A turbine-inspired generator shows how overlooked industrial airflow could quietly become a new source of usable power
Updated
February 3, 2026 11:23 AM
Campus building of Chung-Ang University. PHOTO: CHUNG-ANG UNIVERSITY
Compressed air is used across factories, data centers and industrial plants to move materials, cool systems and power tools. Once it has done that job, the air is usually released — and its remaining energy goes unused.
That everyday waste is what caught the attention of a research team at Chung-Ang University in South Korea. They are investigating how this overlooked airflow can be harnessed to generate electricity instead of disappearing into the background.
Most of the world’s power today comes from systems like turbines, which turn moving fluids into energy or solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity. The Chung-Ang team has built a device that uses compressed air to generate electricity without relying on traditional blades or sunlight.
At the center of the work is a simple question: what happens when high-pressure air spins through a specially shaped device at very high speed? The answer lies in the air itself. The researchers found that tiny particles naturally present in the air carry an electric charge. When that air moves rapidly across certain surfaces, it can transfer charge without physical contact. This creates electricity through a process known as the “particulate static effect.”
To use that effect, the team designed a generator based on a Tesla turbine. Unlike conventional turbines with blades, a Tesla turbine uses smooth rotating disks and relies on the viscosity of air to create motion. Compressed air enters the device, spins the disks at high speed and triggers charge buildup on specially layered surfaces inside.
What makes this approach different is that the system does not depend on friction between parts rubbing together. Instead, the charge comes from particles in the air interacting with the surfaces as they move past. This reduces wear and allows the generator to operate at very high speeds. And those speeds translate into real output.
In lab tests, the device produced strong electrical power. The researchers also showed that this energy could be used in practical ways. It ran small electronic devices, helped pull moisture from the air and removed dust particles from its surroundings.
The problem this research is addressing is straightforward.
Compressed air is already everywhere in industry, but its leftover energy is usually ignored. This system is designed to capture part of that unused motion and convert it into electricity without adding complex equipment or major safety risks.
Earlier methods of harvesting static electricity from particles showed promise, but they came with dangers. Uncontrolled discharge could cause sparks or even ignition. By using a sealed, turbine-based structure, the Chung-Ang University team offers a safer and more stable way to apply the same physical effect.
As a result, the technology is still in the research stage, but its direction is easy to see. It points toward a future where energy is not only generated in power plants or stored in batteries, but also recovered from everyday industrial processes.
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HKU professor apologizes after PhD student’s AI-assisted paper cites fabricated sources.
Updated
January 8, 2026 6:33 PM
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The University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Island. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
It’s no surprise that artificial intelligence, while remarkably capable, can also go astray—spinning convincing but entirely fabricated narratives. From politics to academia, AI’s “hallucinations” have repeatedly shown how powerful technology can go off-script when left unchecked.
Take Grok-2, for instance. In July 2024, the chatbot misled users about ballot deadlines in several U.S. states, just days after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid against former President Donald Trump. A year earlier, a U.S. lawyer found himself in court for relying on ChatGPT to draft a legal brief—only to discover that the AI tool had invented entire cases, citations and judicial opinions. And now, the academic world has its own cautionary tale.
Recently, a journal paper from the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong was found to contain fabricated citations—sources apparently created by AI. The paper, titled “Forty Years of Fertility Transition in Hong Kong,” analyzed the decline in Hong Kong’s fertility rate over the past four decades. Authored by doctoral student Yiming Bai, along with Yip Siu-fai, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and other university officials, the study identified falling marriage rates as a key driver behind the city’s shrinking birth rate. The authors recommended structural reforms to make Hong Kong’s social and work environment more family-friendly.
But the credibility of the paper came into question when inconsistencies surfaced among its references. Out of 61 cited works, some included DOI (Digital Object Identifier) links that led to dead ends, displaying “DOI Not Found.” Others claimed to originate from academic journals, yet searches yielded no such publications.
Speaking to HK01, Yip acknowledged that his student had used AI tools to organize the citations but failed to verify the accuracy of the generated references. “As the corresponding author, I bear responsibility”, Yip said, apologizing for the damage caused to the University of Hong Kong and the journal’s reputation. He clarified that the paper itself had undergone two rounds of verification and that its content was not fabricated—only the citations had been mishandled.
Yip has since contacted the journal’s editor, who accepted his explanation and agreed to re-upload a corrected version in the coming days. A formal notice addressing the issue will also be released. Yip said he would personally review each citation “piece by piece” to ensure no errors remain.
As for the student involved, Yip described her as a diligent and high-performing researcher who made an honest mistake in her first attempt at using AI for academic assistance. Rather than penalize her, Yip chose a more constructive approach, urging her to take a course on how to use AI tools responsibly in academic research.
Ultimately, in an age where generative AI can produce everything from essays to legal arguments, there are two lessons to take away from this episode. First, AI is a powerful assistant, but only that. The final judgment must always rest with us. No matter how seamless the output seems, cross-checking and verifying information remain essential. Second, as AI becomes integral to academic and professional life, institutions must equip students and employees with the skills to use it responsibly. Training and mentorship are no longer optional; they’re the foundation for using AI to enhance, not undermine, human work.
Because in this age of intelligent machines, staying relevant isn’t about replacing human judgment with AI, it’s about learning how to work alongside it.