Science creates wonders that seem magical #shorts #shortvideo #video #virals #videoviral #innovationhub

Science creates wonders that seem magical  #innovationhub

Transcript

00:00Meet CoulombFly, the tiny rotorcraft that weighs less than a piece of paper and is powered

00:07by sunlight.

00:12Micro Aerial Vehicles could have a host of applications, from environmental monitoring

00:19to search and rescue.

00:21But these MAVs currently have a problem, endurance.

00:27At these sizes, they can usually only fly for around 10 minutes.

00:31That's because as they get smaller, factors like friction mean traditional electromagnetic

00:37motors start to lose efficiency.

00:40And while other types of propulsion have been tested, these new, lighter motors still require

00:46bulky power systems on the ground to take off.

00:50One solution could be solar power, but until now, no solar-powered MAV has been capable

00:57of untethered, sustained flight in natural sunlight.

01:02So to solve this, these researchers developed a new propulsion system, driven by a pair

01:08of ultralight high-density solar cells.

01:13The new propulsion system consists of two main components, the rotor and the stator.

01:19The stator is made up of eight pairs of alternating positive and negative electrodes arranged

01:26in a ring.

01:27Each electrode has a brush attached to it, which transfers charge to the rotor blades.

01:34When a high DC voltage is applied to the electrodes, they form electrostatic fields that drive

01:40the rotor.

01:41As it spins, the rotor's blades alternately pass each positive and negative electrode,

01:47transferring charge and maintaining the rotation.

01:51This in turn drives the propeller and lifts Coulomb Fly into the air.

01:56This design gives a greater lift-to-power efficiency than similar-sized untethered MAVs.

02:03And unlike most electromagnetic motors, it doesn't get hot, which could give these

02:09components a longer lifespan.

02:12And the researchers behind this work think that this design could lead to even smaller

02:17craft.

02:18That's why they prototyped this even tinier, tethered flyer, with a wingspan of just 8mm.

02:28Coulomb Fly isn't perfect, though.

02:31This version has no mechanism for controlling the direction of its flight, so it needs vertical

02:37rails to guide it.

02:39And its solar power source makes it susceptible to sudden changes in lighting.

02:44But the researchers are hopeful that these issues could all be solved and that a future

02:49flyer equipped with solar cells and rechargeable batteries could be lifting off at any time

02:56of day.