Generating Electricity from Thin Air: Scientists Discover New Method Using Any Material

Scientists have discovered that nearly any material can be used to generate electricity from air humidity, using a device called an "Air-gen." The device, which is the size of a fingernail and thinner than a single hair, is dotted with tiny holes known as nanopores that allow water in the air to pass through and create a charge imbalance, effectively creating a battery that runs continuously. The Air-gen could potentially be embedded in wall paint, made at a larger scale in unused space in a city, or littered throughout an office's hard-to-get-to spaces, and could extract less from the environment than other renewable forms of energy.