RUNNING HEAD:HARNESSING FRICTION ENERGY

The Power of Friction and Harnessing its Energy for Everyday Use
Research Plan
By Sidney Boakye and Amy Nguyen
10/11/2016

HARNESSING FRICTION ENERGY

Rationale
Nonrenewable sources of energy, such as coal and oil, become more scarce each day.
This will eventually become a problem, as many countries depend on these sources of energy to
power their growing cities and growing populations. These nonrenewable sources of energy end
up leading to pollution and may end up leading to energy shortages later on if renewable sources
of energy are not developed. There are many ways to find new sources of energy, but one of the
most newly discovered ways is via triboelectricity. Triboelectricity is a form of static electricity
that takes advantage of friction based forces. Scientifically, this research could drastically
improve sources of energy and reduce pollution if put into use by various countries. It may even
lead to new discoveries that are even more beneficial. In society, this technology, if put into use,
could create newer and more reliable sources of energy that could also be inexpensive. It would
greatly benefit developing countries as well as developed countries.

HARNESSING FRICTION ENERGY

Research Question
Can 30 minutes of friction generated static electricity be stored and used to give a
Samsung Galaxy 4 phone 25% more energy than it had started out with?

Hypothesis and Expected Outcomes

It has been hypothesized that static electricity generated from a device will be able to
charge a Samsung Galaxy 4 for an increase of at least 25% battery life. It is expected to go over
the amount stated. Based on the rationale stated above, the Samsung Galaxy 4, a type of
cellphone that is used all over the world, is a good indicator if the energy produced from the
generator is efficient enough to charge a Samsung Galaxy for an increase of at least 25% battery
life.

Engineering Goals
In this project, the goals for engineering include: making an efficient machine that can
generate triboelectric energy by taking advantage of redox reactions and rubbing the two
materials together to create the friction-based energy needed for the static electricity to be
created. The machine will be running on batteries. This will require breadboarding and perhaps
even a bit of programming.

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Research Methods and Conclusions

Potential risks in this experiment include mild electric shock. There should be no other
risks in the materials used as there are no hazardous chemicals or materials. In the case of mild
electric shock, plastic gloves should be worn.
The plan is to create a triboelectric based generator with everyday materials which can
eventually charge a Samsung Galaxy 4 up to at least 25% in an hour. Using a basic concept of
chemistry, redox reactions, triboelectricity can be made possible with two materials; one that
generates, accepts an electron and one that donates an electron. Fur would donate the electron,
while the plexiglas rod will accept the electron. This will generate static electricity, which can be
used to power the charger later on. Because it is unsafe to continuously roll the plexiglas rod
along the fur with any part of the body, a contraption or apparatus will be built using vex in order
to shield the electricity from going outside of the intended source as well as roll the plexiglas
rod, being self sufficient enough to work without the need for too much human interaction with
the exception of changing the battery. A Samsung Galaxy 4 will be connected to its charger,
which in turn, will be connected to the power source. In an hour of this friction occurring, the
Samsung Galaxy 4 should be able to charge up to at least 25% if not more.
In order to collect the data, the Samsung Galaxy 4s initial battery percentage will be
recorded. After being plugged into the energy generator and charger, it will be left at room
temperature for one hour with no interaction with the tested phone, as touching the phones
screen, home button, or power button could possibly use up a bit of the battery. A timer will be
set for one hour. After the one hour is up, the phones battery percentage will be recorded. At
least three trials will be conducted with the same phone. Changing the phone used may enter in

HARNESSING FRICTION ENERGY

systematic error. In order to minimize any kind of error, it is important to keep all things as
constant as possible including temperature and location of the testing, and the materials used in
the experiment. The data will be tested for precision using mean absolute deviation. This is to
test how reliable the generator is and if it will be able to continuously power the charger.
Accuracy is also to be tested, to see if the generator is actually able to charge the Samsung
Galaxy 4 to the minimum increase of 25%.

HARNESSING FRICTION ENERGY

Bibliography
Kurtus, R. (2016). Materials that Cause Static Electricity. Retrieved from
http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/static_materials.htm#.V_Zhs-ArLIU
Redox Reactions. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.shodor.org/unchem/advanced/redox/
Toon, J. (2012). Triboelectric Generator Produces Electricity by Harnessing Frictional
Forces.http://www.news.gatech.edu/2012/07/10/triboelectric-generator-produces
-electricity-harnessing-frictional-forces
Toon, J. (2013). Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.news.gatech.edu/2013/12/07/harvesting-electricity-triboelctricgenerators-capture-wasted-power