Power from Clothing!

Imagine getting a call from an old friend after a long time. But your phone has absolutely no charge. Or suppose, during a long journey, your iPod suddenly runs out of battery. There is no way to charge your phone or iPod nearby. What will you do now? Just sit quietly? No… try standing up and taking a walk… this will generate electricity right from your clothes. And with that, you can charge your phone or iPod. Dear readers, you must be thinking I’m joking? Not at all. Scientists have made this seemingly impossible thing possible by using nanotechnology. Let’s find out how they did it…

The world is facing an energy crisis. That’s why scientists across the globe are trying various ways to generate power. In this effort, a group of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States recently announced the possibility of generating energy from fabric. The science journal ‘Nature’ has reported this. Using nanotechnology, these clothes can generate electricity from the movements of the body. These clothes have been named the ‘Power Shirt’.               

Photo: Nanogenerator in the hands of Professor Zhong Lin Wang [Source: BBC]

A member of the research team, Professor Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, has named the entire process of generating electricity from clothing as the fiber-based nanogenerator. He has said that this electricity generation process is quite simple and will be economically viable. To generate electricity using the Power Shirt, ultra-fine zinc oxide nanowires are mixed with the threads of the fabric. The method of generating electricity from these nanowires is known as the piezoelectric effect. The process of generating electricity through the application of stress is known as the piezoelectric effect. It is worth mentioning that the main reason for choosing zinc oxide nanowires was their piezoelectric property. Zinc oxide exhibits piezoelectric properties and is a semiconductor. The nanogenerators created in the laboratory so far generate only a small amount of electricity. Scientists are now considering how to make this more effective or how to increase the generated power by using multiple nanogenerators.

Photo: Nanowires being woven into fabric threads [Source: Science Daily]

Scientists hope that the electricity generated by this innovative process will not only power portable electronics like mobile phones and iPods, but also serve as a source of energy for various necessary devices for soldiers in the battlefield. The research, which began at the Georgia Institute of Technology in April 2007, has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, and several other organizations.

There’s no doubt that if this invention, the Power Shirt, reaches commercial fruition, it will play an effective role in meeting the power needs of portable devices. And perhaps the day isn’t far off… when your favorite fashion house will showcase the ‘Power Shirt’—the ultimate clothing of the time!