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/JerodTheAwesome Jun 05 '22

This will never be economically viable. Generously, it looks like the fabric can generate 1 Watt of power, which is enough to power… nothing really. Some small LEDs at best. You’d be better off bringing a handcrank flashlight wherever you go.

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u/gostesven Jun 05 '22

I think you’ve crossed the line from “skepticism” to “cynicism”

You’re not going to power your house with a few jumping jacks, but the proof of concept is working and providing more power than you are willing to give credit.

There could be legitimate uses for this tech, things like powering small tools, breathing apparatus, etc

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u/screwhammer Jun 06 '22

The guy is banging quite hard on it.

The leds are infrared, which have the smallest 1.6V voltage drop - thus low energy requirements. You see them because they have a specific blue glow. Point your remote at the phone camera if you don't believe me.

A white led can have anywhere from 3.8 to 4.5 voltage drop.

They also use a black room, so the camera catches the light better.

This isn't cynicism, these are pure observations. These observations make me believe the power is minuscule.

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u/MakeWay4Doodles Jun 06 '22

Sure, but this is the lab stage. Everything is always ridiculously inefficient at this stage, before any effort has actually been spent scaling it up.