Raindrop-powered generator harvests electricity from the weather
Putting raindrops to work is an unusual idea
Derek Croucher / Alamy
A generator that harvests the pitter-patter of raindrops can produce enough electricity to power LED lights, though it is unclear how practical it might be.
Yonghui Zhang and colleagues at Dalian University of Technology in China created a device that they call a superhydrophobic magnetoelectric generator (MSMEG), which is essentially a soup tin-sized canister with a water-repelling film lid that is stuck to a coil of wire. When a raindrop hits the film, it deforms it momentarily, moving the coil relative to a magnet inside the canister and…
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