Edible Electronic Medical Devices like Pills

PARTIALLY DIGESTIBLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES RELATED TO HEALING

Edible Electronic Pills

Few years back scientist have developed such camera pills that can be swallowed but indigestible whose function is to transmit video of interior parts of body. By considering this thing in mind of researchers from university of Camegie Mellon, they developed such an electronic medical device that can be easily edible and partially eatable and there should be no persistent treatment in this method.   

The project is led by two professors, Christopher Bettinger and Jay Whitacre. Christopher is working on the biodegradable electronics especially that can be used for medicinal purpose whereas Whitacre has developed such a cheap, non-hazardous electrochemical sodium ion battery. 

Whitacre declare that my battery is comestible. One day Christopher came to my office and said to me can you eat your battery? I answered yes and the history is explained after this. My battery can be easily eaten because it needs low power as need for the digestion of food and hence a perfect match.

The electronic gadgets such as sensors, drug delivering systems and tissue stimulating tools are placed in gelatin capsules that are powered by the palatable batteries. Such devices are made up of biodegradable memory shaped polymer and are enclosed in a folded manner in a capsule. When the capsule reaches in gastrointestinal area it dissolves after a particular time and after that polymer hydrate thus let the battery to flow electric current causing electronic device to operate.   

These capsules are taken like regular medicines. Such devices remain in the digestive system for about 18 to 24 hours and the functional lifetime would be one to two hours. Most of the components are digested like food and some are passed out without recycling them.

Bettinger said that most of patients feel comfortable in swallowing pills that have esculent electronics inside them. The key idea is to manufacture such nature friendly materials that are safe to use which we have done. 

Fusion Solar System Increases Natural Gas Power Plants Efficiency

HYBRID SOLAR GAS SYSTEM

As solar power produces infinite energy but only demerits are its cost and sunlight because it will only work when there is a sun. By taking these two factors in consideration, Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a hybrid solar gas system that increases efficiency of natural gas of power plants and decreases emission of carbon.

The system consist of a parabolic mirrors that focus the sunlight to a chemical reactor that is (1.2x0.6m) in length and is lined with narrow channels that are 8.1 mm wide. The sunlight heat up natural gas in these channels nearer to the catalyst that converts gas molecules into carbon and hydrogen dioxide mixture called synthetic gas or syngas. There is a heat exchanger near to the reactor that accumulates all waste heat from the reaction and reuse it back to reactor until 60% percent of sunlight is converted into chemical energy. The test of that system indicates that a natural gas plant can work on 20 % more efficiency.     

PNNL engineer Bob Wegeng said that our system is capable of using less natural gas to produce same quantity of electricity as power plants are producing now. He also said that our system decreases the greenhouse gas emission as compared with the emission through fossil fuels.

It is known that the system will work more efficient in areas where the sun shine is more and it can be easily adapted to any natural gas power plant. For instance a 500 MW power plant needs about 3000 dishes of solar and also the synthetic gas can also be used to produce synthetic fuels for the vehicles

The PNNL test systems at its own campus, Richland where Washington is as a part of it to produce more efficiency to cut down the cost to six US cent per kilowatt hour by 2020 so there will be a competition with traditional fossil fuels plants. The Microproducts breakthrough Institute that is a research and development facility in Corvallis, Oregon has aim to develop mass producing system whereas industrial partner Solar Thermo Chemical LLC plan is to develop and manufacture that system before selling.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

A Folding Chair from Recycled Plastics

FOLDABLE CHAIR MADE FROM RECYCLABLE PLASTIC BOTTLES 

It’s a desire of every company related to furniture to produce such product in a market that will distinguished them from other competent companies.  Among them one of the companies, Dutch Studio Nuy van Noort has designed a folding chair that is made up of 100 percent recycled plastics. They are trying to manufacture such furniture that is sustainable and economically in the range of every person and can be used for multipurpose.  During the Fuori Salone exhibitions of the Milan Design Week, the Vouwwow attention diverted towards our fascinating chair because it is totally manufactured from recycled plastics and also it is effective from transportation and storage point of view.

