Nanowires Allow For Electricity-Generating Clothing

lee1 writes "The latest development in the field of 'energy harvesting', which includes such opportunistic technology such as self-winding watches, generators implanted in soldier's boots, and knee brace dynamos, is a cloth that generates electrical power. The cloth is newly developed by scientists in the US, and can produce up to 80 milliwatts per square metre. It is made from brush-like fibres composed of a Kevlar stalk surrounded by zinc oxide nanowire crystals that generate electricity through the piezoelectric effect. They can be grown on any substrate, including hair. The power harnessed from this effect could be used for anything from cosmetic components to the powering of medical devices."

is that the same "up to" my ISP uses?

[petes_PoV]

up to 80 milliwatts ...

Up to 10Mbit/s download speeds

So how much power is that in practice? 5mW PSM? maybe 10 if you're an athlete?

I think I'll stick to batteries, thanks

Think nuclear

[Anonymous Coward]

I know we all cringe, but nuclear energy really is the future. Small fission devices have the potential to make recharging a thing of the past--we don't even have to wait for fusion. These are good stopgaps until then--they too won't have to be recharged.

forgive my ignorance

[Bandman]

Wouldn't harnessing this energy make the material harder to move in?

Funny thing though.

[AltGrendel]

Washing the shirt will ruin it.

Re:What about...

[mh1997]

From the article "The possibility of developing piezoelectric, or energy generating fibres or fabrics has been something that the smart fabrics research community has been speculating about for some time," P>

I guess they are too young to remember wearing a polyester leisure suit and walking across carpeting.

Nano-generation Decision Point

[Phoenix666]

Self-winding watches are great, because you don't have to do any extra work to wind them; they wind themselves according to the work you already do raising and lowering your arm (weight of the watch notwithstanding). Knee braces and such, though, break that model, because you have to do more physical work to generate the power.

There is a lot of passive mechanical energy in our environment that can be harvested to generate power. But it has to make economical sense. If you can coat your house in nano piezoelectric filaments that generate twice the current that they cost, then good. Otherwise, why bother?

Rain

[arizwebfoot]

What happens when it rains or snows?
What happens when you touch someone else who is "charged"?

Re:Nano-generation Decision Point

[Ephemeriis]

Why bother? Because cost doesn't seem to be an issue with the ecofriendly crowd that want alternative energy in use. If it costs 5 cents per kilowatt over 10 years or $5.00, it doesn't matter because they said it needs to happen and you will pay for it anyways if it is the only thing available.

And if there are people too cheap to pay the extra, then demonize them, complain and cause the cost of regular energy to increase to a point there is a trade off with regulations and such then get mad at the government for a failing economy when energy costs are sucking all the extra money out of it.

I strongly suspect this is less about "green" energy than it is generating energy in out-of-the-way places. The knee brace article mentions soldiers using it to charge/power their equipment in the field - where they'd typically be carrying around piles of batteries, or solar cells, or hauling around a generator. Being able to generate some electricity from simply walking sounds like a pretty nice trade-off. Similarly if you could make the soldier's uniforms out of this material, or make tents out of it, you could again reduce all the batteries and crap that they have to carry around.

Or you could use these technologies in camping/hiking gear. Charge up your phone/laptop/radio while simply walking through the countryside.

Or they could be used to create tech-friendly apparel. A jacket, perhaps, that keeps your iPod charged up at all times.

Or they could be used to supply power where the local infrastructure is damaged or outright missing. Throw up some tents/shelters made out of this cloth and generate electricity for lighting.

Or maybe something to throw into a survival kit. A little radio beacon sending out a constant SOS that's powered by your movement, or the clothes you wear.

I mean, there are literally tons of non-green reasons to look into technology like this. It may never be an economically viable way to generate large-scale electricity... You may never power your house with it... But there are also plenty of places/situations where economics are not the most important factor.