---
title: "New Device Generates Electricity From Falling Snow"
description: "Two scientists have invented a device that can create its own source of electricity from an extremely abundant and renewable source: falling snow."
date: "2019-06-03"
modified: "2019-06-03"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/device-generates-electricity-falling-snow"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "nanoelectronics"
  - "renewable energy"
  - "snow"
  - "the digest"
---

# New Device Generates Electricity From Falling Snow

![Two scientists have invented a device that can create its own source of electricity from an extremely abundant and renewable source: falling snow.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/device-generates-electricity-falling-snow.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Prawny via Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Electric Sleigh Ride

A pair of scientists from the University of California in Los Angeles have invented a device that generates electricity by capturing the charge from an abundant source: falling snow.

The researchers are hoping, [according to *Popular Science*](<https://www.popsci.com/snow-next-source-clean-energy>)*,* that a mature version of such a device could power portable weather stations or help keep electronics going during a snowstorm when solar power is unavailable.

## Winter Wonderland

The device, called snow-TENG, works by bringing the positive charge of snow with the negative charge of silicone. When the two materials meet, tiny bursts of electricity are created.

The research [was published](<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211285519302204>) in the journal *Nano Energy* earlier this month.

## Shock Rocker

At this point, the novel device is nothing more than a proof concept with an extremely low power output.

"When you run your feet against a carpet, charge is transferred from the carpet to your body," Maher El-Kady, co-creator of the device, told *PopSci*. "Now, if you touch a metallic doorknob... you get \[sic\] yourself an electric shock. We created electricity using a similar mechanism."

**READ MORE:** [Snow might be the next clean energy source](<https://www.popsci.com/snow-next-source-clean-energy>) \[*Popular Mechanics*\]

**More on nanoelectronics:** *[MIT Researchers Create an Aerosol Spray Loaded With Nanobots](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nanobots-aerosol-mit>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)