Researchers at IIT Delhi have created a device dubbed the "Liquid-solid Interface Triboelectric Nanogenerator," which uses the "Triboelectric Effect" and "Electrostatic Induction" to produce energy from water drops, rainfall, water streams, and even the ocean. The device's construction is basic, according to IIT Delhi, and comprises nanocomposite polymers and contact electrodes. The gadget can generate a few milliwatts (mw), enough to charge tiny electric devices such as watches, digital thermometers, radio frequency transmitters, healthcare sensors, and pedometers.

The current gadget will create more power compared to other effects such as the piezoelectric effect. When a sufficient amount of mechanical stress is applied, the piezoelectric effect can create an electric charge. However, IIT Delhi researchers experimented with the triboelectric effect to produce power from wasteful mechanical vibration. In a recent study titled "Advanced Material's Interfaces," Prof Khare and Dr Huidrom Hemojit Singh demonstrated how the device creates energy when water rolls over its surface.

According to the media report, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have reportedly funded the study under the NNetRA. Furthermore, the IIT Delhi study team investigated how the gadget creates electricity when a water drop makes contact with a solid surface. While researching the process, the research team determined that saline water drops produce more energy, according to ANI.

In other news, a Chennai-based cardiac surgeon revealed the creation of India's first 3-D printed heart valve, providing hope to the thousands of patients who require heart valve replacement surgery each year. Dr Sanjay Cherian, Vice President and COO of Frontier Lifeline Hospital, the new heart valves produced utilising 3D printers can solve various difficulties associated with artificial heart valves.