Physicists Harness the Atomic Motion of Graphene to Generate Clean, Limitless Power

SciTechDaily.com | October 2, 2020 | University of Arkansas

Researchers build circuit that harnessed the atomic motion of graphene to generate an electrical current that could lead to a chip to replace batteries.

A team of University of Arkansas physicists has successfully developed a circuit capable of capturing graphene’s thermal motion and converting it into an electrical current.

“An energy-harvesting circuit based on graphene could be incorporated into a chip to provide clean, limitless, low-voltage power for small devices or sensors,” said Paul Thibado, professor of physics and lead researcher in the discovery.

The findings, published in the journal Physical Review E, are proof of a theory the physicists developed at the U of A three years ago that freestanding graphene — a single layer of carbon atoms — ripples and buckles in a way that holds promise for energy harvesting.

The idea of harvesting energy from graphene is controversial because it refutes physicist Richard Feynman’s well-known assertion that the thermal motion of atoms, known as Brownian motion, cannot do work. Thibado’s team found that at room temperature the thermal motion of graphene does in fact induce an alternating current (AC) in a circuit, an achievement thought to be impossible.

In other news:

Search for Lead Editor of Physical Review E

August 6, 2020

The American Physical Society is conducting an international search for a new Lead Editor of Physical Review E (PRE). The Lead Editor will provide intellectual leadership and vision for editorial standards and policies, direct the journal, and lead its editorial board and staff of editors.