From crashing waves to a brisk breeze, energy is constantly flowing around us. But how do we convert that energy into usable electricity?

For mechanical engineer Sean Peterson, the answer might lie in ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC)-synthetic, electro-active materials that produce a voltage when you apply mechanical force.

In recent experiments, he has immersed an ultra-thin strip of IPMC material at one end of a container of water and generated a vortex of swirling liquid at the…