PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Louisiana Tech researchers design, fabricate innovative energy harvesting device

2010-10-10
(Press-News.org) RUSTON, La. – Dr. Long Que, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Louisiana Tech University, has reported success in designing and fabricating a device that allows microscale electronic devices to harvest their own wasted energy.

The work was described in a paper published in the September edition of Applied Physics Letters and has also caught the attention of PhysOrg.com, a website that features breakthroughs in science and technology from all over the world.

The paper titled, "Light and thermal energy cell based on carbon nanotube films" and co-authored by students Pushparaj Pathak, Tianhua Zhang, Yuan He, and Shashi Yadav, was accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter less than a month after its initial submission.

Developed at Louisiana Tech and described in the paper, this technology uses a cantilever made out of piezoelectric material – material capable of converting distortions to itself into electrical energy – and is coated with a carbon nanotube film on one side. When the film absorbs light and/or thermal energy, it causes the cantilever to bend back and forth repeatedly, which causes the piezoelectric material to generate power as long as the light and/or heat source is active.

Through cyclical bending activity, the device would essentially allow small electronic devices to harvest their own operational energy.

"The greatest significance of this work is that it offers us a new option to continuously harvest both solar and thermal energy on a single chip, given the self-reciprocating characteristics of the device upon exposure to light and/or thermal radiation," said Que. "This characteristic might enable us to make perpetual micro/nano devices and micro/nanosystems, and could significantly impact the wireless sensory network."

In their experiments, Que's research team showed that the device could generate enough power to adequately operate some low-power microsensors and integrated sensors. One of the most unique and innovative aspects of this energy harvesting system is its ability to "self-reciprocate" – the perpetual production of energy without needing to consume other external energy sources.

The researchers state that the self-reciprocation occurs from the cantilever's constant absorption of photons and its high electrical conduction and rapid thermal dissipation into the environment. The self-reciprocation phenomenon has been routinely observed, not only in the lab, but also in the field under sunlight. This technology can also harvest different types of energies such as vibrational and wind energies.

"It is truly a hybrid energy-harvesting technology," Que said. "My lab has been optimizing and making great progress on this technology in an effort to enhance its efficiency and overall performance, indicating great promise for this technology."

Que believes that, in the future, the device could be used to power a number of different nano and microsystems such as implanted biomedical devices or remotely located sensors and communication nodes.

One of the comments posted on PhysOrg.com in response to the article says, "This may not sound like much, but it's a significant breakthrough that could well profoundly impact the design of many products. Specifically I'm thinking the design of very small spacecraft and consumer electronics, but this breakthrough isn't limited to those fields (over the very long term, anyway)."

INFORMATION:

In addition to its publication in Applied Physics Letters, Que's paper was also selected for publication in Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology, which is published by the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society in cooperation with numerous other physics societies and publishers.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Risks in multiple pregnancies

2010-10-10
The complication rate during pregnancy with twins is about 40%. Women with multiple pregnancies often develop pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and hemorrhages during the term of their pregnancy. Joachim W Dudenhausen from the Charité Berlin University Medicine and Rolf F Maier from Magdeburg University Medical Center, investigate which risks can be minimized by close monitoring in multiple pregnancies (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[38]: 663-8). 14 in 1000 pregnancies will be multiple pregnancies. The average term for multiple pregnancies is notably shorter (for twins, ...

Shift work and cancer

2010-10-10
Shift work can cause cancer. In the new issue of the Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[38]: 657-62), Thomas C. Erren and colleagues describe the current state of knowledge in this area and point out the challenges lying ahead. Although it is well known that short-term disturbances of circadian rhythms, such as jet lag, can impair a person's sense of well-being, researchers only recently began to ask whether chronic disruption of biological rhythms over the long term might promote cancer. The possibility of financial compensation in such cases ...

Got fish? Nutrition studies explore health benefits

2010-10-10
Some of America's most popular fish--salmon and albacore tuna, for example--are rich in healthful natural compounds known as omega-3 fatty acids. Ongoing studies by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist Darshan S. Kelley and co-investigators are helping uncover new details about how these fish-oil components help protect us from chronic diseases. Kelley is with the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the University of California-Davis. ARS is the USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. In an early ...

Autistic children are not good at covering up their lies: Queen's University study

2010-10-10
Children with autism will tell white lies to protect other people's feelings and they are not very good at covering up their lies, according to a Queen's University study. The study, conducted by psychology professor Beth Kelley and developmental psychology PhD student Annie Li, is one of the first scientific studies of lying and autism. "The results are surprising because there is a notion that children with autism have difficulty appreciating the thoughts and feelings of other people, so we didn't expect them to lie to avoid saying things that may hurt others," says ...

