The $1 fabric that could charge your iPhone using the heat of your BODY

Scientists have developed a material that could use your body temperature to generate enough electricity to charge a phone while you go for a jog.

Just touching the Power Felt fabric - developed by Wake Forst University in North Carolina – converts heat into power.

Tiny carbon nanotubes woven into a felt-like material could also generate electricity from by turning the warmth of appliances back into current.

The Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials estimates that a phone covering would cost as little as $1.

The concept of thermoelectrics is not new but it is not widely used because of the cost.

Products such as bismuth telluride, which are sometimes used in computer coolers, can cost $1,000 per kilogramme.

The researchers suggest that it could be used around insulating pipes, under roof tiles, or even under your ass in car seats to make the most of waste heat.

‘We waste a lot of energy in the form of heat’, said student Corey Hewitt.

‘For example, recapturing a car’s energy waste could help improve fuel mileage and power the radio, air conditioning or navigation system.

‘Generally thermoelectrics are an underdeveloped technology for harvesting energy, yet there is so much opportunity.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2105497/The-1-fabric-charge-iPhone-using-heat-body.html#ixzz1najdY9d8