Are you fed up with all those powercords which clutter your desk? Do you think about escaping to a world of wireless power transmission? Here is the happy news.. Scientists have taken a step towards it... A sheet of plastic invented by researchers in Japan can transfer power to devices on it or near it.A team of researchers at the University of Tokyo made the sheet of plastic, which is about 1mm thick and weighing 50 grams. It is capable of delivering 40 watts of power to devices which contain a special receiving coil. The base layer of the plastic consists of a layer of transistor featuring pentacene, an organic molecule whose electrical conductivity can be controlled. The top layers has a sensor to determine if any compatible device is nearby and some microelectromechanicalsystem switches can turn power on or off. The power is transmitted by means of a copper coil. When the sheet is plugged in, it can power devices such as LEDs provided with matching receiver coils. The researchers say that the transmission has an efficiency of 81.4% while the usual wired grid has the efficiency of 93%. The layers in the plastic are made by printing. The coils using screen printing and the switch and transistors using inkjet priters. So the plastic remains essentially thin and flexible. The image shows a table powering a light which is placed underwater.
Source: nature.com
No comments:
Post a Comment