THE POWER IN THE AIR

Electricity collected from the air could become the newest alternative energy source
August 25, 2010 (EurekAlert)

"Imagine devices that capture electricity from the air ― much like solar cells capture sunlight ― and using them to light a house or recharge an electric car. Imagine using similar panels on the rooftops of buildings to prevent lightning before it forms…[Research into these possibilities, led by Fernando Galembeck, Ph.D., of the University of Campinas in Brazil,] may help explain a 200-year-old scientific riddle about how electricity is produced and discharged in the atmosphere…

"[The power in] lightning causes thousands of deaths and injuries worldwide and millions of dollars in property damage…The notion of harnessing the power of electricity formed naturally has tantalized scientists for centuries. They noticed that sparks of static electricity formed as steam escaped from boilers. Workers who touched the steam even got painful electrical shocks…Famed inventor Nikola Tesla…dreamed of capturing and using electricity from the air…But until now, scientists lacked adequate knowledge about the processes involved in formation and release of electricity from water in the atmosphere…"

From here...(click to enlarge)

"Scientists once believed that water droplets in the atmosphere were electrically neutral, and remained so even after coming into contact with the electrical charges on dust particles and droplets of other liquids. But new evidence suggested that water in the atmosphere really does pick up an electrical charge.

"Galembeck and colleagues confirmed that idea, using laboratory experiments that simulated water's contact with dust particles in the air. They used tiny particles of silica and aluminum phosphate, both common airborne substances, showing that silica became more negatively charged in the presence of high humidity and aluminum phosphate became more positively charged. High humidity means high levels of water vapor in the air ― the vapor [the researchers call 'hygroelectricity,' meaning 'humidity electricity,'] that condenses and becomes visible as ‘fog’ on windows of air-conditioned cars and buildings on steamy summer days…"

...to here? (click to enlarge)

"…[I]t may be possible to develop collectors, similar to the solar cells that collect the sunlight to produce electricity, to capture hygroelectricity and route it to homes and businesses. Just as solar cells work best in sunny areas of the world, hygroelectrical panels would work more efficiently in areas with high humidity, such as the northeastern and southeastern United States and the humid tropics.

"…[A] similar approach might help prevent lightning from forming and striking…[H]ygroelectrical panels on top of buildings in regions that experience frequent thunderstorms… would drain electricity out of the air, and prevent the building of electrical charge that is released in lightning…[The researchers are] testing metals to identify those with the greatest potential for use in capturing atmospheric electricity and preventing lightning strikes…"