Piezoelectric Device Harvests Wasted Heat Energy From Tech. When using devices such as laptops and phones, a certain amount of energy is always wasted via heat. However, researcher Dr. Long Que at Louisiana Tech University has made a green tech breakthrough by creating a tool that can harvest energy from heat wasted by electronic gadgets. His piezoelectric device could potentially revolutionize the energy efficiency of our current gadgets.
Image © qthrul Que’s device, called a CNF-PZT Cantilever, consists of a “carbon nanotube film on a cantilever base of piezoelectric material.” When the carbon nanotube film absorbs thermal energy, such as heat and light from other devices, it forces the cantilever to bend. The cyclical bending then generates an electric current in the piezoelectric material. According to a press release, “the device could generate enough power to adequately operate some low-power microsensors and integrated sensors. . + Louisiana Tech University Via Treehugger Lead photo © William Hook. Science on Stage - Renewable Energy - The Gräzel Cell. Charge cycle. A charge cycle is the process of charging a rechargeable battery and discharging it as required into a load.
The term is typically used to specify a battery's expected life, as the number of charge cycles affects life more than the mere passage of time. Discharging the battery fully before recharging may be called "deep discharge"; partially discharging then recharging may be called "shallow discharge". In general, number of cycles for a rechargeable battery indicates how many times it can undergo the process of complete charging and discharging until failure or it starting to lose capacity.[1][2][3][4] Apple Inc. clarify that a charge cycle means using all the battery's capacity, but not necessarily by full charge and discharge; e.g., using half the charge of a fully charged battery, charging it, and then using the same amount of charge again count as a single charge cycle.[5] See also[edit] Deep cycle battery References[edit]
Battery Guide -- Battery types, pros & cons, comparisons, tips & tricks. Capacitors. Polarised (> 1µF) | Unpolarised (< 1µF) | Real Values | Variable & trimmers Also see: Capacitance and Uses of Capacitors Function Capacitors store electric charge. They are used with resistors in timing circuits because it takes time for a capacitor to fill with charge. They are used to smooth varying DC supplies by acting as a reservoir of charge. They are also used in filter circuits because capacitors easily pass AC (changing) signals but they block DC (constant) signals. Capacitance This is a measure of a capacitor's ability to store charge. Three prefixes (multipliers) are used, µ (micro), n (nano) and p (pico): µ means 10-6 (millionth), so 1000000µF = 1F n means 10-9 (thousand-millionth), so 1000nF = 1µF p means 10-12 (million-millionth), so 1000pF = 1nF Capacitor values can be very difficult to find because there are many types of capacitor with different labelling systems!
There are many types of capacitor but they can be split into two groups, polarised and unpolarised. Examples: SDP/SI Plastic Power Transmission Components. Most plastic components are formed through injection molding, which involves injecting liquified plastic into a mold where it is cooled, hardened and then ejected. People have been making plastic parts since the late 19th century, shortly after the invention of man-made commercial plastics.
The process has been refined over the years, resulting in producing better engineered parts. Most products today contain some form of plastic or plastic married to metals, whether they are consumer, industrial or medical devices. The number of new plastics and fillers has expanded drastically to fit just about any application. The popularity of plastics is driven not only by their ability to be customized, but by the reduced upfront and production costs due to the advent of 3D computer modeling, CNC machining, rapid prototyping and other technological advances. Once the mold is built and the parts are qualified, the molding machines are often run unattended.