Students develop device that converts microwaves into electricity

Two students at Duke University, in the United States, have developed a device that is capable of collecting electromagnetic signals of other devices, in this case the microwaves, and convert them into electricity.

In this way, this device, built from Metamaterials-materials that are produced artificially, endowed with physical properties that are not normally found in nature â€" can capture the "waste" of other electromagnetic devices, such as satellites or the Wi-Fi devices, and turning them into electricity.

The team â€" Allen Hawkes and Alexander Katko-, which is supervised by the professor and researcher of electrical engineering and computing, Steven Cummer, says that the circuito11 created is capable of converting the electromagnetic radiation in 7.3 volts of electricity. Such capacity is comparable to USB chargers for mobile devices that provide about five volts of power.

"We've been looking for more energy-efficient as possible," says Hawkes, quoted by Gizmag, revealing that so far achieved an efficiency of 37%, which is comparable to the solar panels.

In addition to the microwave, the researchers claim that the device of Metamaterials can be enhanced to capture energy from another range of frequencies, as the sound waves and vibrations.

"Until now, much of the work done with Metamaterials have been theoretical," says Katko. "We are showing that, with a little work, these materials may be useful for consumer applications," he adds.

Students believe that, with some modifications, the device can be used on mobile devices, to transform the microwave energy wasted. Place the appliance on the roofs of the dwellings is another possible applications, since that could turn the microwave sent to Earth by satellites that are in orbit.

If You Enjoyed This, Take 5 Seconds To Share It

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Delicious
• LinkedIn
• Reddit
• Technorati