Scientists in the US have discovered a virus that may someday power your smartphone. (June 19)
[Location – Date:BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA/ MAY 17, 2012]
[Source:AP TELEVISION]
[VO:]
MOST VIRUSES MAKE YOU SICK, BUT NOW RESEARCHERS IN CALIFORNIA HAVE DISCOVERED ONE THAT YOU MAY NOT BE SO QUICK TO AVOID.
THIS VIRUS FILM CONNECTED TO TWO ELECTRODES MIGHT SOMEDAY POWER YOUR SMART PHONE.
[Location – Date:BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA/MAY 17, 2012]
[SOT/:Dr. Seung-Wuk Lee/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]
“So this is the first virus-based piezoelectric nanogenerator. So therefore it is composed of virus thin films and two electrodes that are interconnected with the top and the bottom, and then connected with LCD panel. So therefore if we push the device, whenever we apply the force and then release it, it turns on and off the electricity. So therefore you can see number one displayed on the LCD panel.”
SCIENTISTS TESTED A VIRUS THAT ONLY INFECTS OTHER BACTERIA AND POSES NO HARM TO HUMANS OR ANIMALS…AND FOUND IT’S CAPABLE OF GENERATING A CHARGE WHEN PRESSED. THEN THEY GENETICALLY ENGINEERED IT TO INCREASE ITS VOLTAGE. EACH VIRUS CAN QUICKLY REPLICATE ITSELF FOR A NEVER-ENDING SUPPLY.
[SOT/:Dr. Seung-Wuk Lee/ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]
“In the near future we believe that we can develop personal electric generators, which is all our mechanical movement in our daily life, such as walking, jogging and typing, that kind of mechanical movement can be picked up by these thin film devices and converted to electric generators. So therefore imagine that we installed this thin film on our shoes and then we plugged into the iPhone or iPod and then we can change our phone and iPhone music.”
SCIENTISTS SAY THE GENERATOR IS BIOCOMPATIBLE AND CAN PICK UP HUMAN HEARTBEATS AS AN ENERGY SOURCE, THEN CONVERT IT TO ELECTRICAL ENERGY THAT COULD BE USED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO BATTERIES IN PACEMAKERS.
[SOT/:Dr. Byung Yang Lee/ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]
“So what we have shown now is mainly that the viruses are piezoelectric so the power output is still quite low and it’s not enough to drive a lot of large-scale microelectronic devices.
THE DYING MOBILE PHONE BATTERY MAY SOON BE A THING OF THE PAST – WITH GENERATORS LIKE THESE, THE MOVEMENT OF OUR OWN BODIES MAY BECOME OUR MOST DEPENDABLE POWER SOURCE.
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