Skilled Nokia and the University of London Queen Mary's managed to create a working system of charging mobile phones, generating energy in a sound wave.
The principle of operation of the device is based on the piezoelectric effect - electricity is generated by deformation. The main element of the device is an array of the finest nanorods that can bend under the influence of even small sound vibrations. Thus, the new charger actually produces energy from sound.
In the manufacture of the main generator module researchers sprayed material on the basis of zinc oxide onto a plastic substrate, which is then placed in a special mixture of chemicals and heated to 90 degrees Celsius. This resulted in the formation of an array of nanorods.For electricity the main element of the generator was placed between two gold plates with contacts. These plates are quite expensive, but the researchers believe that in the future will be able to pick up more cheap stuff.
It is alleged that the generator size is comparable to the average smartphone. He is able to generate a voltage to 5 volts (for some reason, it is not specified amperage) under the influence of the usual street noise.
"The ability to give battery life of mobile phones by connecting to the energy of the scattered everywhere - it's a terrific idea. We hope that we will be able to bring its practical implementation ", - said the lead author of the project Dr. Joe Briscoe.
The idea of a similar device four years ago suggested by researchers from South Korea, but they had a prototype voltage only 50 millivolts. Briscoe said that the use of charging scattered throughout the sound energy - it's a great idea. He also expressed the hope that the proposed charging technology finds mass application. However, the possible timing of the appearance of sound chargers on the market is not yet known.