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Nanogenerator: (Left, clockwise) Arrays of zinc oxide nanowires packaged in a thin polymer film generate electrical current when flexed. The nanogenerator could be embedded in clothing and used to convert the rustling of fabric into current to power portable devices such as cell phones.
Hearing aid: An array of vertically aligned piezoelectric nanowires could serve as a hearing aid. When sound waves hit them, the wires bend, generating an electrical potential. The electrical signal can then be amplified and sent directly to the auditory nerve.
Signature verification: A grid of piezoelectric wires underneath a signature pad would record the pattern of pressure applied by each person signing. Combined with a database of such patterns, the system could authenticate signatures.
Bone-loss monitor: A mesh of piezoelectric nanowires could monitor mechanical strain indicative of bone loss. Dangerous stress to the bone would generate an electrical current in the wires; this would cause the device to beam an alert signal outside the body. The sensor could be implanted in a minimally invasive procedure.
Byran Christie Design
Freeing nanoelectronics from outside power sources opens up all sorts of possibilities. A nanopiezotronic hearing aid integrated with a nanogenerator might use an array of nanowires, each tuned to vibrate at a different frequency over a large range of sounds. The nanowires would convert sounds into electrical signals and process them so that they could be conveyed directly to neurons in the brain. Not only would such implanted neural prosthetics be more compact and more sensitive than traditional hearing aids, but they wouldn't need to be removed so their batteries could be changed. Nanopiezotronic sensors might also be used to detect mechanical stresses in an airplane engine; just a few nanowire components could monitor stress, process the information, and then communicate the relevant data to an airplane's computer. Whether in the body or in the air, nano devices would at last be set loose in the world all around us.
See the 10 Emerging Technologies of 2009.
Inexpensive chips harvest mechanical energy to charge batteries for wireless sensors.
A prototype sensor consumes just a few nanowatts and could someday take pressure readings from the eye.
Nanowire generators could one day lead to medical devices powered by the patient's own heart.
The applications sound interesting. Can you measure a sound pressure in a cell or in between a synapse?
I am interested in the potential of the nanowire, as an energy source. Specifically, can heat a fabric? Or can it be used to increase the tempurature of clothing during the cold winter months? You'll save on your home heating bills if it does.
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
Our list of the 50 most innovative companies, including the following:
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3 Comments
can Nanopiezoelectronics be applied to collect tidal power?
the idea of Nanopiezoelectronics sounds very good. if they can do that work on cheaper materials and make it easy to produce. we can blanket over the sea's surface to collect tidal power well. or can we make flags to generate electricity at coastal where wind is so strong?
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