My harvester is more than just a circuit—it's a network of circuits within circuits, a testing ground for exploring low-energy potential. It continues to evolve, challenging and expanding my understanding of physics and electrical theory. Born from pure curiosity and driven by my endless pursuit of knowledge, it pushes the boundaries of what I know, revealing new insights with every new experiment.
IR LED Behavior, Charge Transport, and Possible Quantum Effects
Recent testing on my energy harvester has revealed an unconventional energy transfer mechanism involving an IR LED that remains fully positive-biased while facilitating voltage transfer without illumination. The IR LED is electrically isolated on both sides by diodes, ensuring unidirectional current flow, yet energy continues to pass through the circuit. This behavior suggests an alternative charge transport mechanism beyond standard diode conduction.
Observations
The IR LED remains fully positive-biased, meaning its anode and cathode are both at positive potential, yet it still enables voltage transfer without measurable current draw.
The LED is isolated on both sides by rectifier diodes, which enforce controlled, unidirectional energy flow, preventing traditional backflow.
Compared to other LEDs tested, the IR LED demonstrates the highest efficiency, exhibiting the lowest voltage drop while still permitting charge movement.
This suggests that charge carriers—electrons and holes—are interacting within the LED junction in a nontraditional way, potentially through quantum tunneling or weak conduction mechanisms.
Charge Transport & Hole Theory
In a standard forward-biased LED, electrons from the n-type material recombine with holes in the p-type material, releasing energy as photons (light).
However, in this setup, the LED does not illuminate, yet voltage transfer occurs. This implies that electrons may be filling available holes in the p-layer without sufficient recombination energy to produce light.
If quantum tunneling is involved, charge carriers may be bypassing the depletion layer, allowing energy transfer without significant current flow.
This could suggest a low-energy charge movement mechanism, where electron-hole interactions occur at a sub-threshold level, facilitating energy flow without photon emission.
-RR
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