If I'm understanding the article correctly, a very tiny piece of graphene can pick up a very tiny amount of energy from the random jiggles at the atomic scale.
Presumably, those jiggles are always going to be there, unless somehow earth becomes a cold, dead place.
So imagine the solar panel on your calculator didn't need light, just a temperature above absolute zero.
This is exactly what the press release say, but this is impossible due the the Second Law of Thermodynamics. So (select at least one)
1) The press release is wrong
2) The research article is wrong
3) The Second Law of thermodynamics is wrong.
[As a fast explanation, if the grapheme membrane and the lamp in the animation are at the same temperature, then the electrons in the lamp will get an equivalent amount of random jiggles and will counter the effect described in the article. (There may be also a similar problem with the diodes, capacitor, etc.)]
Presumably, those jiggles are always going to be there, unless somehow earth becomes a cold, dead place.
So imagine the solar panel on your calculator didn't need light, just a temperature above absolute zero.