Electrokinetics covers Electrophoresis, dielectrophoresis, electro-osmosis, and electrorotation.
In October 2003, the University of Alberta reveals a new method of generating electric power by exploiting the natural electrokinetic properties of a liquid such as ordinary tap water, by pumping fluids through tiny microchannels. A team of researchers and students, led by Dr. Daniel Kwok and Dr. Larry Kostiuk, has created a new source of clean, non-polluting electric power with a variety of possible uses, ranging from powering small electronic devices such as cell phones to contributing to a national power grid. This technology could provide a new power source for devices such as mobile phones or calculators which could be charged up by pumping water to high pressure.
Kwok explained how, when water travels over a surface, the ions that it is made up of "rub" against the solid, leaving the surface slightly charged. Although the power generated from a single channel is extremely small, millions of parallel channels can be used to increase the power output.Water electrokinetics