Tiny solar Cells in your Clothes could Charge your smartphone and Smartwatch!
Today the number of gadgets each individual has is a lot, to say the least and all those gadgets need to be charged too. Often the charging bit when it comes to gadgets becomes the tedious part. With people looking out for charging areas when out or running on low battery in areas where you won’t be able to get your device charged. So, to put an end to such problems, researchers at Nottingham Trent University have come up with a possible solution. This possible solution happens to be in the form of tiny solar cells that are incorporated into one’s clothes.These so called tiny solar cells are the size of fleas, which are embedded into your clothes and generates electricity as you move about in town. They are encapsulated in resin that allows you to wash your clothes and do other normal stuff in them without damaging the tiny solar cells.
The Tiny Solar Cells:
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have developed tiny solar cells packed into resin. These tiny solar cells are woven into yarn which is then knitted into textiles.
The tech has been tested by researchers and found to have a very high success rate. These tiny solar cells were able to charge a smart phone and a Fitbit watch.
Dimensions of these Tiny Solar Cells:
These tiny solar cells are as small as a size of a flea. They cannot be felt by the wearer and does not inhibit any movement when worn. To get to the specifications, these tiny solar cells measure 3 millimeters in length and 1.5 millimeters in width which makes them almost invisible to the naked eye.
The garments used to hold such solar cells are same for all intents and purposes as to any other normal garment worn.
The Big Help such Tiny Solar Cells Provide:
These tiny solar cells will provide a big help when it comes to looking for sockets from which to charge gadgets. Besides this they will also help in reducing carbon emissions and the huge demand that charging gadgets have on an electric grids.
As the number of people using gadgets increases as well as the number of gadgets in the market place too, there is a lot of pressure put on electric grids when it comes to charging these devices.
Power Generated by these Tiny Solar Cells:
Up to 200 tiny solar cells can give a charge of 2.5 to 10 volts and anywhere up to 80 miliwatts in power. 200 solar cells would span up to 5cm by 5cm in dimensions. With 2,000 solar cells embedded into a fabric, researchers were able to demonstrate charging of a smartphone.
This could open up a lot of doorways of opportunity in charging devices, wearable tech and the way solar cells are embedded into all this. Not only will this novel way help in charging devices in an easier manner but will also help in reducing an individual’s carbon footprint as well.
