Yes, that's exactly what you read: the Italian Institute of Technology has developed an edible battery, reports the New Food. But don't worry, it won't be on the menu yet: the researchers' idea is to develop a battery that won't harm your health if swallowed.
These new batteries use materials that are part of people's daily diet. Therefore, they can be especially useful, for example, for use in children's toys.
According to Mario Caironi, project coordinator, this field of electronics is dedicated to developing circuits and sensors for, among other functions, health diagnoses and monitoring health conditions. food storage.
Let's get to know the ingredients of this edible battery, which is the first in the world made solely from food items.
What does the edible battery take
The anode, the negative pole of the battery, is made of riboflavin, or vitamin B2, found, for example, in almonds. The cathode, the positive pole, is made of quercetin, a supplement present in capers.
The separator, which, in the battery, has the function of preventing short circuits, was produced with nori seaweed, the one used in Sushi. Activated carbon was added to increase electrical conductivity.
In such an inventive banquet, the confectionery could not be missing. Thus, two edible gold contacts, like the foil used by confectioners, emerge from electrodes encapsulated in beeswax, on a cellulose-derived support.
Did you work up an appetite? So feel energized but in moderate doses. After all, the edible battery generates 0.65 V, enough to supply energy for small electronic devices used in medical examinations. Or light up LEDs low power.
But nothing that causes major shocks. This is a low voltage, which does not cause problems to the human body if the edible battery is actually swallowed.
Another advantage of edible batteries: when discarded, they are not polluting like traditional batteries. It can even be used for lunch or dinner, so to speak.
