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Imagine how difficult life would be without electricity. No TVs. No computers. No CD players. |
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Without electricity we'd simply be left in the dark. |
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Now imagine if we could create our own electricity. Here's an invention that can do just that! These are a new pair of shoes which make electricity when you run or walk in them. |
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The shoes make enough electricity to charge up a mobile phone - so that infuriating situation where your battery runs out in the middle of a crucial conversation could become a thing of the past! |
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All you have to do is plug the phone into your shoes, and the phone charges as you walk. |
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The shoes create electricity using this special strip of ceramic. |
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The strips are inside this, which itself is inside the heel of the shoe. When it's moved, it creates electricity. So when walking or running, power is created. |
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So, if movement can create electricity, sound must be able to create electricity too - because sound is just movement in the air. |
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Try putting your hand in front of the speaker on your television, you'll be able to feel the air vibrating. The louder the sound, the more the air moves. This movement can also be used to create electricity. |
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Here's a quick demonstration. This drum has the ceramic strips around it. When Kate and Fearne shout loudly at the drum, they should generate electricity to set off the bulbs and the flash pots on the studio floor. |
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Success! |
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So, in a world where we rely more and more on electricity, in the future we should be able to make power as we walk and talk - and it won't cost a penny. |
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