The majority of electrical engineering is the same as it was many years ago. The only difference is that there are improvements made to existing generators, motors, and so forth.
However, there have been some new developments in the production and distribution of electric power. Several of these are available-
- This method extracts electricity from solar energy through the isothermal expansion and conversion of sodium and solar heat. It can then be used to generate electricity directly.
- Researchers have created a technology similar to photovoltaics. It uses high-energy electrons that are emitted by nuclear byproducts, instead of photons from sunlight.
- Solid-state devices which convert heat into electricity directly without the use of moving parts. Flexible generation units can be created by combining these materials with polymers.
- Research is underway to develop an electromagnetic energy harvester that can extract enough ambient energy from radio frequency (RFS) spectrum. This could be used for energy harvesting from radio sources up to a mile away!
- Georgia Tech’s School of Mechanical Engineering is making progress in piezoelectric energy, which converts mechanical strain from ambient vibrations to electricity.
- Triboelectricity allows the production of an electric charge from friction between two materials.
- Rectennas are part antenna, part rectifier and convert electromagnetic energy to direct electrical current. These are less expensive than solar PV cells.
- Organic light-emitting diodes, organic solar cells and organic field effect transistors (OFETs), are made from paper-based electronics. They can be easily recycled.
- Supercapacitors can be found in everything, from cars and elevators to military applications. These supercapacitors can be made more energy dense by using graphene tech.
- Georgia Tech’s School of Mechanical Engineering is working to transform power plants. They are introducing new technologies that include revamped power cycles and new infrastructure materials.