Slime that generates electricity when compressed
Scientists at the University of Guelph invent a slime-like material that generates electricity when squeezed or compressed. The team has developed a prototype made of 90 percent water, oleic acid, which is found in olive oil, as well as amino acids. Because of these natural ingredients, the electricity-generating slime of the scientists is safe to use on human skin. It has numerous, multipurpose uses according to the scientists.
They believe that if the users install the slime in household flooring, it could produce green electricity when people walk on it because it gets squeezed. It could also become the basis for a synthetic skin to train medical robots on how much pressure they can use when they check on the pulse of a patient. So far, the scientists have developed the prototype of the slime-like material that can generate electricity.
all images courtesy of the researchers, University of Guelph, and Canadian Light Source, unless stated otherwise
University of Guelph scientists develop first prototype
The University of Guelph scientists conduct their research at the Canadian Light Source, a research facility at the University of Saskatchewan. They’ve discovered that slime can form structures at a microscopic level. This means the sludge can arrange itself and form layers like a lasagna or take on a hexagonal form. ‘The synchrotron is like a super-microscope. It allowed us to see that if you apply an electric field, you can change the crystalline structure of this material,’ says Dr. Erica Pensini, the lead researcher and an associate professor at the University of Guelph.
The scientists also explain in the study how the slime that generates electricity can be of use to the medical fields and other scientists. ‘Imagine you have the material take an initial structure that contains a pharmaceutical substance, and then, when an electric field is applied to it, the structure changes to release the medicine,’ adds Dr. Erica Pensini. The material can be applied to bandages. In this case, it could heal open wounds faster since electric fields attract healing cells to an open wound. More generated electricity could then mean faster healing. So far, the scientists have developed the prototype of the slime that generates electricity. No news yet on its broader release.
the team has developed a prototype made of 90 percent water, oleic acid as well as amino acids
the scientists have discovered that slime can form structures at a microscopic level
the sludge can form layers like a lasagna or take on a hexagonal form
Dr. Erica Pensini explains the scientists’ slime that generates electricity
users could install the slime in household flooring for green energy | photo by cottonbro studio, via Pexels
