Submitted by Researchers at the Virginia Commonwleth University have come up with . . . a circuit that requires such little power all it needs is the ambient energy in an environment to run. In other words, it can run without need of a power lead or battery, relying instead on some energy constant in the environment in which it functions e.g. the human body. In order to create something that can run on such low, ambient energy, you need to use electronics that require next to no power to function. So instead of the typical charge-based electronic switches used today, the researchers turned to spin transport electronics, more commonly known as spintronics.
I see at least one or two articles a day like this.
‘Researchers at the University of Jerkwater have discovered a way to power an entire super computer using the DNA from spermatozoa …’
Personally, I wish tech sites would reserve these kinds of articles for when researchers turn these ideas into actual products that are ready to ship. Otherwise, it’s more of a science article.
Edited 2011-08-16 17:48 UTC
This technology, whenever it will be deployed into the real world, could be at the foundation of the never-needing-recharging-via-USB portable smart device.
It may appear premature to mention this technology in a non-science communication channel. However, its mention here may attract sufficient financial and real-world engineering expertise to make the transition from research curiosity to real-world gadget and prevent it from remaining vaporware.
Frankly, it would not be surprising to see Apple purchasing the technology and being the first to market it – unless they already have a similar idea in their patent nursery in which case they will talk to their lawyers first!