Hamster-Powered Night Light

An anonymous reader writes "Though Skippy the Hamster powers this night light by running on his excercise wheel, the same concepts and low-rpm alternator design could be applied to a school science project using different energy sources! A small wind or hydro turbine could easily power this alternator. The Otherpower.com staff thought of building a hamster-powered nightlight a couple years ago at a rather, uh, soused company Christmas party. Then recently Analise, an 8th grader from Albuquerque, NM, contacted DanF through the AllExperts.com Science For Kids forum, asking 'Can a rodent generate enough electricity to power a light by running on it's wheel?'"

Comments

1 Watt

[brejc8]

I got about 1 Watt from my electric hamster but I think you could get much better from the real thing.
1 watt is enough to power a few LEDs. (Or an asynchronous microprocessor)

Re:1 Watt

[danamania]

Ha. I shall power my entire house with my army of one button mice

Re:1 Watt

[Anonymous Coward]

Old photo I saw this in 1998 back when I was into bulletinboards. at least give credit where credit is due

Re:1 Watt

[robsteele]

I'm just guessing but couldn't you get more energy out of the critter by setting it on fire?

Re:1 Watt

[bhtooefr]

You couldn't have seen THIS one in 1998 - the iMac had just come out, and this photo had an eMac in it.

Heh.

[London Bus]

I guess this article should really be under "It's funny. Laugh.". Using animals' movement to power a nightlight (which presumably has to be on for upwards of 10 hours a day) is about as good an idea as teens4christ. Still, it's a neat way to teach kids about dynamos and the like, I'll grant them that! Anything that gets kids interested in science can only be a good thing.

Re:Heh.

[FrYGuY101]

Anything that gets kids interested in science can only be a good thing.

And this will be my defence for my next book: "Creating Meth labs for fun and profit!"

(Cue the 'Step 3: Profit' jokes now... we all know they're coming)

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

...about as good an idea as teens4christ. Still, it's a neat way to teach kids about dynamos and the like, I'll grant them that! Anything that gets kids interested in science can only be a good thing.

One could also argue that getting kids interested in Jesus Christ can only be a better thing.

Re:Heh.

[Omega Leader-(P12)]

You obviously don't know kids, what is needed is a light when they are going to sleep and if they wake up crying the rat needs to be trained to jump on the wheel and run.

So much less than 10+ hours of running is needed, but I am sure one of those super marathon rodents from yesterday couldn't hurt.

Re:Heh.

[philbert26]

One could also argue that getting kids interested in Jesus Christ can only be a better thing.

He is the light of the world, after all (John 8:12). And he doesn't even need a hamster.

Re:Heh.

[aussie_a]

It's Step 4: Profit. Sheesh, everyone knows that. Step 3 is the missing step.

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

The grandparent post is "insightful," but the parent is "off-topic?"

Re:Heh.

[NOLAChief]

10 hours a day eh? I think my fiancee's hedgehog can handle that. It runs. All. Night. Long. Off to work so I can get some sleep....:)

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

and one could argue that you're a dumbass too...

as a matter of fact, I think that's what I'll do.

Dumbass.

Re:Heh.

[JollyFinn]

Do you mean this one I think he uses some fossil fuel...
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable [Luke3:17]

Burn Baby BURN.
In satanist russia YOU rule in hell.

Re:Heh.

[antirename]

Just a theory, but here's how I see society evolving:

1. Hunter-gatherer
2. Agricultural
3. Agricultural, with some cities and cottage industry.
4. Industrial
5. Technological
6. No more superstition or religion, ready to move on to other things/better places.

Superstition and religion are, in my opinion, vestiges of the caveman days when nothing was understood and explanations were just pulled out of someone's ass so that the rest of the tribe felt better. That might come acrost as flamebait, but I really do think that's how it happened. Faith (which is an odd word in and of itself) in something that can't be seen, does you no day to day good, and certainly can't be proven makes no sense to me. Let alone killing someone because they have a different faith/set of irrational beliefs. It's time for the human race to grow up.

Re:Heh.

[B'Trey]

That idea seems to be fading.

Re:Heh.

