Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: neilep on 19/08/2011 01:38:31

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: neilep on 19/08/2011 01:38:31

I was wondering if there is enough electricity in me to charge my phone ?

Does the human body generate enough electricity to accomplish this ?

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Setting aside plugging a phone directly into your body don't ewe think there's a market out there for a wearable device that keeps your phone charged up all the time by the implementation of your own kinetic energy ?

whajafink ?

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: neilep on 19/08/2011 01:39:10

Ewe invent it.....we'll split it 50/50 !

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: peppercorn on 20/08/2011 12:27:45

Too late!


Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging (http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu/zlwang/paper/2008/08_nat_1.pdf)

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: neilep on 20/08/2011 17:47:41

Quote from: peppercorn on 20/08/2011 12:27:45

Too late!


Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging (http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu/zlwang/paper/2008/08_nat_1.pdf)

Cripes !!..Thanks Peppercorn.....I hope they realise they owe me 50% !

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: RD on 20/08/2011 19:25:35

maybe via shoes ... http://www.media.mit.edu/resenv/power.html

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: CliffordK on 20/08/2011 20:29:20

Ummm...
Should I ask where that plug is going in the photo?

There would be a number of possible energy sources.

• Mechanical Energy (above links)
• Heat Energy (or in some cases evaporative cooling).  Could you mineaturize something like a Stirling Engine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine)?
• Chemical Energy.  That stuff you flush down the pot could potentially be used for producing methane, heat of decomposition, or perhaps dried and burnt (somewhat like Geezer did with Buffalo Chips when crossing the Great Plains).
• Direct neural/electrical energy.  Probably not enough of this, but all neurons as well as those innervating muscles including the heart transmit electrical pulses.  You might have to be pretty invasive to capture significant amounts of this energy though.

(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fkatehuntertheatre.com%2FContent%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F08%2Feeg-cap-2-man.jpg&hash=7435bcbeed9e3b733040ca2595f5b7b6)

Title: Is There Enough Power In Me To Charge My Phone ?
Post by: teknix on 24/08/2011 11:48:58

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect

The thermoelectric effect is the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage and vice-versa. A thermoelectric device creates a voltage when there is a different temperature on each side. Conversely, when a voltage is applied to it, it creates a temperature difference. At the atomic scale, an applied temperature gradient causes charged carriers in the material to diffuse from the hot side to the cold side, similar to a classical gas that expands when heated; hence inducing a thermal current.
 
This effect can be used to generate electricity, measure temperature or change the temperature of objects. Because the direction of heating and cooling is determined by the polarity of the applied voltage, thermoelectric devices are efficient temperature controllers.
 
The term "thermoelectric effect" encompasses three separately identified effects: the Seebeck effect, Peltier effect and Thomson effect. Textbooks may refer to it as the Peltier–Seebeck effect. This separation derives from the independent discoveries of French physicist Jean Charles Athanase Peltier and Estonian-German physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck. Joule heating, the heat that is generated whenever a voltage is applied across a resistive material, is related though it is not generally termed a thermoelectric effect. The Peltier–Seebeck and Thomson effects are thermodynamically reversible,[1] whereas Joule heating is not.