[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Elon Musk Met With Iran's UN Ambassador

Schumer Moves to Silence Criticism of Israel as Hate Speech With 'Antisemitism Awareness Act'

Historic English town that inspired Charles Dickens’ best stories

RFK Jr drives pharma to 15-year low

COL. Douglas Macgregor : What happen at the secret meeting between Israel and Russia?

The CDC Planned COVID Quarantine Concentration Camps Nationwide

NASA staff beg Elon Musk to 'clean house' after agency spent millions of Americans' money on DEI agenda

Sanctuaries Freed 22,000 Criminal Aliens Sought by ICE Under Biden

"Human Please die": Chatbot responds with threatening message

Antifa Groups Recruiting, Organizing And Mobilizing For Violence During Donald Trump's Second Term In Office

Joe Biden's "WTH" Moment of the Day with President of Peru.....

Germany: Police Raid Pensioner's House, Drag Him To Court After He Retweets Meme Calling Green Minister "Idiot"

Israel's Most Advanced Tank Shredded To Pieces In Gaza

Chinese Killer Robo Dog

Israeli Officials Belatedly Claim Secret Nuclear Site Destroyed In Last Month's Iran Strikes

Lake County California Has Counted Just 30 Percent of Votes – Ten Days After Polls Closed!

Real Monetary Reform

More Young Men Are Now Religious Than Women In The US

0,000+ online influencers, journalists, drive-by media, TV stars and writers work for State Department

"Why Are We Hiding It From The Public?" - Five Takeaways From Congressional UFO Hearing

Food Additives Exposed: What Lies Beneath America's Food Supply

Scott Ritter: Hezbollah OBLITERATES IDF, Netanyahu in deep legal trouble

Vivek Ramaswamy says he and Elon Musk are set up for 'mass deportations' of millions of 'unelected bureaucrats'

Evidence Points to Voter Fraud in 2024 Wisconsin Senate Race

Rickards: Your Trump Investment Guide

Pentagon 'Shocked' By Houthi Arsenal, Sophistication Is 'Getting Scary'

Cancer Starves When You Eat These Surprising Foods | Dr. William Li

Megyn Kelly Gets Fiery About Trump's Choice of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General

Over 100 leftist groups organize coalition to rebuild morale and resist MAGA after Trump win

Mainstream Media Cries Foul Over Musk Meeting With Iran Ambassador...On Peace


Science/Tech
See other Science/Tech Articles

Title: Electricity collected from the air could become the newest alternative energy source
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://www.physorg.com/news201958072.html
Published: Aug 26, 2010
Author: n
Post Date: 2010-08-26 17:52:37 by gengis gandhi
Keywords: None
Views: 153
Comments: 3

Electricity collected from the air could become the newest alternative energy source August 25, 2010 Electricity collected from the air could become the newest alternative energy source

Powering homes with electricity collected from the air may be possible after scientists report solving a centuries old riddle about how moisture in the atmosphere becomes electrically charged. Credit: Martin Fischer

Imagine devices that capture electricity from the air 53; much like solar cells capture sunlight 53; and using them to light a house or recharge an electric car. Imagine using similar panels on the rooftops of buildings to prevent lightning before it forms. Strange as it may sound, scientists already are in the early stages of developing such devices, according to a report presented today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Ads by Google

Our Future of Clean Coal - Fact - America has more than 200 years of available coal reserves. - AmericasPower.org

"Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future," said study leader Fernando Galembeck, Ph.D. His research may help explain a 200-year-old scientific riddle about how electricity is produced and discharged in the atmosphere. "Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect," he maintained.

"If we know how electricity builds up and spreads in the atmosphere, we can also prevent death and damage caused by lightning strikes," Galembeck said, noting that lightning causes thousands of deaths and injuries worldwide and millions of dollars in property damage.

The notion of harnessing the power of electricity formed naturally has tantalized scientists for centuries. They noticed that sparks of static electricity formed as steam escaped from boilers. Workers who touched the steam even got painful electrical shocks. Famed inventor Nikola Tesla, for example, was among those who dreamed of capturing and using electricity from the air. It's the electricity formed, for instance, when water vapor collects on microscopic particles of dust and other material in the air. But until now, scientists lacked adequate knowledge about the processes involved in formation and release of electricity from water in the atmosphere, Galembeck said. He is with the University of Campinas in Campinas, SP, Brazil.

Scientists once believed that water droplets in the atmosphere were electrically neutral, and remained so even after coming into contact with the electrical charges on dust particles and droplets of other liquids. But new evidence suggested that water in the atmosphere really does pick up an electrical charge.

Galembeck and colleagues confirmed that idea, using laboratory experiments that simulated water's contact with dust particles in the air. They used tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate, both common airborne substances, showing that silica became more negatively charged in the presence of high humidity and aluminum phosphate became more positively charged. High humidity means high levels of water vapor in the air 53; the vapor that condenses and becomes visible as "fog" on windows of air-conditioned cars and buildings on steamy summer days.

"This was clear evidence that water in the atmosphere can accumulate electrical charges and transfer them to other materials it comes into contact with," Galembeck explained. "We are calling this 'hygroelectricity,' meaning 'humidity electricity'."

In the future, he added, it may be possible to develop collectors, similar to the solar cells that collect the sunlight to produce electricity, to capture hygroelectricity and route it to homes and businesses. Just as solar cells work best in sunny areas of the world, hygroelectrical panels would work more efficiently in areas with high humidity, such as the northeastern and southeastern United States and the humid tropics.

Galembeck said that a similar approach might help prevent lightning from forming and striking. He envisioned placing hygroelectrical panels on top of buildings in regions that experience frequent thunderstorms. The panels would drain electricity out of the air, and prevent the building of electrical charge that is released in lightning. His research group already is testing metals to identify those with the greatest potential for use in capturing atmospheric electricity and preventing lightning strikes.

"These are fascinating ideas that new studies by ourselves and by other scientific teams suggest are now possible," Galembeck said. "We certainly have a long way to go. But the benefits in the long range of harnessing hygroelectricity could be substantial."

Provided by American Chemical Society (news : web)

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: Flintlock, christine (#0)

who is John Galt?

shift ahoy, me bitches!

__________________________________

________________________________

gengis gandhi  posted on  2010-08-26   17:53:48 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: gengis gandhi (#0)

Electricity collected from the air could become the newest alternative energy source

No sane person would want to live next to what amounts to be a giant lightening rod.

PaulCJ  posted on  2010-08-26   19:33:05 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: gengis gandhi (#1)

who is John Galt?

Bump that

WWGPD? - (What Would General Pinochet Do?)

Flintlock  posted on  2010-08-26   21:17:17 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]