Generator when stepping foot

If you are tired of having to watch your cell phone charger, digital music player or other electronic device, the nanogenerator, led by Professor Zhong Lin Wang at the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) development, can help you.

Made of tiny nanofibres, it generates continuous electricity by collecting or recycling mechanical energy from the surrounding environment. In addition, it can produce energy from ultrasound, mechanical movement or even blood flow.

When moved by mechanical energy, these nanofibres bend and come in contact with the metal plate that generates electricity. Wang and colleagues suggest that nanowires can produce about 4 watts of electricity per square centimeter of surface. If this device is mounted in the shoe, every step you take, you can produce electricity to charge for the compact electronics. Any effect that making nanofibres in vibrators can be used for energy production, says Wang.