[Deideldorfer]

I agree with you, however many people (today) lack the intelligence to understand the scientific explainations. It's much easier for a simpleton to understand "God works in mysterious ways" than to try to understand a scientific TOE. Perhaps some day education will be effective enough to teach the vast majority of people to think rationally, but I don't think this will happen in my lifetime.

Re:Heh.

[JollyFinn]

The last century's biggest massacres was ANTI-religion force.[Polpot, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin...] So I think you might have some point to it. Face it people cannot control they badness in overall. There is no better or great found inside of human minds. Face it. People are selfish and bad, and never are going to grow up from that. The set of irrational beliefs attacking each other the worst of last century definitely is atheism. If you look backwards from time, its always been that way.

If its religion or any other means people are manipulated to believe something and then go and slaughter others, top persons usually where usually more interested in power and money than any goal that their God has given, and the religion for slaughter usually where twisted. Christianity definitely was extremely twisted for crusades from what bible tells.

Face it no matter what believe system person is under (Atheism is considered as one) it won't change it for good. Some times christianity may have changed drugaddicts when they converted from atheism, but on other direction there hasn't been any other improvement than stop claiming something is sin. Think, start drinking [No benefit] , having fun in women[Not applicable on slashdot] , stops helping others, and just takes care of himself. On other way-> the worst thing is that at first few years the radical new christian shouts around, of goodness of their path and are ignored mostly. And at some point shut ups most of the time.
Face it atheism as a religion is no better than christianity. And any view system if twisted and washed enough can be moved to a mass murdering machine. Now call me cynical, I simply believe that in next 100 years, there will be a decade when billions will be slaughtered, and its done by atheists getting rid of religion. And still they fail in it, because christianity is such a strange thing that more you threat and slaughter them, more they convert others. But let em have idle decades and just influence from around world will start creeping in, and slowly converting people away.

Re:Heh.

[philbert26]

No more superstition or religion, ready to move on to other things/better places.

But you can't define things as "better" unless you have some form of belief that defines good things and bad things. There's no provable law that dictates what is good and what is bad.

In a desperate attempt to make this on topic, let's imagine a hamster turning a wheel to generate light. Imagine that somehow the hamsters are conditioned to run on demand. Some people would say this is good, others bad. A Christian would use the Bible to justify using animals to do work for humans. An animal rights activist may view this as a form of slavery, and using his own unprovable belief (that slavery is bad), will argue that hamsters should only run on wheels when they feel like it.

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Phase 1: Steal Underpants
Phase 2: ...
Phase 3: Profit!

There. The record is officially set straight. If you don't believe an AC, go ask the Underpants Gnomes yourself.

Re:Heh.

[robslimo]

Yeah, it's kinda humorous... and sad, because skippy went missing a while back and is presumed dead. Cause of death unverified but may be due to 'lethal ingestion by feline.'

You can find the info by searching the term 'skippy' at www.fieldlines.com

I'd give you a direct link, but slashdot seems to have swamped Dan's servers.

Re:Heh.

[IgnoramusMaximus]

ANTI-religion force.[Polpot, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin...]

Err...Wermacht had "Got mit Uns" on their beltbuckles... I think you got Adolf there by mistake. He claimed to be on a mission from God and was supposed to be a devout Christian (hence his hangup on Jews, you know Judas and all that jazz).

Additionally, as far as I know, Tzarist Russia was just as bloody and insane as the October revolution crew who were aiming at getting rid of the feudal lords, so Lenin is out. Stalin came later and had no excuse.

Face it atheism as a religion is no better than christianity

All religions, or religion like-dogmas can be made to serve evil people, Christianity (as proven many times throught history) included. What makes a difference is a conscience and that is not related to any religion, although most religions would like to claim that only they have a monopoly on it.

Re:Heh.

[MrByte420]

Right...I like this quote from that link:

The reality has been very different. Along with progress, scientific advance brought environmental devastation and the potential to eliminate human life. Atheistic regimes dominating a huge proportion of the globe created new forms of tyranny (including mind control) and executed unprecedented millions.

Ever see that old George Carlin routine about how god has been one of the leading killers of man throughout the ages?

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Cut it out with your "face it" bullshit. You are spouting crap.

Re:Heh.

