Researchers from Michigan Technological University, Arizona State University and NanoSonic, Inc. are working on harvesting energy created by wearing a backpack with straps made with a piezoelectric material.

The interesting bit about the design specification for this device is that it had to be “transparent to the user by not interfering with the user’s flexibility or endurance, as well as providing enough energy to reduce the need for carrying heavy batteries to power portable electronics.”

All that rubbing of your backpack straps on your shoulders may be put to good use, now that researchers have designed a novel type of energy harvesting backpack. The pack has straps made of a piezoelectric material that can convert the mechanical strain on the straps into electrical energy that may power or recharge portable electronics.

The National Geographic are reporting that parts of the sun are hotter due to sound waves produced by magnetic fields.

The temperature at the sun’s surface layer, or photosphere, is about 10,000°F (6,000°C)—much cooler than its 27,000,000°F (15,000,000°C) interior.
But in the chromosphere, the region just above the photosphere, the heat spikes again to about 20,000°F (11,000°C)…

Now McIntosh and colleagues’ studies show that magnetic fields send sound waves from the sun’s interior shooting upward, creating fountains of hot gas that shape and power the chromosphere.