Electronic properties news, August 2011

Thermopile clothing

Weaving power into wearables

Knitted thermoelectric fabric can power wearable devices

By coating cotton with a conducting polymer, researchers have developed a fabric that can harvest body heat to power wearable electronic devices.

On the origin of contact-electrification

Novel separator creates spillway for lithium-metal batteries

A novel separator with conductive carbon nanotubes can prevent lithium-metal batteries from heating up and catching fire in case of a short circuit.

Relationship between electricity and magnetism takes new direction

Researchers have discovered that a small change in the direction of the magnetic field in a symmetrical crystal can alter its electrical polarization.