Charge your phone by SHOUTING at it: Gadget
converts sound waves from speech into five volts of
energy for your mobile.
Prototype created by Queen Mary University of
London and Nokia
The device, which is about the size of a mobile
phone, uses zinc oxide
Zinc oxide produces electricity when subjected to
mechanical stress
Stress could come from vibrations in sound that
move tiny rods
Invention was inspired by research which found
playing pop and rock music improves the
performance of solar cells.
As the class Governor of my department at Yaba
college Of technology, It seems phone batteries
always die at the same moment you need to make
an important call like calling a Lecturer , before
class or after class.
But while shouting at your mobile in frustration
might seem pointless, a new gadget could soon
mean your screams won't be in vain.
Researchers in London have created a new
technology that uses sound, such as chants at a
football ground or chatter in a coffee shop, to
charge up mobile phones.
While shouting at your mobile in frustration might
seem pointless, a new gadget could soon mean
your screams won't be in vain.
Researchers in
London have created a new technology that uses
sound, such as chants at a football ground or
chatter in a coffee shop, to charge up mobile
phones
Their prototype device, which is about the size of a
mobile phone, uses zinc oxide to convert
vibrations caused by sound into electricity.
The invention was inspired by previous research
at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL),
which found playing pop and rock music improved
the performance of solar cells.
This was because the sound vibrations triggered
the movement of material in the solar cell that
caused it to improve efficiency by up to 40 per
cent.
Developing this research further, Nokia worked
with the QMUL team to create an energy-
harvesting prototype that could be used to charge
a mobile phone using everyday background noise.
Nokia worked with the QMUL team to create an
energy-harvesting prototype that could be used to
charge a mobile phone using everyday
background noise. Pictured here is the zinc oxide
used in the device
The team used the key properties of zinc oxide, a
material that when squashed or stretched creates
a voltage by converting energy from motion into
electrical energy, in the form of nanorods.
The nanorods can be coated onto various surfaces
in different locations making the energy harvesting
versatile.
When this surface is squashed or stretched, the
nanorods then generate a high voltage.
The nanorods respond to vibration and movement
created by everyday sound, such as our voices.
Electrical contacts on both sides of the rods are
then used to harvest the voltage to charge a
phone.
In order to make it possible to produce these
nanogenerators at scale, the scientists found
innovative ways to cut costs in the production
process.
Firstly, they developed a process whereby they
could spray on the nanorod chemicals - almost
like nanorod graffiti - to cover a plastic sheet in a
layer of zinc oxide.
When put into a mixture of chemicals and heated
to just 90°C, the nanorods grew all over the
surface of the sheet.
Secondly, gold is traditionally used as an electrical
contact, but the team were able to produce a
method of using cheap and cheerful aluminium
foil instead.
The final device is the same size as a Nokia Lumia
925 and generates five volts, which is enough to
charge a phone.
'Being able to keep mobile devices working for
longer, or do away with batteries completely by
tapping into the stray energy that is all around us
is an exciting concept,' said Dr Joe Briscoe from
QMUL.
'We hope that we have brought this technology
closer to viability.'
The device is the same size as a Nokia Lumia
925 (pictured) and generates 5 volts - enough
to charge a phone
'Being able to keep mobile devices working for
longer, or do away with batteries completely by
tapping into the stray energy that is all around us
is an exciting concept,' said Dr Joe Briscoe from
QMUL. Pictured is the voltage test to see how
much energy the device could harvest..
