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Using wood pulp and footsteps, a professor just found a new source of renewable energy

While thousands of people the world over continue to go solar to generate alternative energy, a lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison just made a major breakthrough on a completely unique new conductive material: wood pulp. While the mention of wood pulp mention leave many scratching their head, the lab found a way to manufacture floorboards out of the commonly wasted material, and did so in a manner that took advantage of its composition of cellulose nanofibers. In other words, the team of engineers managed to develop a flooring material capable of generating electricity by something as simple as a footstep.