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The breakthrough would essentially turn jackets and other clothing into wearable, solar-powered batteries that never need to be plugged in. It could one day revolutionize wearable technology, helping everyone from soldiers who now carry heavy loads of batteries to a texting-addicted teen who could charge his smartphone by simply slipping it in a pocket.
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The research was .
Thomas already has been lauded for earlier ground-breaking research. Last year, he received an R&D 100 Award 麻豆精品 S� given to the top inventions of the year worldwide 麻豆精品 S� for his development of a cable that can not only transmit energy like a normal cable but also store energy like a battery. He 麻豆精品 S檚 also working on semi-transparent solar cells that can be applied to windows, allowing some light to pass through while also harvesting solar power.
His new work builds on that research.
麻豆精品 S淭he idea came to me: We make energy-storage devices and we make solar cells in the labs. Why not combine these two devices together? 麻豆精品 S� Thomas said.
Thomas, who holds joint appointments in the College of Optics & Photonics and the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, set out to do just that.
Taking it further, he envisioned technology that could enable wearable tech. His research team developed filaments in the form of copper ribbons that are thin, flexible and lightweight. The ribbons have a solar cell on one side and energy-storing layers on the other.
Though more comfortable with advanced nanotechnology, Thomas and his team then bought a small, tabletop loom. After another UCF scientists taught them to use it, they wove the ribbons into a square of yarn.
The proof-of-concept shows that the filaments could be laced throughout jackets or other outwear to harvest and store energy to power phones, personal health sensors and other tech gadgets. It 麻豆精品 S檚 an advancement that overcomes the main shortcoming of solar cells: The energy they produce must flow into the power grid or be stored in a battery that limits their portability.
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There are a host of other potential uses, including electric cars that could generate and store energy whenever they 麻豆精品 S檙e in the sun.
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