I’ve combined the following two news items into one post, as they are quite closely related. Firstly we have news of a dynamo that harvests the potential power we all generate, whenever we walk somewhere.
The principle involved with hybrid cars, where energy that would otherwise be wasted when you brake is recuperated, has been applied to people transporting themselves. Currently the knee brace and other related parts all come to just over one and half kilos, and generate around 5 watts. The inventors hope to increase the efficiency, but the device can already power a mobile phone for half an hour, from just one minute of walking!
Secondly, we have a new nanowire technology.
If you integrate these wires into clothing, and move around, small amounts of power are generated, even though the fibres are only 30 to 50 nanometres long. Although the power output is a lot lower than the knee brace dynamo mentioned above, there is no additional energy required by the person wearing fabrics made with these nanowires involved, and some devices require a lot less power than phones.