Amazing! A perpetual motion machine?
No (this is not perpetual motion), the Brownian motion that is used to generate electricity is driven by absorbing heat from the environment around the graphene power source. That is why the article cites uses like bioimplants where the body provides a lot of ambient heat around the graphene power source.
Edit: sidd is correct that this is an example of quantum information science's Maxwell's demon, as if you search the "Adapting to the Anthropocene" thread you will find examines of microscopic refrigerators used to extract heat energy in a laboratory seating.
Edit 2: I repost the following from the "Adapting to the Anthropocene" thread:
To illustrate the connection between Maxwell's Demon and quantum entanglement, I provide the following two linked references:
Experimental entanglement-enhanced work extraction based on a Maxwell's demon
Authors: Mario A. Ciampini, Luca Mancino, Adeline Orieux, Caterina Vigliar, Paolo Mataloni, Mauro Paternostro, Marco Barbieri
(Submitted on 25 Jan 2016)
http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06796Abstract: "The relation between the theory of entanglement and thermodynamics is very tight: a thermodynamic theory of quantum entanglement, as well as the establishment of rigorous formal connections between the laws of thermodynamics and the phenomenology of entanglement are currently open areas of investigation. In this quest, an interesting problem is embodied by the role played by entanglement in processes of work extraction from a working medium embodied by quantum information carriers. In this work, we experimentally address the question "Is there any intrinsic advantage for work extraction given by the use of an entangled working medium?". By addressing work-extraction protocols based on a mechanism intimately linked to the paradigm of Maxwell's daemon, and implementing suitably designed multi-photon optical interferometers, we demonstrate experimentally the intrinsic advantages for such tasks provided by bipartite and genuine multipartite entanglement. We highlight the unique nature of such tests by comparing their performance to standard tests for the inseparability of multi-photon state resources. Our work contributes strongly to the ongoing efforts in establishing photonic systems as a platform for experiments for information thermodynamics."
&
Maxwell's demon based on a single qubit
J. P. Pekola, D. S. Golubev, and D. V. Averin
Phys. Rev. B 93, 024501 – Published 5 January 2016
http://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.024501Abstract: "We propose and analyze Maxwell's demon based on a single qubit with avoided level crossing. Its operation cycle consists of adiabatic drive to the point of minimum energy separation, measurement of the qubit state, and conditional feedback. We show that the heat extracted from the bath at temperature T can ideally approach the Landauer limit of k B Tln2 per cycle even in the quantum regime. Practical demon efficiency is limited by the interplay of Landau-Zener transitions and coupling to the bath. We suggest that an experimental demonstration of the demon is fully feasible using one of the standard superconducting qubits."