好消息，科學(xué)家們制造了一種可以“在稀薄空氣中”發(fā)電的裝置

好消息，科學(xué)家們制造了一種可以“在稀薄空氣中”發(fā)電的裝置

They found it buried in the muddy shores of the Potomac River more than three decades ago: a strange "sediment organism" that could do things nobody had ever seen before in bacteria.

30多年前，在波托馬克河泥濘的岸邊發(fā)現(xiàn)一種奇怪的“沉積物生物”，它能做以前沒人在細(xì)菌中見過的事情。

This unusual microbe, belonging to the Geobacter genus, was first noted for its ability to produce magnetite in the absence of oxygen, but with time scientists found it could make other things too, like bacterial nanowires that conduct electricity.

這種不尋常的微生物屬于地球細(xì)菌屬，最初因其在無氧條件下產(chǎn)生磁鐵礦的能力而聞名，但隨著時(shí)間的推移，科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)它也可以制造其他東西，例如導(dǎo)電的細(xì)菌納米線。

For years, researchers have been trying to figure out ways to usefully exploit that natural gift, and this year they might have hit pay-dirt with a device they're calling the Air-gen. According to the team, their device can create electricity out of… well, almost nothing.

多年來，研究人員一直在試圖找到有效利用這種天賜的方法，今年他們可能已經(jīng)用一種叫做“Air-gen”的設(shè)備賺了一筆。據(jù)研究小組稱，他們的設(shè)備可以在幾乎沒有任何東西的情況下發(fā)電。

We are literally making electricity out of thin air, said electrical engineer Jun Yao from the University of Massachusetts Amherst back in February. "The Air-gen generates clean energy 24/7."

“我們實(shí)際上是在無中生有地發(fā)電，”麻省大學(xué)阿姆赫斯特分校(University of Massachusetts Amherst)的電氣工程師姚俊今年2月說。“Air-gen可以全天候提供清潔能源。”

The claim may sound like an overstatement, but a recent study by Yao and his team describes how the air-powered generator can indeed create electricity with nothing but the presence of air around it. It's all thanks to the electrically conductive protein nanowires produced by Geobacter (G. sulfurreducens, in this instance).

這種說法聽起來可能有點(diǎn)言過其實(shí)，但姚和他的團(tuán)隊(duì)最近的一項(xiàng)研究描述了這種Air-gen是如何在周圍只有空氣的情況下發(fā)電的。這全都?xì)w功于Geobacter生產(chǎn)的導(dǎo)電蛋白質(zhì)納米線(在本例中為G. sulphreducens)。

The Air-gen consists of a thin film of the protein nanowires measuring just 7 micrometres thick, positioned between two electrodes, but also exposed to the air.

Air-gen由僅7微米厚的蛋白質(zhì)納米線薄膜組成，位于兩個(gè)電極之間，但也暴露在空氣中。

Because of that exposure, the nanowire film is able to adsorb water vapour that exists in the atmosphere, enabling the device to generate a continuous electrical current conducted between the two electrodes.

由于該暴露，納米線膜能夠吸收大氣中存在的水蒸氣，從而使該裝置能夠產(chǎn)生在兩個(gè)電極之間傳導(dǎo)的連續(xù)電流。

The team said the charge is likely created by a moisture gradient that creates a diffusion of protons in the nanowire material.

研究小組說，電荷可能是由納米線材料中產(chǎn)生的質(zhì)子擴(kuò)散的水分梯度造成的。

This charge diffusion is expected to induce a counterbalancing electrical field or potential analogous to the resting membrane potential in biological systems, the authors explained in their study.

作者在他們的研究中解釋說:“這種電荷擴(kuò)散預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)產(chǎn)生一種平衡電場(chǎng)或電位，類似于生物系統(tǒng)中的靜息膜電位。”

A maintained moisture gradient, which is fundamentally different to anything seen in previous systems, explains the continuous voltage output from our nanowire device.

“維持水分梯度，這與以前的系統(tǒng)所見的根本不同，這說明了我們納米線器件的連續(xù)電壓輸出。”

The discovery was made almost by accident, when Yao noticed devices he was experimenting with were conducting electricity seemingly all by themselves.

這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)幾乎是偶然的，當(dāng)時(shí)姚注意到他正在試驗(yàn)的設(shè)備似乎都是自己導(dǎo)電的。

Previous research has demonstrated hydrovoltaic power generation using other kinds of nanomaterials – such as graphene – but those attempts have largely produced only short bursts of electricity, lasting perhaps only seconds.

之前的研究已經(jīng)證明了利用其他種類的納米材料——如石墨烯——來產(chǎn)生水伏打電，但這些嘗試基本上只產(chǎn)生了短暫的電爆發(fā)，可能只持續(xù)幾秒鐘。

By contrast, the Air-gen produces a sustained voltage of around 0.5 volts, with a current density of about 17 microamperes per square centimetre.

相比之下，Air-gen產(chǎn)生的持續(xù)電壓約為0.5伏特，電流密度約為每平方厘米17微安。

That's not much energy, but the team said that connecting multiple devices could generate enough power to charge small devices like smartphones and other personal electronics – all with no waste, and using nothing but ambient humidity (even in regions as dry as the Sahara Desert).

這個(gè)能量并不多，但研究小組表示，連接多個(gè)設(shè)備可以產(chǎn)生足夠的能量為小型設(shè)備充電，比如智能手機(jī)和其他個(gè)人電子產(chǎn)品——所有這些都不浪費(fèi)，而且只使用環(huán)境濕度(即使在像撒哈拉沙漠這樣干燥的地區(qū))。

The findings are reported in Nature.

研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在《自然》雜志上。