Typing can charge the laptop no longer afraid of no electricity

I have seen laptops powered by solar power, notebooks that have been pedal-powered, and even notebooks that are powered by hand cranks. Now there is a notebook that can be used to generate electricity by typing! Chatting, moving fingers to power the laptop, and sustainable batteries and self-powered portable electronic devices are no longer a dream.

Recently, scientists from Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology released a technological breakthrough. For the first time, researchers characterized the piezoelectric thin films that convert mechanical stress into electricity. This sounds very much like the story in science fiction, but in fact this technology may eventually make people only need to type to power the laptop.

Piezoelectric materials are substances that convert pressure into electricity. As early as the 19th century, people discovered the piezoelectric effect. The so-called piezoelectric effect refers to the phenomenon of induced dielectric polarization or electric field in a crystal when mechanical strain is applied by an external force, or in such a crystal. The upper electric field polarizes the crystal while the strain or stress occurs.

Piezoelectric lighters are a good example. When a lighter fires, the first compressed spring momentarily pushes a cylindrical hammer and strikes the piezo crystal group at the bottom of the igniter to cause a momentary high voltage. The voltage is directed to butane. The gas exits and creates a discharge spark on it, while igniting the butane gas that is released at the same time when the spring is pressed down. According to Madhu Bhaskaran, co-author of the thesis, discrete or bulky piezoelectric materials (such as crystals and ceramics) have been thoroughly studied, but the research on piezoelectric films is relatively novel. .

Scientists are now able to measure the amount of energy produced by a piezoelectric thin film coating. "Our research is focused on thin-film coatings because we believe this is the only solution that is possible to integrate piezoelectric technology with existing electronic technologies," said Pascalan.

She also pointed out that the concept of using piezoelectric nanomaterials to collect energy has been confirmed, but the process of implementing this architecture will be complicated and not suitable for mass production. “Piezoelectric technology can also be incorporated into jogging shoes to charge mobile phones, or laptops can draw electricity as users type, and even convert human blood pressure to a source of power for heart rate regulators. Basically, it is creating a permanent battery."

At present, the biggest problem faced by this technology is the combination of piezoelectric nanomaterials and thin film technology cost and size. Once these technologies have achieved a breakthrough, the desire to recharge while we type is likely to come true. This will prevent children from sneaking out of the notebook but not finding outlets.