2024-03-15 15:17:00
Inspired by drinking bird toyscientists from Hong Kong and Guangzhou (China) have developed a motor that converts energy from water evaporation into electricity to power small electronic devices up to 100 volts—much higher than other techniques that generate electricity from water—and can operate for several days using only 100 milliliters of water as fuel.
The development, which was reported by Device magazine, is inspired by the toy that is usually used in science classrooms to show students how the system works. thermodynamic equilibrium through the swing of the bird.
Explanation of the ‘drinking bird’
The drinking bird consists of two glass bulbs connected by a tubealso glass, with a very volatile liquid (methylene chloride) stored inside. The top bulb, which includes the bird’s beak and a decorative top hat, is covered in a felt-like material, and the bird’s body is suspended on two plastic legs.
By submerging the bird’s head in a glass of water, the water starts to evaporate. This causes a pressure difference that causes the liquid in the lower bulb to rise through the tube until it fills the head, which causes the bird dives into the water to “drink” before the process starts again.
Drinking bird / FILE
How they related this instrument to an energy generator
The researchers report that when askingHow to increase the output voltage of an evaporative power generator, it reminded them of the mechanics of the toy drinking bird. This inspired the idea that led them to rethink whether it could really go beyond demonstrating a physical concept.
“I started to wonder if we could first convert the evaporation energy into mechanical energy and then translate it into electricity. That’s when I came up with the idea of using the drinking bird toy,” explains Hao Wu, one of the authors and researcher at the South China University of Technology. “With this inspiration the concept of a hydrovoltaic generator for drinking birds was born”Add.
Building the generator with the ‘toy’
To build the instrument, Wu and his colleagues placed two generator modules, which collect mechanical energy, on either side of a drinking bird motor which they reconstructed from a commercial toy.
First, they tested the prototype with various small electronic devices and used it to power 20 liquid crystal displays (LCDs), temperature sensors and calculators. There they encountered one of the main challenges of the study, which, according to Wu, was overcoming the friction that slowed down the generator.
To solve the problem they came up with the idea of using Patterned fibers as load transfer materials in the generator modules. The invention had results: it helped reduce friction and allowed the device to operate more smoothly.
Results and evaluation of the researchers
“The hydrovoltaic generator for drinking birds offers a unique means of powering small electronic devices under ambient conditions, using water as a readily available fuel source,” conclude the researchers, who now plan to explore how to “to achieve a practical product that can be used in our daily lives”.
In this way, the team plans to design a new water fountain instead of using a commercial toy, with the aim of converting water evaporation into electrical energy more efficiently.
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