Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

CleanTechnica

Clean Power

Researchers Test Hamster-Powered Nano Device

Researchers at Georgia Tech recently discovered that hamsters running on wheels are good for more than just a laugh— they can also drive nanogenerators to produce electric currents. While the electricity produced from hamster biomotions is small (one nanowatt), it may be enough to drive nano-sized devices.

The Georgia Tech team isn’t the first to harvest biomechanical energy at a specific frequency, but it is the first to harvest irregular motions.

The researchers’ nanogenerator uses a series of zinc-oxide nanowires mounted on a flexible plastic surface. When the plastic bends, the wires bend and an electric potential drives a current to an external electrical circuit.

While the nanogenerator only uses hamster-harvested energy for now, a similar device could one day be woven into human jackets to harvest energy for portable electronics.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/I1C9S5xEoTE&hl=en&fs=1]

Photo Credit: Georgia Tech

 
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
 

Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Former Tesla Battery Expert Leading Lyten Into New Lithium-Sulfur Battery Era — Podcast:



I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
If you like what we do and want to support us, please chip in a bit monthly via PayPal or Patreon to help our team do what we do! Thank you!
Advertisement
 
Written By

was formerly the editor of CleanTechnica and is a senior editor at Co.Exist. She has contributed to SF Weekly, Popular Science, Inhabitat, Greenbiz, NBC Bay Area, GOOD Magazine, and more. A graduate of Vassar College, she has previously worked in publishing, organic farming, documentary film, and newspaper journalism. Her interests include permaculture, hiking, skiing, music, relocalization, and cob (the building material). She currently resides in San Francisco, CA.

Comments

You May Also Like

Batteries

There they go again: Georgia readies new flow battery for the red-hot home energy storage market.

Clean Power

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Provides $18 Million to Over a Dozen Higher Education Institutions, Including 7 Minority Serving Institutions, and $54 Million to Train the...

Climate Change

AUSTIN, Texas — More of the world’s coastal glaciers are melting faster than ever, but exactly what’s triggering the large-scale retreat has been difficult...

Research

In a study of “some of the smallest moving elements ever observed,” researchers at Georgia Tech and the University of Toledo have confirmed the...

Copyright © 2023 CleanTechnica. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.