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The days of having to hunt down your mobile phone or mp3 player charger before you can finally plug it in could be numbered thanks to a new technology that was unveiled this week.
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology presented the nanogenerator at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, a revolutionary new chip that can use heartbeats to produce electricity.
So small that 500 could fit in a single human hair, its tiny contractions and releases caused by our movements and cardiac activity generate little jolts of energy.
Five of the chips together can create three volts, which is equivalent to the power in two AA batteries, so it is hoped that we could eventually be using them to power household items such as phone chargers and music players.
"Our nanogenerators are poised to change lives in the future. Their potential is limited only by one's imagination," said lead researcher Dr Zhong Lin Wang.
Given that electricity prices have rocketed in recent months, let's hope nanogenerators become widely available soon!
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