[strictfoo]

Ever see that old George Carlin routine about how god has been one of the leading killers of man throughout the ages?

Yes the great philosopher George Carlin. George "they _only_ killed 3000 people on 9/11 - what's the big deal?" Carlin. I don't know if there's a man more full of himself.

That argument is tired and old. Those people were not killed by God or religion, they were killed by people taking advantage of the beliefs of others for their own corrupt political/selfish/disgusting gains.

I don't see most religions having those problems anymore (with one notable exception - hopefully that religion will get it figured out over the next decade or two).

Re:Heh.

[The Conductor]

As far as Hiter goes, he hated christians, Catholics in particular, and Polish Catholics the worst. Nazism, though, tended to co-opt christianity, even going so far as to ally with Catholic Italy; no one can accuse the Nazis as being principled, eh? The fact that Nazi crimes targeted Jews so much reflects popular attitudes in Germany more than Hitler's own preferences.

I'm with you on the (lack of) effect religion has. Tsarism, overtly christian, was despotic & cruel. But the secular communisim that followed was inifinitely worse. Today we have a despotic secular regime in China, and despotic religious regimes in the middle east. We see peaceful religious communites in the US and peaceful secular civilization in Japan. We don't see masses fleeing oppression in more-christian southern Europe to more-secular northern Europe, nor the reverse.

I see no pattern; the religious or secular nature of a society seems to have no effect on its respect for freedom & human dignity. (Take that, Ayn Rand!)

Re:Heh.

[Halthar]

Please understand, this isn't intended as a flame by any stretch of the imagination. It's simply a criticism of a few of your points.

Superstition and religion are, in my opinion, vestiges of the caveman days when nothing was understood and explanations were just pulled out of someone's ass so that the rest of the tribe felt better.

This is still occuring it serves a purpose a very important purpose, actually. I hate to break it to you, but contrary to what you may desire it isn't going anywhere soon, and is in fact something you may participate in.

That might come acrost as flamebait, but I really do think that's how it happened.

I really hope it doesn't come across as flamebait, I personally don't see it that way.

Faith (which is an odd word in and of itself) in something that can't be seen, does you no day to day good, and certainly can't be proven makes no sense to me.

First point on this comment would be that religion/superstition do people ALOT of good in general on a day to day basis emotionally, at least the majority of the religous people I know.

The problem with this comment overall is that science is essentially a form of faith. You have to have faith that:

A) your measurements are accurate.
B) that the model you are using is correct
C) that what you, I, or anyone else considers to be reality is in fact real.

Now, the list above isn't all inclusive, I am sure I could find some other things were I to actually sit down and consider it at length, but those are pretty much essential, so I will stick with those for the time being while I actually get some coffee in me.

Science tries to cover the first two by making sure that measurement equipment gets better, that results get verified by people elsewhere, and that models are modified/thrown out as new information is discovered. Unfortunately, point C is kind of a kick in the nuts. Also unfortunately, A and B mean basically nothing unless C can be proven. Much like the existence or non-existence of a God, there is only one way I can think of to prove it, and that is to be omniscient. Problem being, that unless you know everything, you can't say for certain that:

A) There is no God!
B) Any of this is actually real.

In other words, you take it as a matter of faith that what you observe is real, and upon that faith you decide that one model or the other is correct. If you are one of the many who doesn't believe in a God, then you take it as a matter of faith that there is no God, and may be trying to help the rest of the "tribe" feel better about that belief by asserting that there is proof that all of this is real, that the models are correct, etc. Again, the models, the existance of this reality, and everything else are a matter of faith. If it isn't a matter of faith, prove that any of this is actually real. Though it may seem well supported, it really is simply a house of cards. Maybe it is real, maybe it isn't. None of us, so far as I have seen, can either prove it or disprove it, ultimately.

Now, please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying there is or isn't a God. There may or may not be a God. Eventually we will either find out or we wont. Personally, I am cool with that setup.

Let alone killing someone because they have a different faith/set of irrational beliefs. It's time for the human race to grow up.

