Generating Electricity with Energy-Harvesting Yarns

Researchers have developed yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. The “twistron” yarns are constructed from carbon nanotubes — hollow cylinders of carbon 10,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair. The nanotubes are twist-spun into high-strength, lightweight yarns; to make the yarns highly elastic, they are twisted so the yarns coil like an over-twisted rubber band.