Nerds Build Panels to Harvest 37% of Wasted Microwave Energy
These guys from Duke University have found a way to recapture almost 40 percent of ambient electrical signals that are wasted by Microwave, Satellite and WiFi energy. It is enough to power a USB charging device. I can’t wait to see what new applications they can develop with this new technology.
From the DailyMail here:
Engineers at Duke University have designed a breakthrough gadget that ‘harvests’ background microwave radiation and converts it into electricity, with the same efficiency as solar panels.
The development, unveiled on Thursday, raises exciting possibilities such as recharging a phone wirelessly and providing power to remote locations that can’t access conventional electricity.
And the researchers say that their inexpensive invention is remarkably versatile. It could be used to capture ‘lost’ energy from a range of sources such as satellite transmissions, sound signals or Wi-Fi.
They say the device harvested microwaves with an efficiency of 36.8 percent, similar to modern solar cells that capture light energy.
It is capable of providing 7.3V of electricity. As the press release points out, current USB chargers provide around 5V.
The physics seem sound, although I’m impressed at the level of efficiency they have managed to obtain. We pump and waste all kinds of power through our wi-fi devices, and it would be awesome to use it to recharge our cellphones, power our clocks and provide other low-voltage services. Could you imagine a TV remote control that never needed batteries?
