Thanks to a new discovery, a simple tap from your finger may be enough to charge portable devices like mobile phones and iPads.
Simon Ruffell from the Australian National University and Madhu Bhaskaran and Sharath Sriram from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University have used nanotechnology to convert mechanical pressure into electricity.
The breakthrough was made by combining piezoelectrics, materials capable of turning pressure into electricity, with thin film technology -- the basis of microchip manufacturing, according to a Melbourne Institute statement.
The use of piezoelectrics means that portable devices with touch screens like iPads and iPhones could be recharged through everyday activities like typing.
It also means that in future pacemakers could be powered by an individual wearer's blood pressure.