| A Power Plant on Each Leg |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Sunday, 10 February 2008 | ||
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I don't know about you, but I've been feeling downright un-bionic lately. What I need is a good onboard power source that will whir and buzz and make me really feel like I'm worth at least $10 million. Thankfully a group of US and Canadian scientists have, together, created a "knee dynamo" that taps the power of walking to create enough power to charge mobile phones or iPods or increasingly advanced electrical prosthetics for amputees (and RoboCops). The device, aside from being obnoxiously large and loud, is really quite cool. It actually uses the energy of the leg swinging forward at the beginning of the stride to generate the power. This energy would otherwise need to be counteracted by the leg muscles to keep the leg from jarring the knee. This way, the dynamo can actually produce more power than the extra energy the wearer spends to use the device. Think of it like regenerative breaking in hybrid cars. Every time you take a step, your thigh has to both speed up and slow down your lower leg. This thing just helps your leg slow itself down, and captures some of that energy. There's an excellent video of the thing in action at BBC news, I suggest you check it out. I'm saying this right now...if I can't power my own iPod 15 years from now, I give up on this planet...thanks to these guys for getting this technology another step (or half-stride) closer to reality. Via BBC News
Comments
(2)
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written by Erin , February 11, 2008
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written by Dan , June 09, 2008
Looks kool i guess. I acree with Erin.
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I actually saw a similar concept at Albion College, where they were doing a project where they hooked up some kind of battery charger to stationary bikes in their gym. Using the bike charges up the battery which can then be used! I don't know if I'm explaining it correctly, but I think that's the jist and I was very impressed with it when I saw it.