Imaging never having to plug your phone into the outlet or computer anymore, you just charge it in during your morning jog or climbing those stairs to your office. Scientists have recently modified a virus, called M13, that converts mechanical force or motion into electricity.
The M13 virus powering a LED display
The method of converting mechanical force or motion into electricity is called piezoelectricity and it is not new. Products using piezoelectricity have already been around, such as the electric cigarette lighter. But this is is first time scientists use orgainic material for piezoelectricity. They suggested that the manufacturing of traditional piezoelectric materials produce harmful byproducts while organic material does not.
It is still a long way before we can see this virus come on the market for sale, but it is an important discovery in the effort to find an alternative, cleaner source of renewable energy and to combat global warming. Imaging if we could find other organic materials around us to generate electricity and eliminate the need for oil, then the Earth would be a cleaner place to live.
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thank you.. Nicely written