Generating Energy using Friction Between Breasts and Bra

Adrienne So from Slate wrote an article investigating the possibility of creating a bra to use the kinetic energy of breasts to generate energy.

In her research, she conversed with a former exercise science professor who now specialized in designing sport bras. In the professor's studies, they measured the bounce of breasts of various cup sizes in both high-support and low-support bras. The only results of this data revealed in the article mention that a B-cup breast in a high-support bra travels about an inch vertically, while a D-cup breast in a low-support bra can travel as much as 35 inches during exercise.

She then consulted a professor from Georgia Tech currently developing cloth material made out of woven nanowires. The nanowires are "about 1/1,000th the width of a human hair" and when woven together, they rub against each other to "convert the mechanical energy from the friction into an electric charge". So proposes that a bra made out of this material can power an iPod.

Finally, she also investigated the possibilities of harnessing energy from the vertical displacement of the bra strap caused by the weight of breasts. After consulting a biology professor at UPenn, she determined that using a rotary generator, an additional 7 watts of energy could be produced, though "he warned it 'probably wouldn't be very comfortable.'"

My thoughts on the article? I can't imagine this product ever being comfortable enough for anyone to use. It sounds like it would mostly only be feasible for D-cup breasts or larger, however breasts that large need a lot of support when jogging or doing another form of exercise, or it can be very uncomfortable. The "35-inch" number is very misleading because a) it was a high value, not an average, so could easily be an anomaly and b) because it would hurt any woman to have their breasts bounce that much PLUS be chaffing against fabric. As for the bra strap, the researcher proposing the rotary generators said himself that it wouldn't be possible to attach it to the bra strap in a comfortable way.

The only promising possibility in this article is the nanowire fabric. "According to [the professor from Georgia Tech], the fabric is cheap to produce and surprisingly efficient; his team hopes to use it to create energy-generating T-shirts and other articles of clothing. A square meter of fiber produces about 80 milliwatts of power, which is enough to run a small device like a cell phone. [They expect] to have a shirt available for purchase within five years."