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Mechanical ‘trees’ swaying in the wind: Turning good vibrations into energy

New tools for harvesting wind energy may soon look less like giant windmills and more like tiny leafless trees.

A project at The Ohio State University is testing whether high-tech objects that look a bit like artificial trees can generate renewable power when they are shaken by the wind — or by the sway of a tall building, traffic on a bridge or even seismic activity.

In a recent issue of the Journal of Sound and Vibration, researchers report that they’ve uncovered something new about the vibrations that pass through tree-shaped objects when they are shaken.

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