Stanford Ups the Ante with Rechargeable Clothes
If you remember back from a while ago, a small team of Stanford students, led by professor Yi Cui, was experimenting with carbon nanotubes and paper to form rechargeable batteries from paper. Unsatisfied with the extent of their work, they decided to one-up themselves and try to do the same with fabric. And they succeeded.
By applying the same process as the one used to turn paper into a conductive and rechargeable energy source, the team of Stanfordians turned cotton and polyester fibers into batteries. By dipping the fabric into a special ink that contains carbon nanotubes, then drying it in an oven, they have construct fabrics that could be used for a range of functions from the fashionable (light-up displays or screens on clothing) to the practical (monitoring heart beat, body temperature, or breath rate).
Check out the video to see how they created the paper batteries; the process is basically identical for fabric:
