National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Nanotech Clothing Produces Power From Motion


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

An illustration shows nanowires arranged like the bristles on a bottlebrush around Kevlar fibers.

New research created such wires out of material that displays the piezoelectric effect, which produces an electric charge from mechanical pressure. Electrodes at the bases of the fibers collect the charge generated as the wires brush past each other.

Clothing made from piezoelectric fabrics could one day generate enough electricity to power portable electronics, a new study says.

Image courtesy Z. L. Wang and X. D. Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology