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Forget about stealing your neighbor's Wi-Fi to surf the internet. Using cheap everyday materials, researchers at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering have developed a remarkable device that can convert microwave signals, like those used to wirelessly transmit the internet, into usable electricity. So in the future, you might instead be able to use your neighbor's Wi-Fi network to power your home.
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Remarkably, the device, which can be tuned to harvest energy from everything from wireless routers, to cellphone towers, to even passing satellites, has been found to be as efficient as modern solar panels. And as the research continues, that efficiency is only going to be improved.
