Scientists at the University of Illinois have managed to create a biodegradable battery that can be used in the medical field; if its used with the proper chip, it will send important information about the human body before disintegrating. This special battery is made of magnesium foil, iron catodes, molybdenum and tungsten and it has just enough energy to power a chip that will transmit useful information about the human body before depleting its capacity.
The battery measures less than a square inch and its battery develops 2.4 milliamps. The device can produce 1.6 volts, just enough to generate a radio signal that will transmit the data required by the physicians in their attempt to discover, to monitor and to treat various disorders.
In the first experiments, the chip has dissolved by itself into the water in about three weeks, so it’s clear that the stomach acids will make them disappear in a much shorter period of time. The electrical current produced by the chip’s battery does not last more than a day, but the researchers are trying to find ways to extend its “validity” by increasing the surface of the magnesium anode.
Here’s the dissolve stage of the battery on a course of two weeks:
source: nature.com
