The past few days the weather here in Thessaloniki goes something like this: Morning-sun, noon-wind, afternoon-rain. Well, friends all these elements of nature could be transformed into great amounts of energy with the use of the right technology.
I've already mentioned kinetic energy in a previous post (the one about wrist watches, remember?) but let's take it one step forward.
Scientists at the University of Bolton in the U.K. are developing a fiber that not only absorbs energy from the its wearer’s body movements, but also from surrounding elements such as the wind, rain, and sun.
Supported by £1 million in funding from the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry, Bolton researchers are working with their counterparts at GK Electronics and Nanchang Hangkong University in China to further develop its revolutionary material, which is flexible enough to be woven into clothing.
“Our hybrid photovoltaic-piezoelectric material has so much potential that it can be woven into everything, including laptop and mobile phone cases,” says Elias Siores, the university’s director of research.
“In its casing, the appliance could be charging, as it is handled or placed near sunlight. At home, a tree with needle-like fibers, like a pine tree, could be converting sun, wind, and rain into electrical energy which is stored ready for charging.”
Clothing that powers our phones and iPods? If this research has a successful outcome, this material could transform the fashion world.
