Paper generator creates power to turn on an e-book display

Researchers at Disney have created something very interesting that could have significant practical impact for the world of electronics. The researchers have created a generator that creates electricity using pieces of paper. Project researcher Ivan Poupyrev says that creating power supplies such as this is a key step in enabling interactivity everywhere at any time.

So far, the researchers have been able to create a generator using pieces of paper that can produce enough power to light up an LED and turn on the screen of an e-book. One paper material used in the generator is able to hold a semi-permanent electric charge. Teflon is also used inside the paper generator.

The researchers say that an opposite charge is created with Teflon is placed against any ordinary sheet of paper. The paper generator created manually rubs Teflon and the other sheet of paper holding a semi-permanent electric charge together to harness the energy.

The researchers say that since the generators use paper, they are extremely cheap. Eventually these extremely cheap generators could be integrated into all sorts of devices to significantly increase interactivity. The paper generators could be embedded in posters, books, magazines, toys, tickets, maps, and just about anything else you can think of.

SOURCE: French Tribune