In modern society, the need for energy is ever increasing, so there is a constant search for electricity that is cheap and sustainable. Following these concepts, we present to you the new source that manages to extract it from the clouds. Let’s see what it consists of.
Electricity created from nothing: is it possible?
In early 2020, staff at the University of Massachusetts developed a device that uses protein from nature to generate electricity from “nothing.” Although this effective element is based on something very common: the humidity contained in the air.
The component was developed by a microbiologist and an engineer from the university’s research team. Basically, it was built with protein nanowires from a bacteria called Geobacter sulfurreducens. The element was baptized as Air-gen.
Air-gen operating mode
Its way of operation is very simple. When electrodes that are a few microns thick are connected to humidity, a small electrical force is generated. The best thing is that electricity can be extracted from almost any element or material.
So, the only one that would produce this effect (let’s call it Air-gen effect) is not the device, but any material that has a certain property will be able to extract energy from air and humidity. The first application that the creators came up with is using clouds.
To do this, you have to think of a cloud as being made up of countless water droplets. Each one has a certain charge and, when the environmental conditions are favourable, this electricity is discharged in the form of lightning.
The issue is that there is no way to capture this energy effectively. Therefore, what the device does is generate a cloud, on a small scale, that produces electrical energy in a continuous, reliable and predictable manner so that it can be “harvested” for later use.
The core of this cloud is formed by a protein layer composed of nanowires from the aforementioned bacteria. This layer is dotted with nanopores that have an average diameter of 100 nanometers, which is less than one thousandth of the size of a hair.
These nanopores form a free path that a water molecule must travel before it collides with another. But if this layer allows the aforementioned molecules to pass from the top to the bottom, the first one will receive a bombardment of other molecules.
This action will create an imbalance, like in a cloud, which would generate very weak electricity. But if all these charges are added together, a very large one is obtained. In this way, energy would be generated from the clouds or from nothing.
This technology is sustainable, renewable, non-polluting and very low costIn addition, it has the capacity to produce electricity in very dry areas such as the Sahara Desert, in other areas with very high humidity such as on the coasts and in the interiors of buildings.
Its incredible possibilities and applications in various sectors
The university researchers point out that clouds and air humidity are always present in all areas of the Earth and are very abundant. This means that energy can be available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, without interruption.
Therefore, It does not have the intermittency problem that other renewable energies present.. As for its applications, these are innumerable, being able to act as alternative and ecological energy, in medical equipment, smartphones, health monitoring sensors and many others.
In conclusion, you have seen how this revolutionary invention can extract electricity from almost any element, such as clouds. According to this, it is a new source of energy from which Spain can take great advantage.
