Vibration Energy Harvester from Brownian motion

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a device from the University of Arkansas that uses a free-floating graphene sheet to harvest energy from Brownian motion and convert it into electric current. Concerns are raised about whether this process violates the second law of thermodynamics. It is clarified that extracting useful energy from these vibrations requires a thermal gradient or mechanical motion within the overall system. The original article appears to exaggerate the implications of the technology compared to the research paper, which focuses more on the scientific findings. Further examination of the research paper is suggested for a deeper understanding of the energy harvesting process.
Johan
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Hi all, been a while since I studied physics but I saw something that I found strange,

This device: https://researchfrontiers.uark.edu/good-vibrations/ from University of Arkansas

A free floating graphene sheet extracting energy from brownian motion and converting that to electric current.

wouldn't this violate the second law of thermodynamics? or am I missing something?
 
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The article is not really clear, so I had a look at the paper (pdf). As far as I understand that, you need a thermal gradient or mechanical motion of the overall system to drive these vibrations if you want to extract useful energy from them. The article makes a much bigger deal of this harvesting than the publication, which focuses on the research.
 
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That recent report references this review, which may be of additional interest.
 
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mtb, I'll have a look at the paper to see if I can get a better understanding of what is going on.
 

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