Shaking light with sound

Piezoelectric materials can convert electrical voltage to mechanical displacement and vice versa. They are ubiquitous in modern wireless communication networks such as in cellphones. Today, piezoelectric devices, including ...

Device harvests energy from low-frequency vibrations

A wearable energy-harvesting device could generate energy from the swing of an arm while walking or jogging, according to a team of researchers from Penn State's Materials Research Institute and the University of Utah. The ...

When roots crack and worms crunch

Roots can be "listened to" while growing – and worms when burrowing. Researchers from ETH Zurich and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research present a new method for soil analysis.

Flexible, highly efficient multimodal energy harvesting

A 10-fold increase in the ability to harvest mechanical and thermal energy over standard piezoelectric composites may be possible using a piezoelectric ceramic foam supported by a flexible polymer support, according to Penn ...

Acoustic device makes piezoelectrics sing to a different tune

In today's "internet of things," devices connect primarily over short ranges at high speeds, an environment in which surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have shown promise for years, resulting in the shrinking size of your ...

A flexible material that generates electricity when stressed

Researchers from Empa have developed a flexible material that generates electricity when stressed. In future, it might be used as a sensor, integrated into clothing or even implanted in the human body, for instance, to power ...

Scientists can now produce electricity from tears

A team of Irish scientists has discovered that applying pressure to a protein found in egg whites and tears can generate electricity. The researchers from the Bernal Institute, University of Limerick (UL), Ireland, observed ...

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