Scientists gather electricity from thin air

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that electricity can be drawn from the air with just about any material, as long as that material has microscopic holes. The method works by drawing electricity from water molecules (the smallest portion of a substance having the properties of the substance) in the air. “The air contains an enormous amount of electricity,” said Jun Yao, the study’s senior author. “Think of a cloud, which is nothing more than a mass of water droplets. Each of those droplets contains a charge, and when conditions are right, the cloud can produce a lightning bolt.” Yao’s team developed a device to harvest the electricity, using a thin film with holes smaller than 100 nanometers—less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair.…

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The Week Junior US (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 170

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