I completely agree, but I would like to point out that it seems from your post as though you, at least in part, look down upon those who are religous because they are holding onto something which is based on "vestiges of the caveman days". The problem being that in a way even approaching things from a scientific standpoint is the same thing, just in a different package. It is still based on faith, and it could be correct or incorrect. Without that messy omniscient thing, none of us can know. Maybe you are omniscient, personally I doubt it, but I myse

Re:Heh.

[LWATCDR]

..about as good an idea as teens4christ. Still, it's a neat way to teach kids about dynamos and the like, I'll grant them that! Anything that gets kids interested in science can only be a good thing.

One could also argue that getting kids interested in Jesus Christ can only be a better thing.

Getting kids interested in Science, Jesus Christ, Art, History, and books are all good things. Actually getting kids out and doing something positive and real instead of sitting in front of a screen all day is all good.

Re:Heh.

[IgnoramusMaximus]

As far as Hiter goes, he hated christians, Catholics in particular, and Polish Catholics the worst.

Who really knows what he thought but the outside appearances (and the way the German masses were understanding it) was that of Christianity and so for the purpose of classifying Nazis as "anti-religion" that didnt wash. That was my whole beef with the previous poster.

Also I believe that Hitler harbored a deep personal hatred of Jews, athough if it was caused by something other then religion is a matter of academic (and rather futile) discussion at this point.

Re:Heh.

[JollyFinn]

Adolf Hitler at first USED religion when he wasn't in power as a aid towards his goal, then PERSECUTED IT! Thats correct lutheran priests in nazi germany had some persecution going. As for Wermach belts that historical, not something that Hitler put there.

the famous Lutheran priest Martin Niemöller from Nazi Germany and his laconic remarks: "First, they took the communists," said Niemöller, "and I did not protest, since I am not a communist. Then, they abducted the Jews, but I did not say anything, for I am not a Jew. Afterwards, they arrested the catholics, but why should I bother, I am not a catholic? And when they came to get hold of me, there was, strangely enough, nobody left to protest."

"It would be misleading to give the impression that the persecution of Protestants and Catholics by the Nazi State tore the German people asunder or even greatly aroused the vast majority of them. It did not. A people who had so lightly given up their political and cultural and economic freedoms were not, except for a relatively few, going to die or even risk imprisonment to preserve freedom of worship."

I wouldn't call that an act of devouted christian! Nor I would call a Germany a christian nation if people just ignored the the arresting of large portion of its priests of majority churches and so on. I'd call Nazi Germany about as christian nation as US is, slighly less. I would call the Nazi Germany mostly atheists and christians by name but without acting on it.
I think the thinking Hitler as christian may come from one certain political tool nazis took.

The Nazi-controlled German Christians Faith Movement dominated mainstream churches by mixing dogma with politics and proclaimed: "In the person of the Fuhrer we behold the One sent from God who places Germany in the presence of the Lord of History."

They simply spoke their own politics with few selected words from bible and called that a christian religion. Those who where devoted christians opposed and where send to laborcamps. But as always, most of the church members of a church where just inherited the membership, and took formal religion but didn't stand behind the christian faith nor no stand against Hitler.

There are plenty of others so but this is just an example Devoted Christian in Nazi Regime

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich b. February 4, 1906 d. April 9, 1945
Memorial only. Lutheran priest and theologian, active anti-Nazi. Arrested 1943 and died in Flossenburg concentration camp.

Re:Heh.

[IgnoramusMaximus]

...Lutheran priest Martin Niemöller..

This is clearly starting to thread on contested historical turf. I have seen at least 5 versions of the Niemöller quote, some have Christians, some Unionists, some insert other groups in the list. Anyhow, to make things complicated, many Christians after the WWII were uncomfortable with the types of activity German Christian Faith Movement and others were engaged into and a plethora of various contradictory explanations, ever-mutating quotes etc appeared ever since. I simply cannot tell what versions of history are correct beyond these simple facts: Germany was at least nominally, majority Christan faith during the Nazi rule. Hitler used religious imagery and professed to be a Christian in many speaches and evidence still exists of his active pursuit of his image as a devout believer. That is all that I have to go by and unfortunately it seems that a strong link between (supposed) Christian beliefs and Hitler does exist.

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe he was referring to the parts of the Bible where God destroys mankind twice.

Re:Heh.

