface of the world's oceans, lies a vast and inexhaustible energy source, completely untouched by humans. Capable of providing enough power to make 20 GW+ generating stations a realistic expectation, its exploitation has only been awaiting the moment that a practical means of utilizing it could be developed.

As the plates separate from each other, magma rises from within the earth to fill the gap.



A "black smoker". The "black smoke" consists of an abundance of dark, fine-grained suspended particles of various metals and minerals that precipitate when mixed with the cold seawater and rain down onto the sea floor below.

The energy available is simply immense, far beyond anything ever before harnessed by mankind. National Geographic estimates the energy escaping from just the known vents to be 17,000,000 MW, an amount that approximates all human consumption on the planet, and there are tens of thousands of kilometers of ridge system that have never even been explored.
[...]
Southern California inventor Bruce C. Marshall has patented the first practical system for commercializing the energy flowing from these vents. Called the Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System, it literally has the potential of revolutionizing electric power generation worldwide.

The Marshall System's base is constructed of highly stable circles and triangles. The horizontal support arms only take the weight of the one section of pipe to which it is attached. The first section of pipe at the top of the cone is the one that takes the weight of the column of pipe to be built above. It would be constructed on land or aboard a ship and then lowered into place as a complete unit. The intake pipe is placed as deep down into the vent as possible, to recover the highest temperature fluid. Anchors can be drilled through the bottom ring and into the seabed below for additional stability.

The complete Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System, showing electric generation, water desalination, and mining facilities operating together.

In this closed loop configuration, the Marshall System does not actually bring the hydrothermal fluid to the surface. Instead, hydrothermal vents heat a clean working fluid through a heat exchanger, which is then returned for reheating after its energy has been extracted on a platform similar to an oil platform.

Sources:
Hydrothermal vent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
File:Nur04506.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marshall Hydrothermal Recovery System - Video
Welcome To Marshall Hydrothermal
Related:
Welcome To Marshall Hydrothermal
Mining Hydrothermal Vents For Renewable Electricity, Drinking Water + Valuable Minerals : CleanTechnica

Ceramatec’s Batteries Could Power Your Home

clipped from www.javno.com Battery Powered House Stores Sun’s Energy Scientists have made a prototype of a battery that could store enough energy for a whole house to be run for an entire day, reports the Popular Mechanics website. A small disc is in question that could prove to be the solution for the most efficient and cheapest storage of solar energy. clipped from www.popularmechanics.com The Key to the Battery-Powered House The new battery runs on sodium-sulfur—a composition that typically operates at greater than 600 F. “Sodium-sulfur is more energetic than lead-acid, so if you can somehow get it to a lower temperature, it would be valuable for residential use, Ralph Brodd, an independent energy conversion consultant, says. clipped from www.reallycoolbattery.com clipped from www.reallycoolbattery.com clipped from www.heraldextra.com New battery could change world, one house at a time ASHLEY FRANSCELL/Daily Herald Ceramatec President Ashok V. Joshi and his team

Sources:

1. Battery Powered House Stores Sun’s Energy - World - Javno
2. Battery Powered House – Solar Panels and Home Battery Solutions - Popular Mechanics
3. Ceramatec Battery Technology
4. New battery could change world, one house at a time

Related:

1. Ceramatec’s Disc Shaped Batteries Could Power Your Home | Batteries
2. Ceramatec :: Homepage
3. Tiny battery traps solar power to run a house for 24 hrs - Science - Health & Science - NEWS - The Times of India

Ambient Power for Cell Phones

Clipped from: Nokia developing phone that recharges itself without mains electricity | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Nokia developing phone that recharges itself without mains electricity

Prototype harvests radiowaves from TV, radio and other mobiles

Standby mode is often accused of being the scourge of the planet, insidiously draining resources while offering little benefit other than a small red light and extra convenience for couch potatos. But now Nokia reckons a mobile phone that is always left in standby mode could be just what the environment needs.

Clipped from: Technology Review: Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones

Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones

Nokia hopes to create a device that could harvest enough power to keep a cell phone topped up.

A cell phone that never needs recharging might sound too good to be true, but Nokia says it's developing technology that could draw enough power from ambient radio waves to keep a cell-phone handset topped up.

Ambient electromagnetic radiation--emitted from Wi-Fi transmitters, cell-phone antennas, TV masts, and other sources--could be converted into enough electrical current to keep a battery topped up, says Markku Rouvala, a researcher from the Nokia Research Centre, in Cambridge, U.K.

Clipped from: NRC Cambridge UK laboratory | Nokia Research Center

NRC Cambridge UK laboratory develops nanotechnologies for mobile communication and ambient intelligence. Studying physical, chemical and biological phenomena and manipulation of matter at the nanoscale enables generation of knowledge for enhancing human capabilities.


Scope of Nokia nanoscience and nanotechnology research.

Clipped from: Nano Devices, Cambridge UK | Nokia Research Center

Home > Research > Laboratories > NRC Cambridge UK laboratory > Nano Devices, Cambridge UK

Research topics

• [...]
  
• Enhanced energy and power capacity in mobile devices: As mobile devices become ever more capable and thus power-hungry, one key issue becomes increasingly important: the storage and efficient use of energy. In practical terms, this translates as the development of energy storage media that are able to provide more energy, both more quickly (for responsive operation) and for longer (less recharging needed) whilst occupying a smaller space. In addition, what if such devices could also harvest their own power without needing mains recharging? Here too, nanotechnology has an enabling role to play; electrodes incorporating nanostructures can to be fabricated with hugely-enhanced surface areas providing significantly increased charge-storing capacity. In this project, the University of Cambridge's great strength in novel nanomaterial synthesis, and their previous work developing polymer-carbon nanotube composites with controlled conduction is used to fabricate and test nanotube-enhanced supercapacitors and nanocomposite solar cells - all essential ingredients in a coherent approach to improved energy handling.
  

Sources:

1. Nokia developing phone that recharges itself without mains electricity | Environment | guardian.co.uk
2. Technology Review: Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones
3. NRC Cambridge UK laboratory | Nokia Research Center
4. Nano Devices, Cambridge UK | Nokia Research Center

Related:

1. Inhabitat » Nokia Phone Charges by Drawing Energy Out of Thin Air
2. Nokia trying to charge mobiles with radio waves | // Pocket Picks //
3. Ambient power | Nokia Conversations