Here comes the rain again…
Those April showers may bring something in addition to May flowers. You’ve heard of solar power and wind power, but what about rain power?
It's good news for all the rain dogs out there... French scientists have created a machine that can capture kinetic energy carried by a rain drop as it plummets to the ground. According to their models, the machine can capture about 12 milliwatts from a large raindrop (5 mm diameter) that hits the machine.
From the physorg.com article:
To capture the raindrops’ mechanical energy, the scientists used a PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) polymer, a piezoelectric material that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. When a raindrop impacts the 25-micrometer-thick PVDF, the polymer starts to vibrate. Electrodes embedded in the PVDF are used to recover the electrical charges generated by the vibrations.
The researchers discuss their work in Smart Materials and Structures.
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