Future technology

Sources of energy are really only limited by our imagination.

The bouncing of a ball contains energy. The heat generated by our computers is wasted energy.

How to capture and make the most of this energy is the puzzle tickling their brains of many researchers around the world.

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  It's all in YOUR MIND

  International technology company, IBM is actively researching five ideas that will change our lives within five years - so they say.

  Some of these ideas could lead to a smarter planet.

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  Futuristic planes

  In a plane, your body heat warms up in the seat. Why let this energy go to waste?

  Future planes could harvest this warmth and use it to run part of the airplane, like inflight movies. This photo is of the special seats in an Airbus prototype for 2050.

  Has that got you thinking...?

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  Pee-ple power

  No that would be a waste! Imagine if we could harness the energy of human waste, and we've been flushing it away all these years... do you think we could still call it a 'clean' energy????

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  Piezoelectric - What's THAT?

  Your clothes might soon be able to generate energy with piezoelectric fabric - which means the material can collect the energy from movement.

  OMG. We are ALL walking energy generators and our clothes will be able to harvest this energy. Imagine how much energy Olympic athletes could generate!

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  Highway airstreams

  Imagine using the energy of the airstream created by cars driving along highways.

  Wow! That would be making use of energy that is otherwise wasted

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  Power walking

  The energy of the crowd at the London Olympics, being held later this year, will help supply electricity to the stadium.

  Everyone will be doing their bit for a clean, green games.

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  I knew it!

  Little sisters can be SO loud.

  I just new that energy had to be useful somehow, and now there is technology to harvest the energy of breathing as well as loud talking and singing.

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  Battery power

  Batteries are REALLY important because they store power - but the current batch has limitations.

  A new generation of battery technology could solve two problems at once.

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  One man's trash is another man's treasure

  Sometimes you can hit the jackpot and solve two problems at once.

  These Australian researchers found an interesting combination that could be a really important breakthrough for our planet.

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  Biomimicry - copying nature

  We are only just starting to really appreciate it, but we have a LOT to learn from nature.

  The word scientists use is biomimicry - it means copying nature's designs.

  One American schoolboy made an AMAZING discovering by taking a close look at trees.

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  EcoATM

  An ATM that give you money for your old phones and other electronic gadgets.

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  Catch that energy

  Making the most of the campfire.

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  Cow Pow-er

  Animal waste could has been used as a fuel for centuries and is still used today in developing countries.

  What if it's embedded energy could be used to fuel cars?

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  Solar cells made from grass clippings

  Mowing the lawn is such a chore!

  But what if you could turn your grass clippings into solar panels for your roof?

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  Giant Batteries

  The huge challenge for renewable energy such as solar and wind power is storage. Fortunately a clever team of scientists have invented a giant battery to solve this issue. A fantastic example of thinking BIG!

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  Nanotechnology is the answer

  Imagine if our energy of the future was clean, efficient and completely emedded into our building materials, available where we need it most - our home? Possible? Scientist Justin Hall-Tipping thinks so. Check out his TED talk on the energy possibilities of nanotechnology.

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  Carbon Farming

  How could farmers solve our carbon overload?

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  Underwater garden potential

  Seagrass can hold as much carbon as the world's temperate and tropical forests.

  But, these natural underwater pastures have been largely ignored in discussions about carbon storage so far.

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