Канадын өсвөр насны зохион бүтээгч Энн Макосински хүний гарын дулааныг цахилгаан эрчим хүч болгон хувиргах зарчмаар ажилладаг шинэлэг гар чийдэнг танилцуулжээ.
Энн Макосински нь термоэлектрик үүсгүүрийн технологийг ашиглан хүний гар болон орчны агаарын температурын зөрүүгээр цахилгаан гүйдэл үүсгэх аргыг боловсруулсан байна. Уг төхөөрөмж нь батерей шаардлагагүйгээр LED гэрлийг асаах чадалтай бөгөөд эрчим хүчний зарцуулалт багатай технологиудыг ашигласан нь уг төслийн гол амжилт болжээ. Зохион бүтээгчийн тэмдэглэснээр, энэхүү загвар нь одоогоор туршилтын шатанд байгаа бөгөөд цаашид үйлдвэрлэлийн зориулалтаар ашиглахын тулд электрон эд ангиудыг гадны нөлөөллөөс хамгаалах битүүмжлэл шаардлагатай юм.
Термоэлектрик үүсгүүрийн ажиллагаа нь температурын ялгаатай байдлаас шууд хамаардаг тул орчны агаарын температур хүний гарын дулаантай ойртох үед үүсгэх цахилгааны хэмжээ буурдаг байна. PubMed Central-д дурдсанаар, ийм төрлийн зүүж хэрэглэх төхөөрөмжүүд нь ихэвчлэн маш бага буюу микроваттын хэмжээний эрчим хүч ялгаруулдаг тул зөвхөн бага эрчим хүч шаарддаг төхөөрөмжүүдэд тохиромжтой байдаг.
Хэдийгээр хүний биеийн дулаанаар хангалттай их эрчим хүч гаргаж авах нь тодорхой хязгаарлалттай ч энэхүү технологи нь орчин үеийн зүүж хэрэглэх электрон төхөөрөмжүүдийн судалгаанд чухал байр суурь эзэлсээр байна. Эрдэмтэд одоогийн байдлаар уян хатан термоэлектрик үүсгүүрийг ашиглан жижиг мэдрэгч болон Bluetooth системүүдийг цэнэглэх судалгааг үргэлжлүүлж байна. Энэ чиглэлийн судалгаа нь эрчим хүчний менежментийн системийг сайжруулж, бага температурын зөрүүгээр ажиллах боломжийг эрэлхийлж байгаа юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
What if your own body could power a flashlight? Canadian teenager Ann Makosinski turned that idea into a working invention, creating a light that runs on the warmth of a human hand. No batteries, no charging, just a small temperature difference that generates enough electricity to light up an LED.
Makosinski used a process called thermoelectric generation, which turns heat into electricity. By using the temperature difference between someone’s hand and the surrounding air, she found a way to power a flashlight.
Her invention caught attention and more than a decade later, researchers are still exploring similar technology, especially for small wearable devices that need very little electricity to work.
Teen Creates a Flashlight Without Batteries
The secret behind Makosinski‘s flashlight is a simple idea: when two sides of a thermoelectric device are at different temperatures, the device can generate electricity. When someone holds the flashlight, their hand warms one side of its thermoelectric components, while the other side stays cooler because it’s exposed to the surrounding air.
That difference creates a small electrical current, which is used to power an LED light. According to NBC News, what made the invention interesting was the way the young girl took an existing technology and turned it into something people could actually use.
The choice of an LED was also part of what made the project work. LEDs need relatively little electricity to produce light, making them a good match for a device powered by body heat.
“The flashlight I have made is more of a prototype then a final product, but the components in my device are quite strong,” she wrote. She also explained that: “If it was to be used and manufactured, I would try to seal off the electronic components in some sort of casing so that it wouldn’t get heavily exposed to the elements (example water), and therefore last longer.”
Why Body Heat Isn’t Enough?
Turning body heat into electricity works, but there’s a limit to how much power it can provide. The biggest challenge is the temperature difference itself. If the surrounding air gets closer to the temperature of the person’s hand, the flashlight produces less electricity. Without enough of a difference, the system struggles to generate the power it needs.
As reported by the scientific research available through PubMed Central (PMC), wearable thermoelectric generators often produce electricity measured in microwatts. That’s a tiny amount of power, which explains why the technology is mainly suited to electronics with very low energy needs. The design also matters, since the device needs to maintain a flow of heat while making sure its electronic components don’t consume more electricity than they receive.
Makosinski worked around these limits by keeping the flashlight’s energy needs low. Rather than trying to power something demanding, she focused on one task: making an LED shine.
Wearables Powered by Body Heat
Still, the technology behind it has found a place in ongoing research into wearable electronics. Scientists have developed flexible thermoelectric generators that can capture body heat and turn it into electricity for small sensors and Bluetooth-related systems.
As reported by The Times of India, these newer devices combine thermoelectric technology with energy-management systems that help them operate using relatively small temperature differences. The challenge hasn’t disappeared, though. Body heat provides limited electrical power, and the amount available changes depending on the surrounding conditions and how the device is built.
That’s why researchers have focused on equipment that can do useful work without consuming much electricity. Makosinski‘s flashlight was much simpler than these newer systems, but the basic idea is the same: match the energy a device needs with the small amount that body heat can provide.
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