Not to provide any useful current.

The problem with using piezo-electric materials for power generation is that power is a function of both voltage and current (Power = Voltage x Current).

All piezo-electric materials that I know of have a very high internal resistance. This means you get high voltages but almost no current.

Thus, Power = Useable Voltage x Almost no current = almost no power

This might change as technologies develop. Perhaps a Piezo-electric material can be made out of a superconducting material in the future. This might allow for a sustainable and significant current. But for now the internal resistance of piezo-electric materials makes producing power impractical.

However, if you wanted to create a generator that only produced a enough power to run a micro-amp device, is more than practical. The sensors made with peizo-electric devices could indeed power the processor and transmitter. For instance, using piezo-electric devices in a pair of shoes could provide feedback to a runner that their stride is decaying due to fatigue; therefore, providing feedback to the Marathon runner of a less efficient use of their energy expenditure. A small battery powered earpiece reciever might recieve a periodic signal from a transmitter in the shoes. The transmitter would transmit correlated information about the characteristics of the runners pressures and change in pressures produced by piezo-electric sensors located in several positions of the sole of the shoe. A micro-current powered computer would compare the signals recieved and create a profile for the runner for a given course. The deviation from the previous profile would give the runner a series of audible signals that indicate pronation, gait, heal to toe distribution of pressure, changes in total pressure, ... Ten different beeps, the first 5 a lower tone center carrier and the runner knows is for the left foot. The last 5 beeps for the right foot. The tones would ideally be exactly the same for the course previously run and so the runner would hear 5 identical low tones and then 5 identical higher tones. As the runner feels more energetic as compared to a previous run, the total pressure might increase, pronation may decrease, toe pressure increases over heel pressure, ... so that the runner knows they are not pacing themselves as before for that portion of the course. This is just one of many low-power uses of your piezo-electric generators, but for very low power devices.

Not a bad ise if it could work, but if the wind were sufficient to create electricity via piezo generator why not just use a small wind mill? They are much more efficient.

Piezo-electric materials design is a very active field of development. Most piezo-electric materials are currently designed for specific uses. Nobody is currently using p-e generators for general power production, so no material designed for the job is currently made. If a p-e material was designed specifically for your job, your idea might actually be feasible. Of course, the challenge is designing the device in such a way as to make it efficient and practical. I suspect it could be done, but it would probably require some very good engineering. Good luck!

CF, shoot me an email whenever, okay? to fa1congl@gmail.comI am seriously planning to build something to generate electricity from lightning after I got an inspiration about that this morning, which s exactly what u put on ur comment! So, I think we can discuss that, what do u think?

To the nay-sayers about this idea.

Check this out:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1214137061?bctid=1233395616

Here you go. http://www.humdingerwind.com/

I'm glad to see the idea is being put to practical use. I love it!

-CF

humdinger links excellent.

these are good, too:http://www.piezo.com/prodproto4EHkit.html

http://www.piezo.com/prodproto2GSkit.html

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5512795.html

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20080179994.pdf