It sounds like something from sci-fi, but now a new research breakthrough could turn this into a very real prospect. Just imagine what harnessing electricity from air could do for our energy needs. According to a report presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), scientists are gradually making advances in this area of cutting edge science.
Study leader Fernando Galembeck says,
“Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future. Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect.”
Scientists have been studying the science and secrets behind one of nature’s wonders – lightning storms. The clue to this phenomenon could go a long way in developing technologies that could mimic nature’s wrath that on a negative note causes many deaths worldwide.
Galembeck noted,
“If we know how electricity builds up and spreads in the atmosphere, we can also prevent death and damage caused by lightning strikes.”
Since earlier centuries theories have been formulated. Workers have noted that sparks of static electricity formed as steam escaped from boilers. The steam is capable of giving electric shocks to anyone who touches it. New evidence suggests that water in the atmosphere really does pick up an electrical charge.
Galembeck and colleagues used tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate, both common airborne substances. In their experiments, silica became negatively charged in the presence of high humidity and aluminum phosphate became more positively charged. High humidity stands for high levels of water vapor in the air.
Galembeck explained,
“This was clear evidence that water in the atmosphere can accumulate electrical charges and transfer them to other materials it comes into contact with. We are calling this ‘hygroelectricity,’ meaning ‘humidity electricity’.”
One day, it may be possible to develop ‘collectors’ which can harness this electricity from humid air, just as solar panels make energy from the sun. Ambushing this electricity from the air would also prevent deadly lightning strikes as the air would be devoid of any charged particles.
And here we thought that there aren’t alternative sources of energy left to be discovered.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
