In the emerging world of nanotechnology, clothing made of nanowires could help in converting mechanical energy generated from the motion of the body to electrical energy. This revolutionary concept not only will help in energy conservation and reduce greenhouse gas emission from conventional energy sources but will also help in charging electrical devices easily and at any location. The Power Shirt, the project on which researchers of the Georgia Institute of Technology are working on, if materializes will combine the nano-wires in double or triple layers in clothing, so that the shirt would be flexible, foldable and be a wearable power source. The researchers have been able to produce about 4 nano-amperes of current and 4 millivolts of output voltage from a nanogenerator that is made of two 1-centimeter long fibers. Their aim is to produce 80 milliwatts of power from a square meter of the fabric. This fiber besides being used in clothing could also be woven into curtains or tents to capture energy from the motion of the wind, sound motion and every other form of mechanical energy. The only flipside is that being made of zinc oxide, the nanowires will be sensitive to moisture and could not be washed.
EcoFriend :via: Dvice
