iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Traffic. It costs hours of your life and does the environment no favors. But what if all the time you spent sitting in traffic actually generated electricity?
California is hoping to turn that frustration into actual power. The state’s energy commission is planning to invest $2 million in a study of piezoelectric crystals, which, when squeezed, produce small amounts of power.
The idea is that maybe one day if enough of those crystals are placed in the asphalt, the pressure of the cars sitting on top of them will generate usable amounts of electricity.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.