Hi qurious!
After briefly looking through the Qynergy website, I was immediately
both skeptical because of the very minimal amount of information
provided yet intrigued due to the possible applications of such a
described technology. Because of the limited amount of information
provided nor available elsewhere (I’ll explain why in a moment) a
speculation on the nature of this technology is simply that:
speculation. However, the information that is given, as well as what
aspects of the technology are stressed in the website presentation,
are both very helpful clues. It is most likely a derivative of some
current technology and we can try to pinpoint which one, however, if I
is truly a breakthrough product and is completely revolutionary in its
design, even very logical speculation would be fruitless.
One thing to keep in mind is that not only does no one seem to know
what technology this product is based on, but very few people have
even heard of it. A search on Google for “qyncell” produces only 9
hits from unique sources. For the amount of chatter nearly any
product, no matter in what stage of development, will produce, 9 hits
is practically nothing. Also, all of the references to “qyncell” that
are not from the http://www.qynergy.com website are direct quotes from
that website! The website is copyrighted 2002. This indicates that
there has been plenty of time for word to get out about this seemingly
amazing product, yet there has been hardly an utterance. This
probably means one of two things: either a) the company is operating
under an extremely tight veil of secrecy about its product or b) the
company/product has fizzled. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions
about that one.
First of all, some background observations. They state that this
device provides “continuous trickle charge” or “charge to storage
element for burst load capability” depending on the model. To
simplify, this means either something that produces a small continual
amount of current which is then used, or that device used together
with a small battery so that a larger net charge than the
power-producing unit can produce can be utilized at a quicker rate.
This is all very fancy, but what it means is that they’ve NOT created
a battery (as it initially seemed when I first browsed the site) but
that they have created some device that can continually produce a
small electric charge “that operates without refueling, recharging, or
maintenance.” These three properties are what make this product
unique and presumably marketable.
Because the device was “made possible by a proprietary materials
science breakthrough” and “is a solid-state power device”, we know
that it has no moving parts and is rooted in the chemical or physical
properties of the material of its construction, as opposed to a
miniaturized mechanical electric generator. This idea is augmented by
the claim that “the Qyncell technology is scalable”; if it is truly
scalable then the actual current-producing functional unit is
extremely small, and we can assume that its ability to produce current
is inherent in the material itself rather than a more complex
“machine.”
An important thing to note is that, for a website that has very little
real content (much of it is just repeating itself) they GREATLY stress
the possible applications of the device. All of the listed possible
applications are “micro-“, “miniature”, “small” and so forth. And
because they stress the scalable nature of this power source, and
applications such as “power on a chip”, by “small” they mean “very
very very small”- the types of applications implied are most likely
those involving a new breed of remote sensor/transceiver/information
device that is extremely small and inexpensive, such that it is
practically disposable. There are thousands of possible ways to use
these sensors, such as military observations, see:
[http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19980321S0001 ]
and I’ve even read about a company that will implant one under a
child’s skin, for safety and security purposes. This seems to be the
most logical application- I’ve read many stories about these types of
devices, and something must power them, right?
So what does this tell us, and what technology does it imply?
My first thought was that this is not a new “technology” per se, but
rather just a new application (a very innovative one, perhaps) of an
already understood phenomenon. A “breakthrough in materials science”
sounds enticing, but is extremely vague and I, for one, don’t buy the
very flimsy propaganda used to promote this product.
With that in mind, my first instinct upon reading the site was that it
is some type of derivative of the piezoelectric effect.
Piezoelectricity is the result of the properties of some particular
crystals, and can be used to generate very small amounts of current.
The fundamentals of piezoelectricity are outlined at these sources:
[ http://www.efunda.com/materials/piezo/general_info/gen_info_index.cfm]
and
[http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/PiezoelectricEffect.html ]
One reason to believe that this could be the technology being
incorporated is the probable applications of these Qyncell batteries:
very small and often mobile devices. The kinetic energy (motion)
could theoretically easily be used to stimulate a piezoelectric
crystal to produce current.
Also, “Unlike ferroelectric materials, piezoelectric material do not
store charge after the force is removed.”
[[http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/PiezoelectricEffect.html ] ]
This would explain why the website stresses the fact that the basic
current-producing unit creates a “continuous trickle charge” and would
need an additional “storage element” for burst current usage. It also
explains the “scalable” aspect of this technology: only as large a
crystal that is needed for a particular application would need be
used.
Another phenomenon, related to piezoelectricity, that could serve to
produce the currents described in the qyncell is pyroelectricity. If
the same type of crystalline materials that allow for the
piezoelectric effect are subjected to a change in temperature, they
will also create a directed net current. You can read more about the
pyroelectric effect in the Wikipedia:
[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectric_effect ]
Again, relating to the possible applications of this energy source,
pyroelectricity would certainly be viable for small sensors or
otherwise dispersed chipsets using this power source, because they
would most likely be subjected to a range of temperatures (which, to
create this small amount of current might only need be a few degrees.)
At this point, I looked into more than 10 other possible phenomena
that could be creating this mystery current, but all were disqualified
in my eyes because they eventually “drain” as does a conventional
chemical battery cell. The questionable thing about the claims behind
this product is that it seemingly “creates” energy from a small
self-contained unit. Without invoking the help of some serious atomic
physics, this is simply impossible. That is why my speculations are
based around the idea that some other form of energy (ie. heat or
kinetic energy) is converted into the type of energy, electric
current, that could be used by a computer chip.
The honest bottom line, it seems to me, is that this “technology” is
actually quite bogus, or it is a complete over-hype and probable
stretching of the truth that this is very not-revolutionary technology
at all.
I wish I could provide a more definitive answer, but you asked for
speculation, and I’ve provided what I believe to be as informed and
logical speculation as possible, given the minimal information
available. Hopefully, this has fulfilled your needs, but please
request a question clarification if necessary, especially before
rating this answer. Thank you for bringing this question to Google
Answers!
Sincerely,
Andrewxmp
PS- Don't they know that a 'u' always follows a 'q'? Tsk tsk… |
