Engineering specialists in China and Japan have come closer to creating a cell phone that could require very little to no charging, according to the Daily Mail.
They have found that "topological insulators," a newly discovered material, can help create an electrical current without the assistance of an outside energy source. This type of non-lost energy was first discovered in the '80s and was called the "quantum Hall effect."
A limiting factor in the sustained energy source was the need for a cold climate. Now, the researchers can duplicate this effect at room temperature.
The new material is neither a metal or an insulator, but rather both at the same time, with the surface and edges containing metallic properties and the inside acting as an insulator.
Only a small film of it can create an electrical current on the surface or edge.
Researchers with Hiroshima University are involved with the innovative study that could bring renewable energy sources closer to reality, with cell phones and other hand-held devices in mind.
"Hopefully, this achievement will lead to the creation of novel materials that operate at room temperature in the future," said Akio Kimura, member of the research group and professor at Hiroshima University.
The findings were published in the Nov. 19 issue of the journal Nature Communications.
