The power of speech…literally!

Always forgetting to charge your cell phone or constantly losing your charger? A phone that charges just by using it may be calling your name. New technology to turn cell phones into self-charging devices using piezoelectric generators has got tongues wagging.

Piezo…wha? 

Piezoelectrics have been around since the late 1880s. Piezoelectric phones convert kinetic movement into electrical energy. First used in WW1 sonar devices, today they are most often found in quartz watches and microphones.

In the 80s, Seiko developed a Kinetic watch, which has made Kinetic synonymous with environmental friendliness. But now, the piezoelectrics are going nano. So more energy in a smaller space means that soon everything from ipods to laptops to backpacks could become self-charging.

Backpacks? That’s right. Straps made of piezoelectric fabric can convert the friction on your shoulders to electric energy.

A professor at the University of Houston has discovered that a specific type of piezoelectric material can convert energy at a 100 percent increase when manufactured at a very small size. Even more interesting, when materials are constructed bigger or smaller than this specific size their energy-converting capacity is not as effective.

And while that’s good for the environment, nanomanufacturing has received some criticism in the past for its dirty production methods, leaving some dialing up the pros and cons of the viability of this technology.

Essentially, the more you talk, the more energy is generated. Your mother-in-law is going to love it.

Words have power. Literally.