I case you interested in the science here, the article is talking about mechanic stress related to moving or compressing something.
So ya, it is still the Piezoelectric effect. Not new - but there’s a twist.
The difference is that it’s an organic polymer as opposed to the materials we typically see being Piezoelectric which are typically hard, crystalline structures.
So this is sort of a big deal because, simply put, it could make it much easier for us to turn small movements into electricity.
It could be woven into clothing or into the souls of your shoes. Every step you take is now charging a battery in your clothing. It could be used to make tires that produce a current when the car rolls.
Those aren’t even interesting ways to use it but that’s what’s sort of neat about this. Where Piezoelectric materials were typically rigid, now we’ve found that they don’t have to be. It just sort of opens a new can of worms.
The most interesting thought I’ve heard of is that this could be the one-day leading tech for a computer system to feel its surrounding. A robotic hand can have sensors but they tend to be complicated, delicate, or both. In this case, the “skin” of the hand is made with this new material. When the hand touches something, the skin is deformed (or stressed) and creates its own current to send back to a processor. The signals intensity is directly related to how deformed the skin is. This isn’t my specialty but that sounds as close to human skin and touch as we’ve ever been.
Shippoyasha on January 6th, 2018 at 21:05 UTC »
Ironic. He gets unlimited power but couldn't stop being dragged to school.
Kidifer on January 6th, 2018 at 22:24 UTC »
Anyone know if the article is talking about mechanical stress?
Zezu on January 7th, 2018 at 04:24 UTC »
I case you interested in the science here, the article is talking about mechanic stress related to moving or compressing something.
So ya, it is still the Piezoelectric effect. Not new - but there’s a twist.
The difference is that it’s an organic polymer as opposed to the materials we typically see being Piezoelectric which are typically hard, crystalline structures.
So this is sort of a big deal because, simply put, it could make it much easier for us to turn small movements into electricity.
It could be woven into clothing or into the souls of your shoes. Every step you take is now charging a battery in your clothing. It could be used to make tires that produce a current when the car rolls.
Those aren’t even interesting ways to use it but that’s what’s sort of neat about this. Where Piezoelectric materials were typically rigid, now we’ve found that they don’t have to be. It just sort of opens a new can of worms.
The most interesting thought I’ve heard of is that this could be the one-day leading tech for a computer system to feel its surrounding. A robotic hand can have sensors but they tend to be complicated, delicate, or both. In this case, the “skin” of the hand is made with this new material. When the hand touches something, the skin is deformed (or stressed) and creates its own current to send back to a processor. The signals intensity is directly related to how deformed the skin is. This isn’t my specialty but that sounds as close to human skin and touch as we’ve ever been.