Scientists create super-thin 'sheet' that could charge our phones

Breakthrough means large sheets of energy-harvesting material can be produced

We have all been there. In a rush to leave the house we grab our phones and head out the door, realising all too late that the battery is dead because we forgot to plug it into the tablecloth.

Or perhaps we have not. But this could be the future that scientists hope to usher in with electronic sheets that charge our mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets by harvesting energy from the world around us.