Designer David Seesing the Symbiosis car

Symbiosis

Symbiosis

Designer David Seesing from the Royal College has designed an environmentally friendly car called the Symbiosis. The innovative design allows for an interesting car frame made from aluminum and consolidated with carbon nano-tubes to increase the heat and electrical conductivity of the material. The frames are printed with piezoelectric crystals which generate electricity from the air flow. The car's internal capsule contains a transparent shell which is embedded with photovoltaic cells to collect solar energy. The Symbiosis draws power from four electric motors. Interestingly the concept has built-in wheels thus, saving space and air can freely flow through the frame.

Symbiosis

"Piezo crystals" are special minerals that have electromagnetic properties. When piezo crystals are compressed or stretched, they produce an electric field. This is called the "piezoelectric effect." Piezo cells have small, positively charged particles at their center. Whenever force is exerted on the crystal, this small particle is forced to move and create a charge. This electric field can be harnessed to produce voltage.

The electrical charge created by a piezo crystal is fairly low. To compensate for this, they are usually used in high-repetition applications. One method that uses piezo energy to create electricity harnesses personal human power.

People move thousands of times each day. Piezo crystals can be embedded in everyday apparel like shoes. Every time a person takes a step, the crystal generates a small charge. Over time and with thousands of steps, these small charges build up until the amount becomes significant. This energy can be used to keep personal electronics, such as cellphones and MP3 players, fully charged.
Another way that piezoelectric energy can be used is by linking many separate crystals. Because the small charges from each crystal combine, they can create one large source of power.

In high-traffic areas like subway stations and sidewalks, piezoelectric crystals are embedded in staircases and floor tiles. These individual generators are all linked. As crowds of people walk through the area and generate force, the system collects the energy. Individually, the small charges are insignificant, but together, they can power electronics or be stored for future use.


The advantage of piezoelectric energy is that it is completely clean and renewable. Innovations in coming years will create systems that generate power at many different levels, the individual sources working together toward energy independence.




Designer David Seesing from the Royal College has designed an environmentally friendly car called the Symbiosis. The innovative design allows for an interesting car frame made from aluminum and consolidated with carbon nano-tubes to increase the heat and electrical conductivity of the material. The frames are printed with piezoelectric crystals which generate electricity from the air flow. The car's internal capsule contains a transparent shell which is embedded with photovoltaic cells to collect solar energy. The Symbiosis draws power from four electric motors. Interestingly the concept has built-in wheels thus, saving space and air can freely flow through the frame.
 
"Piezo crystals" are special minerals that have electromagnetic properties. When piezo crystals are compressed or stretched, they produce an electric field. This is called the "piezoelectric effect." Piezo cells have small, positively charged particles at their center. Whenever force is exerted on the crystal, this small particle is forced to move and create a charge. This electric field can be harnessed to produce voltage.

The electrical charge created by a piezo crystal is fairly low. To compensate for this, they are usually used in high-repetition applications. One method that uses piezo energy to create electricity harnesses personal human power.

People move thousands of times each day. Piezo crystals can be embedded in everyday apparel like shoes. Every time a person takes a step, the crystal generates a small charge. Over time and with thousands of steps, these small charges build up until the amount becomes significant. This energy can be used to keep personal electronics, such as cellphones and MP3 players, fully charged.

Another way that piezoelectric energy can be used is by linking many separate crystals. Because the small charges from each crystal combine, they can create one large source of power.

In high-traffic areas like subway stations and sidewalks, piezoelectric crystals are embedded in staircases and floor tiles. These individual generators are all linked. As crowds of people walk through the area and generate force, the system collects the energy. Individually, the small charges are insignificant, but together, they can power electronics or be stored for future use.

The advantage of piezoelectric energy is that it is completely clean and renewable. Innovations in coming years will create systems that generate power at many different levels, the individual sources working together toward energy independence.

Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level. Some materials exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity.

The photoelectric effect was first noted by a French physicist, Edmund Bequerel, in 1839, who found that certain materials would produce small amounts of electric current when exposed to light. In 1905, Albert Einstein described the nature of light and the photoelectric effect on which photovoltaic technology is based, for which he later won a Nobel prize in physics. The first photovoltaic module was built by Bell Laboratories in 1954. It was billed as a solar battery and was mostly just a curiosity as it was too expensive to gain widespread use. In the 1960s, the space industry began to make the first serious use of the technology to provide power aboard spacecraft. Through the space programs, the technology advanced, its reliability was established, and the cost began to decline. During the energy crisis in the 1970s, photovoltaic technology gained recognition as a source of power for non-space applications.