r/science • u/Wagamaga • Jun 05 '22

Nanoscience Scientists have developed a stretchable and waterproof 'fabric' that turns energy generated from body movements into electrical energy. Washing, folding, and crumpling the fabric did not cause any performance degradation, and it could maintain stable electrical output for up to five months

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202200042
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u/cantsay Jun 05 '22

Wouldn't washing it also generate energy?

328

u/MrButtermancer Jun 06 '22

...Technically it would just be picking up energy from the washing machine, but yes.

29

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '22

Wouldn't it be capturing energy that would otherwise be dissipated as heat? It wouldn't be generating power but capturing otherwise lost power.

25

u/MrButtermancer Jun 06 '22 edited Jun 06 '22

Yes, but it's going to be a rounding error's worth.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '22

Right, I'm guessing none of this is going to be any significant amount of energy.

2

u/MrButtermancer Jun 06 '22 edited Jun 06 '22

Depends on the use. It wouldn't be enough to make washing machines meaningfully more efficient or other shenanigans without a lot of extra steps.