The Cities of the Future Powered by Human Bodies

It's no secret that big cities require a significant amount of energy. Scientists may have found a new green way to satisfy the ever-growing demand while relying on the power produced by human bodies.

Surprisingly, every physical activity that solicits our muscles provides a more or less significant source of power. Dancing, running, playing football or even walking are great examples of how our body creates energy, Discovery informs.

Once stored and used, this amount of green power could power the cities of the future in a sustainable manner, turning fossil fuels into ancient history.

Researchers from Singapore have come up with a wearable thermoelectric power generator that can put us to work even when we are asleep.

The gadget manages to display a power output of up to 1.3 microwatts. Although it might not sound like a major breakthrough, experts say that if the entire global population were to wear the device, the system would manage to deliver up to 9,000 megawatts of clean energy, while participants would do nothing else than sleep.

Fast running triggers the metabolic equivalent of 300 watts. Dancing is also an efficient activity when it comes to energy production, since the body of the dancer can generate up to 250 watts.

A study reveals that if 440 people were to engage all their efforts in a flash mob, they would obtain up to 440 megawatts of clean, eco-friendly power.

Green technologies have evolved considerably during the last decade. If scientists scale up efforts to come up with effective methods to collect energy from body heat and use it to supply grids, the benefits would definitely be noticeable.

Such innovations are welcomed especially nowadays, when the energy price is hitting higher rates and the power consumption of important cities keeps growing.

Experts have established that New York City and neighboring communities will require no less than 15,000 megawatts of power.