It is available in different variety of colours and is delivered in a flat packing to the customer before being folded into its original shape. It takes only 30 seconds to be converted into its standard form. It’s a great fun and creative in folding chair accurately. It consists of six separate plywood pieces that are lie between two outside layer of PET-felt. The chair also consists of Velcro strip that is used for tightening after simple three folding steps.

The material of felt is resilient and resist able that is made from recyclable bottles of plastic. The felt of folding chair is not only soft but also designed in such a way that you can repeat folding time again and again anytime with a consequences of little wear and tear.

The lounge chair of Vouwwow is an upgraded version of cardboard chair designed by Studio Nuy van Noort’s that won a prize of Thonet Mart Stam prize in 2009. The company declares final prize of that folding chair in a month of may and can be purchased through online very soon.   

Terrestrial Multi-Junction Solar Cells

SPECTROLAB DECLARES 37.8% EFFICIENT SOLAR CELLS

Terrestrial Multi-Junction Solar Cell

As technology has been revolutionised and getting advance day by day and one of the most important contemporary technology is the solar cells. It is a desire of every engineer to make environment green and they are trying every possible effort for the existence of such environment. One of the most famous Spectrolab that is a subsidiary of Boeing, known for the manufacturing of solar cells for spacecraft’s and satellites has now forwarding their attentions towards terrestrial solar cells for his name in the market of intensifying alternative energies. A California based company has claimed about efficiency of terrestrial multi-junction solar cells of about 37.8 percent without any need of solar focusing.

However Spectrolab and other companies have achieved high efficiency of solar cells by concentrating the rays of sun with help of mirrors on solar cells. The company said that they are able to produce such multi-junction solar cell with a high efficiency without any need of solar concentration.

The traditional solar cells are based on silicon technology whereas multi-junction solar cells contain different semiconductor materials that are interfaced with the help of a technique called p-n junction. Each material is tuned to specific wavelength of light to increase efficiency of solar cells.

It is not confirmed that which particular type of material is used in the multi-junction solar cell. It is just a news declared by the Boeing that an efficiency of 37.8 percent was achieved by using two or more materials in multi-junction solar cells. This will leverage the Boeing technology that manufactures semiconductor materials more trustworthy.  

The company said that we did not stop on our successes. Nasser Karam says that our company is able to produce high efficiencies of more than 45 percent under lower concentrations. 

  

Biodegradable Solar Cells from Trees

RECYCLABLE SOLAR CELL'S

The scientists of Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University have discovered new solar cells that are totally dependent on natural substances which can be easily obtained from plants and trees. Those solar cells have an efficiency of about 2.7 percent. These cells present on the substrate that are derived from the renewable raw materials and can also certainly biodegradable.

A professor named Bernard Kippelen from Georgia Tech College of Engineering has researched on this and expecting to have a defensible and renewable solar cells to make it function practically for the first time.   

A Kippelen has opened a new era for the engineers to make advancement in the technology of solar, based on the performance of organic substrates for future use. He also said that these organic solar cells must be recyclable otherwise we are just making ourselves less reliance on fossil fuels  because present fossil fuels technology through which we are obtaining energies from natural gas, oil and coil  sources but they are not recyclable at the end of their lifespan.  

Organic solar cells are assembled on a glass or plastic and it is very difficult to recycle them whereas Kippelen solar cells are contrived on a Cellulose Nanocrystal (CNC) that is obtained through trees and plants.

Solar Cell Fabricated on CNC

After the completion of life cycle of these solar cells, they are simply immersed in water at room temperature. After minute water is absorbed by solar cells, the CNC substrate dissolves and leaving behind the solar cells with its major components that can be easily apart.

