New Fiber Makes Motion Electric
February 15, 2008 | by Christopher Nickson
Scientists have developed a microfiber fabric that can turn motion into enough electricity to charge a cell phone — and no, it's not a polyster leisure suit.
Want to make sure the batteries on your cell phone or mp3 player never run out while you’re on the move. Then you’d better arrange to have your clothes made from a new mircofiber fabric developed by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology, according to Reuters.
The agency says that in a report in the journal Nature, the scientists claim that as a shirt the fabric could generate energy from walking or even being rippled by the wind. The fabric is actually a fiber-based nanogenerator that utilizes the semiconductive properties of extremely small zinc oxide nanowires that are embedded into the fabric. The wires are formed into pairs resembling a brush.
One fiber in the pair is coated with gold to become an electrode and electricity is them generated by movement of the fabric.
Zhong Lin Wang, who headed the study, told Reuters, said his group had made a prototype of the fabric.
“Our estimates show we can have up to 80 milliwatts per square metre of this fabric. This is enough to power a little iPod or charge a cell-phone battery."
However, there’s a catch. Since zinc oxide tends to degrade when it’s wet, putting that fabric in the laundry is a no-no – or possibly even going out in the rain. But the scientists are working on that.
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