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arXiv:2002.09947cond-mat.mes-hall

Fluctuation-induced current from freestanding graphene: toward nanoscale energy harvesting

P. M. Thibado, P. Kumar, Surendra Singh, M. Ruiz-Garcia, A. Lasanta, L. L. Bonilla

Abstract

At room temperature, micron-sized sheets of freestanding graphene are in constant motion even in the presence of an applied bias voltage. We quantify the out-of-plane movement by collecting the displacement current using a nearby small-area metal electrode and present a Langevin model for the motion coupled to a circuit containing diodes. The system reaches thermal equilibrium and the rates of heat, work, and entropy production tend quickly to zero. However, there is power generated by graphene which is equal to the power dissipated by the load resistor. The exact power formula is similar to Nyquist's noise power formula, except that the rate of change of diode resistance significantly boosts the output power, and the movement of the graphene shifts the power spectrum to lower frequencies.

arXiv comments
5 pages, 3 figures
Journal reference
Phys. Rev. E 102, 042101 (2020)
DOI
doi:10.1103/PhysRevE.102.042101
Subjects
cond-mat.mes-hallMesoscale and Nanoscale Physics cond-mat.stat-mechStatistical Mechanics

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Linked by 4 identifiable commenters in 5 comments across 3 threads, from Oct 2020 to Mar 2022.

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Discussed in comments3 threads

  1. Scientists build circuit to generate limitless low-voltage power from graphene 1 comment
  2. Physicists Build Circuit That Generates Clean, Limitless Power from Graphene 3 comments

    • Only in the load resistor. Electron flux in the graphene membrane appears to be solely due to geometry. This curvature does not necessarily need to be buckled via heat energy. It could be mechanical or electrical, if I understand things correctly... More detail in this video…

      ArtWombView on HNParent context

    • > Otherwise it's behold, we found a high-resistance path for our battery to run a light bulb. It's like a nano Rube Goldberg! Paper is here btw: https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.09947

      MauranKilomView on HNParent context

    • https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.09947

      MauranKilomView on HNParent context

  3. Physicists build circuit that generates clean, limitless power from graphene 1 comment

    • I'm not sure that I understand either. From the abstract (which phys.org failed to link to): > The system reaches thermal equilibrium and the rates of heat, work, and entropy production tend quickly to zero. However, there is power generated by graphene which is equal to the…

      westurnerView on HNParent context

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