Date: 10/12/2013 16:13:56
From: Riff-in-Thyme
ID: 447179
Subject: Sound Harvested for Energy
ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCES
Ear-Piercing Sounds Harvested for Energy
DEC 6, 2013 10:30 AM ET // BY ERIC NIILER
Engineers have figured how to harvest energy from sound; a neat physics trick that could soon lead to quieter jet engines, heavy construction equipment and factory machines, and perhaps a new way to generate wind power.
Separate teams of investigators have developed prototype devices that create small amounts of energy, just enough to run sensors inside noisy places. These sensors can then be used to actually dampen the sound of the noise itself, according to Stephen Horowitz, a research engineer at Ducommun Miltec, an aerospace contractor based in Huntsville, Ala.