Singapore researchers create equipment to produce electricity from the darkness

It sounds like a fiction movie, but the Shadow-Effect Energy Generator (SEG) model works perfectly.

New technology can help us change the way we generate renewable energy in our homes; Not only the solar panel on the roof, but also the SEG in the dark room.

SEG uses contrast between dark and light to generate electricity. The device consists of thin film strips made of gold, placed on a silicon sheet, both on a flexible sheet. Darkness is the 'enemy' of solar systems, but for SEG, this is the main source of fuel for generating electricity. According to the developer SEG, this technology is cheaper than solar cells, generating enough electricity to operate small mobile devices.

According to the researchers, the technology that uses darkness to produce energy is much cheaper than solar. They can be used to produce small amounts of electricity and use for mobile devices.

'Darkness is everywhere and is taken for granted. Usually in places where light is used to supply electricity, darkness is considered to be a device's performance-reducing factor , '' materials researcher Tan Swee Ching from NUS said.

The SEG device of the scientists comes from National University of Singapore.

' In voltaic or optoelectronic technologies, we use a stable light source to generate electricity, no one wants darkness to be present, because it reduces the productivity of devices that generate energy from light. In this study, we take advantage of the contrast of light caused by darkness , using it as an indirect source of energy. The contrast creates a change in voltage between the dark and the light, creating a current. This concept of gathering energy in the dark has never been before . '

It is the contrast between dark and light that allows the SEG device to work : when the SEG is in total darkness or standing in front of the light, it generates very small amounts of electricity or even produces little energy. come on; but in dark conditions - constantly changing lights - like clouds obscuring sunlight or the sun's movement itself creating dark / bright scenes, the device generates enough energy to operate an electronic clock.

The research team thinks this SEG system can be scaled up in the future. ' We also discovered that the best surface area for SEG to generate electricity is to put half of the surface in the dark, and the other half to the sun, ' said physicist Andrew Wee of the research team. specified.

Who would have thought that the ball would produce electricity?

The SEG can also become a sensor system: it can track the movement of an object across its surface through sensing shadows. Scientists believe that this ability can be applied to smarthome technology, or even become a self-contained, self-generating sensor for self-operation.

There is still much work to be done before SEG becomes the everyday technology. The next step, researchers want to reduce the cost of making SEG, by replacing the gold film layer with a cheaper material. 

The more ways we generate renewable energy, the easier it will be to create innovative devices when we no longer have to rely on fossil energy or the grid. The list of alternative sources of energy has just added a new name, that is 'darkness'. 

' With low, simple and stable manufacturing costs, our SEG system opens up a way to generate green energy to power electronics, and also becomes part of the sensor system. smart, can be installed for buildings ', research report posted on Energy & Environmental Power writes.