Article Summary #5

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24428/?a=f

At Princeton University, research is being done on a material that when flexed creates an incredible amount of energy. The list of applications that could use this technology is endless, but some of the ones that are currently being researched are putting this material into the soles of shoes to power portable electronic devices and putting it on a person’s lungs to recharge a pacemaker as he breathes. This technology uses piezoelectric devices, which are pretty much mechanical buttons that when pushed or stressed create electric current. The amount of current depends on the type of piezoelectric device, the more current, the more expensive the device costs. Today’s piezoelectric devices harness around 20 percent of the mechanical energy applied, while ones that are being developed will be able to harness up to 80 percent of the energy applied. This process might seem like a complicated to implement, but the production is actually quite simple. With old devices the silicon plate, which is the part that actually creates the current, has to be heated to extremely high temperatures, which would melt the rubber or plastic encasing that holds it. Now, they have come up with a production method that allows production of the silicon plate first, then putting it on the plastic or rubber casing that secures it and allows it to be flexible.