A new, high-tech yarn that generates electricity when stretched or twisted could use ocean waves and human motion to lower man's dependency on fossil fuels, researchers said Thursday.
An international team of scientists said in a study they had developed a stretchy yarn made of carbon nanotubes — tiny strands of carbon atoms up to 10,000 times smaller than a hair — that produces electricity from a host of natural sources.
"The easiest way to think of 'twistron' harvesters is, you have a piece of yarn, you stretch it, and out comes electricity," said Carter Haines, a lead author of the study published in the journal Science.