{"id":3460,"date":"2012-03-12T13:21:16","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T06:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nano2.toolsmkt.com\/?p=3460"},"modified":"2012-03-12T13:21:16","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T06:21:16","slug":"new-technology-holds-the-promise-of-generating-electricity-from-clothing-without-batteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nanotec.or.th\/en\/new-technology-holds-the-promise-of-generating-electricity-from-clothing-without-batteries\/","title":{"rendered":"New technology holds the promise of generating electricity from clothing, without batteries."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Simply by touching a small piece of Power Felt \u2013 a promising new thermoelectric device developed by a team of researchers in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wfu.edu\/nanotech\/Welcome.html\">Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials<\/a> \u2013 Corey Hewitt has converted his body heat into an electrical current. <!--more-->Comprised of tiny carbon nanotubes locked up in flexible plastic fibers and made to feel like fabric, Power Felt uses temperature differences \u2013 room temperature versus body temperature, for instance \u2013 to create a charge. \u201cWe waste a lot of energy in the form of heat. For example, recapturing a car\u2019s energy waste could help improve fuel mileage and power the radio, air conditioning or navigation system,\u201d Hewitt says. \u201cGenerally thermoelectrics are an underdeveloped technology for harvesting energy, yet there is so much opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The research appears in the current issue of <a href=\"http:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1021\/nl203806q\"><em>Nano Letters<\/em><\/a>. Potential uses for Power Felt include lining automobile seats to boost battery power and service electrical needs, insulating pipes or collecting heat under roof tiles to lower gas or electric bills, lining clothing or sports equipment to monitor performance, or wrapping around wound sites to better track patients\u2019 medical needs. \u201cImagine it in an emergency kit, wrapped around a flashlight, powering a weather radio, charging a prepaid cell phone,\u201d says David Carroll, director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials and head of the team leading this research. \u201cLiterally, just by sitting on your phone, Power Felt could provide relief during power outages or accidents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cost has prevented thermoelectrics from being used more widely in consumer products. Standard thermoelectric devices use a much more efficient compound called bismuth telluride to turn heat into power in products including mobile refrigerators and CPU coolers, but it can cost $1,000 per kilogram. Like silicon, researchers liken its affordability to demand in volume and think someday Power Felt would cost only $1 to add to a cell phone cover. Currently Hewitt is evaluating several ways to add more nanotube layers and make them even thinner to boost the power output.<\/p>\n<p>Although there\u2019s more work to do before Power Felt is ready for market, he says, \u201cI imagine being able to make a jacket with a completely thermoelectric inside liner that gathers warmth from body heat, while the exterior remains cold from the outside temperature. If the Power Felt is efficient enough, you could potentially power an iPod, which would be great for distance runners. It\u2019s pretty cool to think about, and it\u2019s definitely within reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Currently Wake Forest is in talks with investors to produce Power Felt commercially. Image title: Graduate student Corey Hewitt works with a sample of thermoelectric fabric in the Nanotechnology lab<\/p>\n<p>See: http:\/\/news.wfu.edu\/2012\/02\/22\/power-felt-gives-a-charge\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simply by touching a small piece of Power Felt \u2013 a promising new thermoelectric device developed by a team of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology-update"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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