Partially rotten wood floors generate electricity when compressed

Gloved hands comparing a native wood cube with a darker fungi-decayed wood cube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VNZ4ol0wqs

Allowing white-rot fungi to partially decay wood for several weeks softens the cellular structure so that repeated compression — like footsteps — produces a measurable piezoelectric voltage.

Lab cubes of treated wood have yielded on the order of 0.85 V per ~15 mm square, enough in principle to trickle-charge low-power sensors embedded in floors without batteries.

Friday March 12th 2021