When you move, it's electric  E-mail
Written by Dave Burdick   
Monday, 17 April 2006

How are "nanogenerators" like aphrodisiacs? They turn body movement into electricity.
Zhong Lin Wang and the Barry Whiteinator
Clever folks at the Georgia Institute of Technology have built a tiny prototype generator that generates electricity through the flexing of zinc oxide nanowires. They're saying that since the stuff isn't toxic, you could arguably implant it in a human muscle and allow human movement to create electricity. 
 
While cool, that's a little creepy, so here's another example from LiveScience.com's story on the tiny powerhouses: 
 
"You could envision having these nanogenerators in your shoes to produce electricity as you walk," [Zhong Lin] Wang said. "This could be beneficial for soldiers in the field, who now depend on batteries to power their electrical equipment. As long as the soldiers were moving, they could generate electricity."
 
Or, you could envision dancing monkeys wearing shoes with nanogenerators in them. I know which one I prefer.

Comments (2)add
.
written by Guest , May 02, 2006
Enter the Matrix
Already there.
written by Celia , January 12, 2007
More and more workplaces have laser hand reading machines that will punch the clock for you. I like the idea of a pedal powered laptop better. As people get lazier and lazier (me too), the chip would best be put in the hand that works the remote control.
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Dave Burdick
About the author:
Dave Burdick is a New York-based writer and comedian. He's currently pursuing an MS in journalism at Columbia University, performing in the city whenever and writing about being a big dummy at daveburdick.com.
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