Could water splashing off a solid surface one day power our cities? Well not anytime soon, but there’s still waves of excitement over a new source of water-generated electricity that recently trickled in a lab at the University of Alberta in Canada. According to the Canadian Press Agency, two engineering professors were able to light a small bulb by simply squeezing a syringe of ordinary tap water through a glass filter of microscopic-sized holes. The idea came from the realization that when water comes into contact with certain solids like glass or stone, a microscopic electric charge takes place on the surface. So while this aquatic idea is still in its infancy, it could one day lead to a gushing fountain of real world applications.
Getting a charge out of water
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|2005-10-17T00:00:00-04:00October 17th, 2005|Comments Off on Getting a charge out of water