Scientists have developed a microfiber fabric that generates its own electricity. The cloth makes enough current to recharge a cell phone or power a small MP3 player. The concept has advanced past planning and a small prototype has been created.



The photo at left shows someone holding microfiber nanogenerator composed of a pair of barely visible entangled fibers. The fibers are coated with zinc oxide nanowires; one fiber is also coated with gold. When rubbed together, they generate electrical current. The shirt generates power as it moves, so a person walking or a slight breeze would create power.



A 3 meter square piece of fabric is enough to power an iPod (if you wear size 2XXL you can probably generate enough power to run a laptop). The potential uses are vast- from hikers to joggers to soldiers to pants for restless leg syndrome people-if we could harvest the power of jimmy legs we could end the energy crisis. The only remaining issue for scientists is that the fibers degrade in water.



via Yahoo