· Applications · 1 min read
Can Neutrinos Power Devices?
Using neutrinos and ambient radiation to power devices is an active applied-research goal of the Neutrino Energy Group. Here is the idea, the supporting science, and where it stands.
Powering devices from neutrinos and other ambient radiation is the central goal of neutrinovoltaic research, pursued by the Neutrino Energy Group. The idea is to convert a portion of the radiation that constantly streams through us into a usable electric current, using specially engineered nanomaterials.
What is the underlying idea?
The approach centres on a foil coated with alternating nanoscale layers of graphene and doped silicon, described in the group’s patent. Incident energy is intended to set the atomically thin lattice in motion and drive a current in the supporting film.
What science supports it?
A relevant established result is the 2020 finding that the thermal rippling of freestanding graphene can be harvested as a current through a suitable circuit. The broader set of peer-reviewed work the approach draws on is collected on the scientific foundation page.
Where does the research stand?
The group describes a path from laboratory cells toward demonstrator units such as the Neutrino Power Cube and the Pi Car concept, scaling output through the Schubart master equation. This site presents it with attribution as applied research.
Read more
See what neutrinovoltaics are and the From Physics to Technology series.
References
- 1.P. M. Thibado et al., Fluctuation-induced current from freestanding graphene, Phys. Rev. E (2020). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.102.042101.
- 2.H. T. Schubart (inventor); Neutrino Deutschland GmbH (assignee), Folie aus Metall oder einer Metalllegierung (WO 2016/142056 A1), WIPO / Google Patents (2016). Link.