May_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D

M A T E R I A L S

P R O C E S S E S |

M A Y

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SMART GLASS COULD

POWER CELL PHONES

Researchers at the Georgia Insti-

tute of Technology, Atlanta, produced

a color-changing glass that creates

enough electrical charge to power a

smartphone. The team developed sev-

eral types of smart glass by subjecting

materials to rain and wind. Their objec-

tive was to find a way to coat windows

to facilitate triboelectrics, the process

of harnessing energy in static electricity

that happens when twomaterials meet.

Two layers of solution achieved the de-

sired effect: One was used to harness

the energy found in raindrops while the

other was to do the same for wind. Re-

searchers created nanosized generators

for the first layer that use the positive

charge in raindrops. This occurs when

the water droplets rub against air as

they fall to the earth and make contact

with the windshield of a car.

The second layer involves sand-

wiching two charged plastic sheets

Georgia Tech researchers discovered a new type of color-changing glass that harnesses static

charges fromwind and raindrops. The electricity produced could power mobile devices.

Courtesy of Jenny Downing/Flickr.

with small springs. As the car acceler-

ates, wind pressure builds up, pushing

the sheets against each other. This pro-

duces the electric current needed for

the experiment. By combining the two

layers, researchers were able to create

a type of glass that is initially clear but

then becomes blue in tint. The process

also produces around 130 mW of elec-

tricity per square meter of the glass,

enough to power a smartphone battery.