Harnessing Noise to Charge Your Cell Phone

Imagine no more cell phone batteries dying or being leashed to your charging cable.

Engineers at the Institute of Nanotechnology at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul are attempting to convert background noise, music and voice calls into electricity to power a cell phone.

As engineer Sang-Woo Kim explains, he will use "tiny strands of zinc oxide sandwiched between two electrodes. A sound-absorbing pad on top vibrates when sound waves hit it, causing the tiny zinc oxide wires to compress and release. This movement generates an electrical current that can then be used to charge a battery."