Eco Factor: Fiber uses piezoelectric functions to convert mechanical changes in to sharp electric signals.
MIT scientists headed by Professor of materials science and engineering Yoel Fink have created a new functional material that carries both light and electricity. The new fiber prepared from several heat and light sensitive materials has been lent piezoelectric functionality to convert mechanical changes in to sharp electric signals.
The feat was achieved after painstaking mixing and matching of polymers and polycarbonates to get a material that would heat and stretch uniformly and still retain its crystalline piezoelectric structures. The finished fiber has a core that can carry light, a piezoelectric layer, and electrodes that can carry electricity to and from the piezoelectric layer when subjected to vibration or pressure.
It is believed that such fibers will find wide application in future. They could be woven into carpets to count the number of people walking across them, or integrated into structural composites to sense possible cracks before they become serious.
Via: Popsci
