Cell Phones Powered by Your Voice!

This could be one of the best ways to charge your phone, just by talking to your friends and using it more often! Scientists in Korea are claiming to be able to generate electricity from sound and speech and researchers say this invention could make its way into your cell phones. The scientists were able to use calamine lotion and turn it into a tiny material that converts sound waves into electricity.

These could be used not just in cell phones but also could be used to generate electricity from noise collected from traffic as well. Young Jun Pak and San-Woo Kim, authors of an article in the journal Advanced Materials said, “Just as speakers transform electric signals into sound, the opposite process of turning sound into a source of electrical power is possible. Sound power can be used for various novel applications including mobile phones that can be charged during conversations and sound-insulating walls near highways that generate electricity from the sound of passing vehicles.”

The materials that was used to capture sound energies are called piezoelectrics. When piezoelectric material is bent it turns that mechanical energy into electricity. The scientists noted that we come across many materials that are piezoelectric such as cane sugar, quartz and even dried bone creates an electric charge when stressed.

The new devices are not yet available for consumer purchase but scientists are working on devices that would generate power as a person walks, runs and in this case talks. The scientists used zinc oxide which is the main ingredient in calamine lotion which fed into a field of nanowires connected across. When blasted with sound waves, it produced a mild electrical current of about 50 millivolts. With the average cell phone requiring a few volts to operate, it will be some time before we get there.

Or you may just have yell loud enough on every call you get!