Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
A plaster that can create electricity from sweat.
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-tattoo-biobatteries-power.htmlhttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Scientists-create-bio-batteries-which-can-be-charged-with-human-sweat/articleshow/40198217.cms
Sweat contains lactate, a byproduct of burning calories through physical exercise. (The less athletic you are, the more lactate.) One electrode is covered in an enzyme that steals an electron from the lactate in the sweat. The electron is then used to run an electrical device and is returned afterwards to the sweat by the second electrode.
Quote:
""The current produced is not that high, but we are working on enhancing it so that eventually we could power some small electronic devices," Jia says. "Right now, we can get a maximum of 70 microWatts per cm2, but our electrodes are only 2 by 3 millimeters in size and generate about 4 microWatts—a bit small to generate enough power to run a watch, for example, which requires at least 10 microWatts. So besides working to get higher power, we also need to leverage electronics to store the generated current and make it sufficient for these requirements." "