Shirt Power for iPods

A week or so ago you may recall many newspapers carried a story about an odd looking contraption that you strapped to your legs, which generated power as you walk, enough to power up to 10 mobile phones one report said. Well, here’s something a tad more elegant. Researchers at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology have come up with an idea that generates power from nano fibres, that can be incorporated into everyday items of clothing, like shirts and trousers. Pairs of fibres are coated with zinc oxide nanowires and as they rub against each other they generate tiny currents using a piezoelectric effect. If enough fibres can be combined and connected together useful amounts of electricity could be generated. Professor Zhong Lin Wang, who is in charge of the project suggests the fibres could even be incorporated into tents and other structures to capture energy from wind or sound vibration – sounds like a must have accessory for rock concerts…