Researchers at UCLA have discovered that falling snowflakes generate free, clean energy when they come into contact with silicone. The transfer of electrons produces energy, such as static electricity, which could potentially produce cheap electricity in large quantities. The device is called a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator.
If you live in a region where snow is a four-letter word, chances are you’re looking forward to warm spring days when you won’t see any more white stuff. However, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that snow may actually serve a useful purpose, beyond bringing joy to children on snowy days.
Researchers have found that falling snowflakes generate free, clean energy when they come into contact with silicone. The flakes are positively charged and when they land on negatively charged silicone, the transfer of electrons produces energy, such as static electricity. The researchers call the device a snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator, or TENG snow. Silicone is cheap and snowflakes are free, so they hope the concept could someday produce cheap electricity in large quantities.
Snow power:
Static electricity occurs when one substance gives up electrons and another substance captures them. “You separate charges and create electricity from practically nothing,” explains UCLA researcher Richard Kaner.
The research team used 3D printers to make the nanogenerator, which has a layer of flexible silicone and an electrode to capture the charge.
Silicone, a rubber-like synthetic material, is widely used in industrial products such as lubricants, electrical cable insulation, and biomedical implants.
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