Slashdot Mirror


Energy Harnessed From Humidity Can Power Small Devices

sciencehabit writes: Scientists have built small devices that generate electricity by harnessing changes in the ambient humidity. This is done through the use of dormant bacterial spores which expand when they absorb moisture from the air. To prove the concept, researchers attached the spores to one side of a curved polymer sheet, and when the spores absorbed humidity from the air, the sheet straightened out. Coupling this movement with an electromagnetic generator allowed them to harvest enough energy to power small devices like an LED and a 100-gram toy car.

5 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. Great idea! by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can power my ancient Sony Walkman with the black spores from inside my bathroom.

  2. So... by Arkh89 · · Score: 4, Funny

    We will now get energy from the cloud, literally...

  3. Re:Drinking bird? by rjstanford · · Score: 2

    Just look at page 3.

    --
    You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
  4. Introducing My New Product... by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 2

    ...the Power Shower (tm) Curtain!

    That's right folks, you heard correctly...now you can sing along at high falsetto with your shower radio with the extraordinary power of a steamy shower and your grotty black-mold-covered flapping shower curtain!

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to file at the USPTO and multiple-martini lunches with venture capitalists to schedule.

    Capitalism FTW!

    --

    Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

    Vote for Bernie in 2016!

  5. Re:Interesting concept, but... by Gryle · · Score: 2

    Depending on how sensitive it is, I could see it being useful in places like the Southwest US that are subject monsoons in the summer. Humidity builds during the day until a thunderstorm develops in the evening. The cycle starts all over again the next day.

    --
    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein