A team of Californian scientists has developed a material capable of obtaining electricity from snow: based on the principles of the so-called "triboelectric effect", which consists of transfer of electric charges, and therefore in the generation of a voltage, between different materials (of which at least one is insulating) when they are rubbed among them.
Sleet particles have a positive charge, and interact with this material, with opposite charge, is capable of producing electricity.
“Since snow has its own charge, we thought: why don't we put it in contact with a material that has the opposite charge?”
Maher El-Kady, University of California, Los Angeles
The applications of the triboelectric effect are different, and other researchers have also created them: for example, adding graphene to solar panels to obtain additional electricity even from rain.
In this case, the team developed a “snow-based triboelectric nanogenerator,” otherwise known as a TENG.
After the small generator design and 3D printing for make the electrodes, researchers have tested various “triboelectric” materials for evaluate its capacity.
“After researching a vast range of materials including Teflon and aluminum foil, we chose silicone for its ability to produce a greater charge,” says Maher El-Kady, at the head of the University of California project.
Once the mechanism has been made and covered in silicone, the electric charge it is generated starting from all the different types of contact: trampling, rubbing or even the simple fall of snow on the surface.
In the second phase of the project the system was applied to bicycle wheels, or boots, to measure the charge produced in the contact of the wheels or soles on the snow.
Whether the TENG system will be integrated into the panels solar will allow to generate electricity even from snowstorms and weather conditions that otherwise they would decrease or they would not produce the necessary energy: consider the fact that every year 46 million square kilometers of the earth's surface are covered by snow and you will understand the potential of this system, which one day could also power biomechanical sensors or wearable devices.
The first practical use of the TENG will be in providing power to small automatic weather stations installed in inhospitable areas of the planet to measure the rate of fall and depth of snow as well as of course the direction and speed of the wind.
Haven't you felt a little cold too?
The complete paper published on nano-energy
