Feeling a little skeptical, but I'd love for someone to explain where the energy is coming from. From the paper:
In fact, an Air-gen device made from protein nanowires, which was kept in the ambient environment for over 3 years, still produced a similar voltage output ...These time spans are much longer than the typical hydration time, supporting the sustainable mechanism based on a dynamic equilibrium ...
The Air-gen device is not a “perpetual motion engine”, because the energy comes from the electrostatic energy (not kinetic one) of discrete water molecules in a vast open source.
Does this mean that the energy they're harvesting is a result of imparting a charge on otherwise neutrally charged water molecules, but because it's infinitesimally small compared with the "vast source", you can disregard any net effect from the perspective of the harvester?
If so, this doesn't feel "right", because this implies that a charged particle's state is at a lower energy state than a neutral one. If that were so, wouldn't the universe tend to that lower energy state by default?
Again, I'd appreciate if someone could tell me where the energy is supposed to be coming from, because "TANSTAAFL" seems to be being violated here.
Aren't they basically harvesting incredibly diffuse lightning? These charge imbalances that accumulate naturally before discovering that lower energy state dramatically?
Presumably it doesn't instantaneously happen due to insulating effects in the air.
The movement of the water molecules is what is generating the charge difference. In effect, this is using the wind - or just the movement of air, but not in a mechanical way. It is just using the wind to generate static electricity - the same way you generate an electric potential by rubbing felt on a balloon. Movement -> electricity.
Of course it is fairly weak, but it is continuous and simple. There has to be uses for it.
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Feeling a little skeptical, but I'd love for someone to explain where the energy is coming from. From the paper:
In fact, an Air-gen device made from protein nanowires, which was kept in the ambient environment for over 3 years, still produced a similar voltage output ...These time spans are much longer than the typical hydration time, supporting the sustainable mechanism based on a dynamic equilibrium ... The Air-gen device is not a “perpetual motion engine”, because the energy comes from the electrostatic energy (not kinetic one) of discrete water molecules in a vast open source.
Does this mean that the energy they're harvesting is a result of imparting a charge on otherwise neutrally charged water molecules, but because it's infinitesimally small compared with the "vast source", you can disregard any net effect from the perspective of the harvester?
If so, this doesn't feel "right", because this implies that a charged particle's state is at a lower energy state than a neutral one. If that were so, wouldn't the universe tend to that lower energy state by default?
Again, I'd appreciate if someone could tell me where the energy is supposed to be coming from, because "TANSTAAFL" seems to be being violated here.
Aren't they basically harvesting incredibly diffuse lightning? These charge imbalances that accumulate naturally before discovering that lower energy state dramatically?
Presumably it doesn't instantaneously happen due to insulating effects in the air.
The movement of the water molecules is what is generating the charge difference. In effect, this is using the wind - or just the movement of air, but not in a mechanical way. It is just using the wind to generate static electricity - the same way you generate an electric potential by rubbing felt on a balloon. Movement -> electricity.
Of course it is fairly weak, but it is continuous and simple. There has to be uses for it.