Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Chen X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4490384 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Nature communications 20150616
Evaporation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the natural environment and a dominant form of energy transfer in the Earth's climate. Engineered systems rarely, if ever, use evaporation as a source of energy, despite myriad examples of such adaptations in the biological world. Here, we report evaporation-driven engines that can power common tasks like locomotion and electricity generation. These engines start and run autonomously when placed at air-water interfaces. They generate rotary and piston-li ...[more]