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End of the phone charger? Tiny 'wind turbines' could be used to power up electronic devices, study finds

Phone charger - Visual China Group
Phone charger - Visual China Group

The end of the phone charger may be on the horizon, as "tiny wind turbines" could be used to power up electronic devices, a study has found.

Scientists have discovered that a "nanogenerator", made of two plastic strips in a tube, can capture wind energy from light breezes, like those created by a brisk walk.

When the two plastic strips flutter in the wind, they become electrically charged through a process called the triboelectric effect - the same process which makes hair go static when a balloon is rubbed against it.

The micro-energy sources can harness a wind as weak as three and half miles an hour. However, it performs best in winds between nine and 18 miles per hour, when the plastic strips flutter in sync.

The "low-cost" device could one day become an endless power supply for electronic devices such as mobile phones. They may also replace commercial wind turbines, which do not work very well on land.

Dr Ya Yang, who authored the study at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "You can collect all the breeze in your everyday life. We once placed our nanogenerator on a person's arm, and a swinging arm's airflow was enough to generate power."

The UK has over 10,000 wind turbines, each can cost anywhere from £350,000 to £3 million pounds.

The researchers' second vision is to make a much bigger device, which can go where traditional turbines cannot.

Dr Yang said:  "We have designed a nanogenerator as small as a coin, but we want to make it even tinier and more compact with higher efficiency.

"Our intention isn't to replace existing wind power generation technology. Our goal is to solve the issues that the traditional wind turbines can't solve.

"I'm hoping to scale up the device to produce 1,000 watts, so it's competitive with traditional wind turbines.

"We can place these devices where traditional wind turbines can't reach. We can put it in the mountains or on the top of buildings for sustainable energy."

The findings were published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science.