In the quest to wring energy from every source imaginable, scientists are putting the squeeze on a common plastic ingredient. Applying force to polymers in water generates enough energy to drive chemical reactions, a team reports online March 1 in Angewandte Chemie.
SQUISH SPLASH, A NEW ENERGY PATH Energy generated by walking in this sneaker — whose polymer sole was injected with water and a fluorescing compound — created enough free radicals to spur the reaction that made the compound glow.
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