Canadian researchers have apparently developed a new type of battery that generates electricity by forcing water through special ceramic filters. These Electrokinetic Microchannel Batteries as they’re called, only produce a small amount of juice at the moment, but the boffins are hoping that one day things like PDAs and cellphones could be powered using this technology. Water fuelled phones – the mind boggles.

‘When any liquid, such as water, comes in contact with a solid, such as glass, a tiny layer just a few millionths of a metre thick is formed at the interface of the glass and water. Called the electric double layer (EDL), this layer carries a small electrical charge.’