The piezoelectric and triboelectric generators that are currently used to harvest electricity from material stress and friction are both expensive and inefficient. Now, carbon nanotubes spun into yarn and then twisted into a spring-like shape have been shown to be a combination of the two types of generators.
The researchers tested the yarn in a variety of environments, including stretched between a weight and a float in the ocean, attached to a polymer that contracts when heated, and even into a shirt that produced electricity as the person wearing it breathed. While the efficiency of the electricity generation isn't particularly high, the weight to energy ratio makes it an interesting option for continued investigation for a variety of uses.
Source & further reading:https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/carbon-nanotube-yarn-generates-electricity-when-stretched/
Gif: When the yarn is stretched, the LED lights up.
Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2vGlC4uRc
h/t Physics Today
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