Tech-stiles: Clothes that produce power

Tech-stiles: Clothes that produce power

news.yahoo.com

BOSTON - Someday, your shirt might be able to power your iPod — just by doing the normal stuff expected of a shirt.
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Scientists have developed a way to generate electricity by jostling fabric with unbelievably tiny wires woven inside, raising the prospect of textiles that produce power simply by being stretched, rustled or ruffled by a breeze.

The research, described in Thursday's edition of the journal Nature, combines the precision of ultra-small nanotechnology with the elegant principle known as the piezoelectric effect, in which electricity is generated when pressure is applied to certain materials.

While the piezoelectric effect has been understood at least as far back as the 19th century, it is getting creative new looks now, as concerns about energy supplies are inspiring quests for alternative power sources.

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everything no doubt is cyclical. take the ipod. a one time flat purchase? of course not; you need headphones, cases, peripherals, and things they haven't released! this maintains a steady capital and influx of jobs....or so we hope.

for a science to be pushed toward a "greater good" other than creating gadgets of fun, more interest needs to be drawn to it right?! i get that yet...

frustrating that we have to continue this wheel of fortune before hitting the bonus round that takes us to a prize that perhaps should have started with ...


we complain about problems all the time such as lack of reliable resources of water...why not focus more money and time on nanofiltration...let's not do something about it? it just takes one great man to make a great change.

if greater research was put into areas that could help lead to a direction of a post scarcity type society, i wouldn't have posted this thread

looking forward to hearing opinions ;P


news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)