Clever Canadians discover AQUATRICITY!

astro · October 21, 2003, 3:03am

Powering small devices with water -
Small electric charge could be used in calculators, phones

THE TECHNOLOGY is based on the interaction between liquids and solids on a very small scale. The surface of the solid receives a small charge that attracts opposite-charged ions in the liquid and repels like-charged ions. The process creates an electric double layer (EDL)—a thin liquid layer with a net charge that ranges from a thickness of several nanometers to a few micrometers.
Professors Daniel Kwok and Larry Kostiuk from the University of Alberta created channels similar in size to the EDL and forced liquid through the channels, resulting in a movement of net charges downstream. Because the ions that are repelled by the surface move faster than the ions that are attracted to the surface, a current is generated, which leads to a voltage difference across the ends of the channel if the solid is a nonconducting material

Wearia · October 21, 2003, 4:21am

Hopefully they’ll find some way to apply it easily, and we’ll get water batteries in a few years.
And to think, I passed up a tour of the U of A science facilites a few months ago.

SlickRoenick · October 21, 2003, 4:46am

Does this mean the calculator, phones need to have water in them to function? How much water would be required to supply the voltage for a phone?

jovan · October 21, 2003, 11:06am

At this stage, I don’t this anybody knows.

The beeb has a slightly longer story:

Doctor_Jackson · October 21, 2003, 3:16pm

“Wow! I didn’t know you had a lake on your property!”
“I don’t. That’s my cell phone battery.”

lieu · October 21, 2003, 4:21pm

Wow, I hope this doesn’t drive up the price of urine.

Johnny_Bravo · October 21, 2003, 4:38pm

Time to start hoarding!