Posted on 05/19/2017 8:10:01 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The paper-thin material is called a ferroelectret nanogenerator, or FENG, and it works by converting electrical energy to mechanical energy on a very precise and very small scale.
The technology is bidirectional, too. Run in reverse, the material can turn mechanical energy back into electrical energy. As such, FENG materials can work as a microphone, converting physical energy of sound waves back into electrical impulses.
Researcher Nelson Sepulveda said the material was originally developed as a fabric that would generate power from repetitive movement.
The first intention was to harvest electricity from human motion and use it to power wearable devices, said Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University. Later, we came up with these extensions of the work, which allows for the device to be used as a flexible, portable microphone or loudspeaker.
(Excerpt) Read more at seeker.com ...
Feng sounds chinese but I guess Wang was already taken
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