Motion-sensitive "power skins" could generate power in space

Just in case you ever plan on heading up into space to see your soon-to-be-painted logo on the Y*N*I*S satellite up close and personal, you might be interested in this. Devised by researchers at a Cambridge-based venture, dubbed IntAct Labs, the motion-sensitive "power skin" could be used and worn by humans and inanimate objects alike in order to generate electricity, and the concept was derived from our very ears. After investigating how biological organisms are such "ultra-efficient generators of power," the crew homed in on a tiny protein called prestin, which can "convert electrical voltage into motion or produce electrical charges in response to mechanical stresses," and is actually found in the outer hair cells of the human ear. Ideally, networks of these proteins would be linked in order to form skins that could coat people or objects and generate energy from something as simple as walking around or being in the path of wind gusts, and if everything pans out, a prestin-powered research station could be set up on Mars without a manmade perpetual power source in tow.

[Thanks, Sparky]

[Scabies @ Feb 16th 2007 9:45AM]

"Hey touch my finger?"
"..ok"
*brzzz*
"ow!"

Actually, I was thinking about today's wind generators when reading this... Is this more efficient, or just more portable? Could we coat buildings in this kinetic-responsive material?

[John Stracke @ Feb 16th 2007 10:25AM]

I really don't understand the point here. There's no free lunch; these suits effectively convert muscle power into electricity. Muscle power in space is *expensive*; it means extra food and oxygen which have to be shipped up from Earth. Much cheaper to bring along solar cells and charge up batteries for people to carry.

[Alex @ Feb 16th 2007 10:36AM]

If built replacing, not adding to, the current space suit material, they would most likely require the same human energy to move, but create extra electrical energy for other things. It's all in how you design it.

I'd love to see highway dividers covered in this stuff. Actually, since it's kinetic energy, things could just be filled with it...like a battery! Though I have no idea how this stuff works, so maybe not.

[Brian @ Feb 16th 2007 12:02PM]

John, I think this takes advantage of motion and friction that would otherwise be lost as heat.

[John Stracke @ Feb 16th 2007 10:59AM]

"Actually, since it's kinetic energy, things could just be filled with it...like a battery!" -- No, no. It's not generating electricity from the kinetic energy of being moved around; it's generating electricity from the energy of mechanical stress. When you bend it, it generates electricity. That's why I doubt it's a net win; if it's doing that, it must be resisting the bend, so you're doing extra work.

It's *possible* that normal materials resist the bend even more, and just turn the stress energy into heat or something. Then you're not trying to get a free lunch; you're just improving your effiency.

[Jerry @ Feb 16th 2007 4:10PM]

That's cool and to know that this can work with wind gusts too to help power thing since places like Mars has a lot of wind and not a whole lot slowing it down. Not to mention Space with solar winds of 300 miles an hour plus. Sounds like some good potential here.

[sfeng1 @ Feb 16th 2007 8:01PM]

this is stupid. you could get a hundred-fold the energy if you equipped the station or suit with solar panels, and ten-fold the energy if you took advantage of the thermoelectric effect created from the difference in temperature between the human-suitable habitat (25 degrees C) and the near-freezing environment (whatever it may be), or the temperature of the human body and the surrounding. yeah. wink wink matrix.