How the Water Power Plant Works From Dewdrop

Last year's MIT scientists discovered a hydroelectric plant from droplets of water that spontaneously jumps off the Superhydrophobic surface during condensation, the leap yielding a considerable electric energy charge. Currently the same team has proven that the leap process generates a small amount of electrical energy that can be used on the power of electronic devices.

Nenad Miljkovic, Evelyn Wang, and two other scientists, published the results of this study in the journal Applied Physics Letters. The analytical approach causes the device to fill mobile phones or other electronics by using air humidity, and other benefits of hydroelectric systems also generate clean water.

Hydropower, Superhydrophobic

The superhydrophobic surface is very difficult to get wet, also called Lotus plant lotus effect. In chemistry, hydrophobic is formed from water, the physical properties of molecules (hydrophobic) that seem to reject the mass of water, or no repulsive force is involved but lack of attraction. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be non-polar, neutral molecules and non-polar solvents. Water hydrophobic molecules often cluster into micelles, where water on a hydrophobic surface will show a high angle of contact.

electrical energy Water Dew, Hydrophob

Examples of hydrophobic molecules include alkanes, oils, fats, and oily substances. Hydrophobic is also used to remove oil from water, seen in the process of managing oil spills and chemical separation processes to remove non-polar substances from polar compounds. Devices made based on superhydrophobic can be very simple, consisting of a series of interleaved flat metal plates. The initial test involves a copper plate, and any other conductive metal including aluminum which costs less.

In the initial test on metal plates, the amount of hydroelectric energy generated produced is smaller, ranging from 15 picowatts or trillion watt per square centimeter. According to Miljkovic, this process can easily be set to achieve at least 1 microvat or one millionth of a watt per square centimeter. The output is proportional to other proposed power generation systems in the calculation of waste heat harvesting, vibration or other ambient energy sources. At the same time is an adequate amount of useful power in electronic devices in some remote locations.