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'Drinking bird' toys upgraded to generate clean energy from water
Scientists have converted a children's "drinking bird" toy into a tool that generates usable amounts of electricity. The generator could one day be utilized to power a wide variety of small electronic devices, both indoors and outside.
Led by South China University of Technology's Prof. Hao Wu, a team of scientists recently took one of these toys and added two disc-shaped triboelectric nanogenerator modules to either side of it. In lab tests conducted at a room temperature of 24 ºC (75 ºF) and a relative humidity of 20% ± 5%, it was able to operate for 50 hours using just 100 mL (3.4 oz) of water. "The drinking bird triboelectric hydrovoltaic generator offers a unique means to power small electronics in ambient conditions, utilizing water as a readily available fuel source," said Wu.
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