Front-of-package symbols and systems: IOM phase 1 report

2010-10-10
Nutrition rating systems and their accompanying symbols are intended to help consumers make healthy choices, but shoppers may be confused by the variety of symbols that have proliferated in recent years. Moreover, different rating systems focus on different nutrients, and questions have been raised about the nutritional criteria underlying these systems. Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Phase 1 Report presents the preliminary findings of an Institute of Medicine committee's review of these nutrition information tools. and focuses on the criteria behind ...

Bloodstream infection surveillance inconsistent between institutions, U-M study shows

2010-10-10
The study, led by Matthew Niedner, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at U-M C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, was conducted by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Focus Group. It appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Infection Control. "There is an intense amount of attention being placed on measures of quality performance that have significant implications in pay-for-performance, and reimbursement," says Niedner, who led the study. "What you have is a desire ...

Targeted therapy promising for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer

2010-10-10
A new type of breast cancer treatment has shown encouraging activity as a first-line therapy in HER2-positive metastatic disease, researchers reported at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Milan, Italy. Principal investigator Edith Perez, MD, Mayo Clinic in Florida, presented the results of the first ever randomized trial of trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1) as a first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer. T-DM1 is the first of a new type of cancer medicine known as an antibody-drug conjugate. It binds together two existing cancer ...

Neurons cast votes to guide decision-making

2010-10-10
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—We know that casting a ballot in the voting booth involves politics, values and personalities. But before you ever push the button for your candidate, your brain has already carried out an election of its own to make that action possible. New research from Vanderbilt University reveals that our brain accumulates evidence when faced with a choice and triggers an action once that evidence reaches a tipping point. The research was published in the October issue of Psychological Review. "Psychological models of decision-making explain that humans gradually ...

Studying illnesses caused by worms: Scientists are learning how immune cells communicate

2010-10-10
Saranac Lake, N.Y. – A billion people living in underdeveloped areas around the world are infected with parasitic helminthes, worms that survive by residing in and feeding on their hosts. These infestations can cause chronic intestinal (and occasionally systemic) illnesses leading to long-term disability. Irah King and Markus Mohrs, biomedical researchers at the Trudeau Institute, are investigating illnesses caused by these gut-dwelling worms in an effort to decipher how immune cells send and receive signals that determine the specific immune response to mount. In a study ...

Plants kick-start evolutionary drama of Earth's oxygenation

Plants kick-start evolutionary drama of Earths oxygenation
2010-10-10
TEMPE, Az. - An international team of scientists, exploiting pioneering techniques at Arizona State University, has taken a significant step toward unlocking the secrets of oxygenation of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere. Evolution of the Earth's multitude of organisms is intimately linked to the rise of oxygen in the oceans and atmosphere. The new research indicates that the appearance of large predatory fish as well as vascular plants approximately 400 million years ago coincided with an increase in oxygen, to levels comparable to those we experience today. If so, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

ESMT Berlin research shows private ownership boosts hospital performance

The risk of death or complications from broken heart syndrome was high from 2016 to 2020

Does adapting to a warmer climate have drawbacks?

Team develops digital lab for data- and robot-driven materials science

Got data? Breastfeeding device measures babies’ milk intake in real time

Novel technology enables better understanding of complex biological samples

Autistic people communicate just as effectively as others, study finds

Alaska: Ancient cave sediments provide new climate clues

Adult-onset type 1 diabetes increases risk of cardiovascular disease and death

Onion-like nanoparticles found in aircraft exhaust

Chimpanzees use medicinal leaves to perform first aid

New marine-biodegradable polymer decomposes by 92% in one year, rivals nylon in strength

Manitoba Museum and ROM palaeontologists discover 506-million-year-old predator

Not all orangutan mothers raise their infants the same way

CT scanning helps reveal path from rotten fish to fossil

Physical activity + organized sports participation may ward off childhood mental ill health

Long working hours may alter brain structure, preliminary findings suggest

Lower taxes on Heated Tobacco Products are subsidizing tobacco industry – new research

Recognition from colleagues helps employees cope with bad work experiences

First-in-human study of once-daily oral treatment for obesity that mimics metabolic effects of gastric bypass without surgery

Rural preschoolers more likely to be living with overweight and abdominal obesity, and spend more time on screens, than their urban counterparts

Half of popular TikToks about “food noise” mention medications, mainly weight-loss drugs, to manage intrusive thoughts about food

Global survey reveals high disconnect between perceptions of obesity among people living with the disease and their doctors

Study reveals distinct mechanisms of action of tirzepatide and semaglutide

Mount Sinai Health System to honor Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, for 18 years of leadership and service at annual Crystal Party  

Mapping a new brain network for naming

Healthcare company Watkins-Conti announces publication of positive clinical trial results for FDA-cleared Yōni.Fit bladder support

Prominent chatbots routinely exaggerate science findings, study shows

First-ever long read datasets added to two Kids First studies

Dual-laser technique lowers Brillouin sensing frequency to 200 MHz

[Press-News.org] Louisiana Tech researchers design, fabricate innovative energy harvesting device