Chapter twenty four the design of Interactive meta materials
Hawkes and Katko’s device was designed to harvest the energy from microwaves.
They
claim their five-cell meta material can convert these waves into 7.3 volts with
an efficiency of 36.8 per cent. The device uses so-called meta materials that
can capture energy waves and convert them into an electric current. The amount
of voltage the device creates is also said to be more powerful than that
produced through current USB chargers. Students from Duke University have
created a device, pictured, that converts microwaves into an electric current.
Having successfully tested their energy harvester, the researchers claim it
could be modified, and one day, fitted to phones to charge batteries using
Wi-Fi signals. Meta materials are engineering structures capable of harvesting
various forms of wave energy. By arranging certain materials, including copper
and fibreglass but also gold, in a particular shape and pattern, the properties
of those materials can combine to become an almost ‘super’ material. Duke
University's David Smith explained: ‘Imagine a fabric woven of thread. In this
fabric, light is only allowed to flow over the threads. Forget wireless or
portable phone chargers, a pair of engineering students have created a device
that could charge a phone’s battery using Wi-Fi.
They
claim their five-cell meta material can convert these waves into 7.3 volts with
an efficiency of 36.8 per cent. The device uses so-called meta materials that
can capture energy waves and convert them into an electric current. The amount
of voltage the device creates is also said to be more powerful than that
produced through current USB chargers. Students from Duke University have
created a device, pictured, that converts microwaves into an electric current.
Having successfully tested their energy harvester, the researchers claim it
could be modified, and one day, fitted to phones to charge batteries using
Wi-Fi signals. Meta materials are engineering structures capable of harvesting
various forms of wave energy. By arranging certain materials, including copper
and fibreglass but also gold, in a particular shape and pattern, the properties
of those materials can combine to become an almost ‘super’ material. Duke
University's David Smith explained: ‘Imagine a fabric woven of thread. In this
fabric, light is only allowed to flow over the threads. Forget wireless or
portable phone chargers, a pair of engineering students have created a device
that could charge a phone’s battery using Wi-Fi.
‘If you punch a
hole in the fabric with a pin, light will go around the hole and resume its
original course of travel, since light can only travel over the thread. ‘ He
continued that because light waves can only travel in this way, the hole is
practically ‘invisible’. Meta material arrays work in the same way to control
how waves move around the structure, making it possible to capture and harvest
them, and their energy.
It was created by Allen Hawkes and Alexander
Katko from the help from professor of electrical and computer engineering,
Steven Cummer. The team used five fibreglass and copper energy conductors wired
together on a circuit board to create what's called a meta material array. The
team used five fibreglass and copper energy conductors wired together on a
circuit board, pictured, to create a meta material array. By arranging certain
materials, including copper and fibreglass but also gold, in a particular shape
and pattern, this array can control how waves behave Meta materials are
engineering structures capable of harvesting various forms of wave energy.By
arranging certain materials, including copper and fibreglass but also gold, in
a particular shape and pattern, the properties of those materials can combine
to become an almost ‘super conductive’ material. The end of the charger as Wi-Fi powered
phones could one day make plug-in powering obsolete. Engineering students have created a device
that captures wave signals. The energy from these waves are then converted to
an electric current. Students claim the voltage produced is higher than in
USB chargers. The invention could one day be used to charge phones using Wi-Fi
signals.
It was created by Allen Hawkes and Alexander
Katko from the help from professor of electrical and computer engineering,
Steven Cummer. The team used five fibreglass and copper energy conductors wired
together on a circuit board to create what's called a meta material array. The
team used five fibreglass and copper energy conductors wired together on a
circuit board, pictured, to create a meta material array. By arranging certain
materials, including copper and fibreglass but also gold, in a particular shape
and pattern, this array can control how waves behave Meta materials are
engineering structures capable of harvesting various forms of wave energy.By
arranging certain materials, including copper and fibreglass but also gold, in
a particular shape and pattern, the properties of those materials can combine
to become an almost ‘super conductive’ material. The end of the charger as Wi-Fi powered
phones could one day make plug-in powering obsolete. Engineering students have created a device
that captures wave signals. The energy from these waves are then converted to
an electric current. Students claim the voltage produced is higher than in
USB chargers. The invention could one day be used to charge phones using Wi-Fi
signals.
Duke University's
David Smith said ‘Imagine a fabric woven of thread. In this fabric, light is
only allowed to flow over the threads.‘If you punch a hole in the fabric with a
pin, light will go around the hole and resume its original course of travel,
since light can only travel over the thread.
‘He continued that because light
waves can only travel in this way, the hole is practically ‘invisible’. Meta material
arrays work in the same way to control how waves move around the structure,
making it possible to capture and harvest them, and their energy. By
comparison, USB chargers for phones and other small devices provide around 5
volts.The five-cell meta material converts waves into 7.3 volts of electricity.
By comparison, USB chargers, pictured, provide around 5 volts Having
successfully tested their energy harvester with microwaves, the researchers
claim it could be used to harvest the signal from other sources such as
satellite signals, sound waves or Wi-Fi signals.‘It’s possible to use this
design for a lot of different frequencies and types of energy, including
vibration and sound energy harvesting’ said Katko. Until now, a lot of work
with meta materials has been theoretical. We are showing that with a little work,
these materials can be useful for consumer applications. ’Katko continued that
a meta material coating could also be applied to the ceiling of a room and used
to redirect lost or dropped Wi-Fi signals. The researchers added that a similar
device could one day be fitted to phones and other small electronic devices. This
could make it possible to charge phones by connecting it to a Wi-Fi network,
without the need for a charger or power point. Space cruising work
demonstrates a simple and inexpensive approach to electromagnetic power
harvesting,’ said Cummer. ‘The beauty of the design is that the basic
building blocks are self-contained and additive. One can simply assemble more
blocks to increase the scavenged power.’
‘He continued that because light
waves can only travel in this way, the hole is practically ‘invisible’. Meta material
arrays work in the same way to control how waves move around the structure,
making it possible to capture and harvest them, and their energy. By
comparison, USB chargers for phones and other small devices provide around 5
volts.The five-cell meta material converts waves into 7.3 volts of electricity.
By comparison, USB chargers, pictured, provide around 5 volts Having
successfully tested their energy harvester with microwaves, the researchers
claim it could be used to harvest the signal from other sources such as
satellite signals, sound waves or Wi-Fi signals.‘It’s possible to use this
design for a lot of different frequencies and types of energy, including
vibration and sound energy harvesting’ said Katko. Until now, a lot of work
with meta materials has been theoretical. We are showing that with a little work,
these materials can be useful for consumer applications. ’Katko continued that
a meta material coating could also be applied to the ceiling of a room and used
to redirect lost or dropped Wi-Fi signals. The researchers added that a similar
device could one day be fitted to phones and other small electronic devices. This
could make it possible to charge phones by connecting it to a Wi-Fi network,
without the need for a charger or power point. Space cruising work
demonstrates a simple and inexpensive approach to electromagnetic power
harvesting,’ said Cummer. ‘The beauty of the design is that the basic
building blocks are self-contained and additive. One can simply assemble more
blocks to increase the scavenged power.’
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