Recycling of Solar Cells in Water 

Before dissolving of CNC substrate by a thin layer of organic semiconductor it allows the light to transmit through it, as CNC substrate is optically translucent. The efficiency of 2.7 percent is not sufficient as compared to recent technologies in solar cell completed by ‘Empa’. In that there is a clear demonstration of recycling of solar cells that are ecologically beneficial.

The researchers are still involved in trying to increase efficiency of those solar cells for the future use. Their next step is to improve the power conversion efficiency exceeds 10 percent similar to the solar cells that are fabricated on substrate of glass or petroleum based, said by Kippelen.

Induction Heating Machine

INDUCTION HEATING METHOD

Inductor

If you want to heat metal parts with high accuracy, high speed of work, consistent performance, 90% efficient, low noise, no fumes and without any exposed flames then the machine known as induction heating is most preferred choice for all industries.

The induction heating procedure is the most preferred one than any other heating technique. The induction heating system is good for industrial hardening, galvanising, alleviating, brazing and heat staking. This technology is also suitable for non-metals with proper setup. This technology can be easily fit for all manufacturing floors of industries and also whether the requirement is high heat or used for the fully automated plant, this is the desired solution for all industries.

It is a process of hardening, softening and jointing two or more different metals. The induction operation is also suitable for the non-conductive materials with proper setups. That procedure was used in a year of 1920’s in World War 2 where it was used for the hardening of machine engines in a mean time. On the basis of that preceding technology, induction system has been revolutionised.

It is a unique system than any other heating method because in other heating strategies like open flame, is directly applied on the metal parts but in case of induction heating, a heat is induced in the material by means of a current circulating in it.

Induction heating works on the RF frequency that is below the infrared and microwave frequencies. It means that heat is transferred to the material by means of electromagnetic waves. There is no contact between inductor and a material. The inductor does not heat up and a product is moved inside an inductor. The process will flow in a smooth way by repeating same strategy.

Faraday's Law of Electromagnetic Induction

Now I am going to describe how that process will work. It is just a fundamental principle of electricity. Consider an AC current is supplied to a primary winding of a transformer due to that magnetic flux creates in it. There is also a magnetic field arises. If the secondary coil is in the vicinity of magnetic flux created in primary winding then a current is induced in it. This whole process is simply called a ‘Faradays Law of Electromagnetic Induction’.        

Basic Setup

In the diagram shown to the right, simply constitute an RF supply source that sends an AC current to the inductor made up of copper and a metal that is to be heated is placed inside it. The inductor serves as a primary winding and a metal is considered as a secondary short circuit. So a magnetic field of inductor links with the metal and a closed eddy currents are induced in it   

Induction Heating Principle

In the second figure shown to the right shows the eddy current flow against to the resistivity of the metal that is to be heated and there is no contact between them. The heating can be applied to magnetic and non-magnetic materials and is known as ‘Joule’s Effect’.   

As there is no physical contact between them so the metal that is to be heated is placed in a liquid, away from power supply, in gassy atmosphere or in a space.

Advantages of Induction machine

• Consistent Performance

Induction Heating Machine

The performance is consistent as compared to other heating methods such as torch or open flame heating. When you set up the calibration then the pattern of heating is continuous and constant.  Modern machines have a temperature control systems that turns on or turn off the power supply and providing constant results. It is also capable of providing temperature data of each individual part.

• Maximum Production

A production is maximum as there is no time needed for it to warm up or cool down. A heat of about greater than 2000 ⁰F is developed instantly within the part in less than 1 second.

• Minimum Chances of Rejection

As there is no direct contact with a flame and heat is produced in a material by the alternating electric current in itself. So there is s a minimum chance of rejection ratio and a part is placed in an isolated substance or in a vacuum to diminish the effects of corrosion.

• Increase Durability

Supply heat to the specific part between two materials and increases the durability of life.       

• Environmentally Friendly

No fumes of gases evolved and no intense noise during heating so it is friendly to the worker as well as for the environment.

• Energy Consumption

It consumes less energy as 90% of the energy is converted into heat.