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Power Suits Soon Could Be More Than Just A Look

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2008

As rapper Kanye West demonstrated on Sunday night's Grammy broadcast, bringing some light on the subject of clothes can create quite an impression.

However, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered how your clothes may someday be able to create an impression on your iPod - by generating electricity.

They have developed a way to generate electricity by jostling fabric with tiny wires woven inside, raising the prospect of textiles that produce power simply by being stretched, rustled or ruffled by a breeze.

•The research combines the precision of ultrasmall nanotechnology with the principle known as the piezoelectric effect, in which electricity is generated when pressure is applied to certain materials.

•Although the piezoelectric effect has been understood at least as far back as the 19th century, it is getting creative new looks now.

•The allure of the idea is that it doesn't take unusual movement to generate usable electricity. Pretty much anything someone does while wearing a piezoelectric shirt would be productive.

Nation/World, Page 13

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