[The Conductor]

I agree that Nazism was not anti-religion (but it may have become so if it endured & Hitler stayed in charge), but the OP referred to Hitler himself, who was probably anti-christian but too sly to sound off on it publicly. Now, to make his point, the OP'er should have referred to Nazism & not Hitler himself, but that argument is weak (both for or against) for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

Hitler's hatred for jews is often attributed to his bitter experience attempting to enter an Austrian art school. At least, he said so himself in Mein Kampf. Of course there is no way to know for sure, especially for someone who died 60 years ago.
.....Also of note is that Nazi anti-semitism was, at its core, racist and based on eugenic pseudoscience, not religious zeal. "Racial" jews from families that converted to christianity a century previously were still stripped of civil rights.

Re:Heh.

[xmundt]

Greetings and Salutations.
Interesting thoughts...but, perhaps trumped by the quote "By their actions, ye shall know them". It is trivial to claim you are something. It is a whole other thing to actually follow the precepts of those beliefs. As for Hitler's Germany, I would say that, when push came to shove, he may have claimed it was Christian, but, his actions spoke otherwise, and, prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Hitler and his ilk were not followers of Christ in any really meaningful way.
Remember...it is not a person's words that prove what they are...it is their actions.
Regards
Dave Mundt

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you for the unusually thoughful analysis on this topic but your ending statement begs a question: grow up to what? What is there 'out there' to provide the example or the path to follow in this growing up process? Starfleet Academy? Ok sorry but this is /. after all.

Seriously, what are we to attain to, who are we going to follow, what example can you provide for us to emulate. Who's got it right? Quick now, life is shorter than you think...

Course what this has to do with hamster lights I don't know... hmmm, I think I'd find it kind of sad when the light goes out for good one day. Yeah I'd be setting myself up for some unhappiness that way, ok forget the hamster light.

Re:Heh.

[superyooser]

Wermacht had "Got mit Uns" on their beltbuckles

And Saddam Hussein put "Allahu Akhbar" on the Iraqi flag. It's a trick to get support from the masses. Nothing more.

Re:Heh.

[antirename]

You should really read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainance" by Robert Pirsig. "What is good, Phaedrus, and what is not good" is a question for the ages. Humans know (unless they've been conditioned otherwise by religion or some other means) what is good. They know. They can make that distinction. If you read the book, the key point is that the "river of knowledge" is running wide, and shallow. It's also worth noting that Pirsig wrote that book after electroshock "therapy" to clear his head. Most people I've given that book to have come back annoyed becuase the didn't understand it, but you have to try, right?

Re:Heh.

[antirename]

No, I just like things I can measure. I make a change, it's validated on paper (or the screen), it goes into production. Thats it. Thats all. No "faith". It works or it doesn't, which is something that you can't apply to religion. Religion doesn't DO anything. You (If you are in fact religious) won't know until you die, at which point you will either be reborn or not really care. If others have gone before you, they haven't bothered to check back in with findings... you could be the first first to /. heaven!

Re:Heh.

[antirename]

The only thing to attain to would be a lack of superstition. That's all, and it would cure a multitude of ills (not all, but a lot of them).

Re:Heh.

[kunudo]

I agree with everything in your comment. How nice that at least one person shares my view on this.

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmm, ok as far as it goes, but that's only a negative, a statement of what not to do. I believe we need a positive, something to aim for, to emulate, to grow toward...

Re:Heh.

[gujo-odori]

2. Put said underpants in a vending machine in Japan (note: they must be female's underpants, except in certain parts of Shinjuku).

Re:Heh.

[cfuse]

One could also argue that getting kids interested in Jesus Christ can only be a better thing.

Except science is real, ie. assuming that Jesus weighed y, and that the surface tension of the water was x, write an equation showing exactly how hydrophobic the soles of Jesus' sandals would have had to have been.

Re:Heh.

[Anonymous Coward]

I actually agree with you to a point here. I think that can be derived for people's want to feed their curiosity rather than find truth. People want to simply be able to explain the questions that they have. Think about it. How do you think rumors get spread, people find some way of explaining a situation and consider whatever they think of; to be the truth. They give no thought to other possible explanations because they have an answer that fills their curiosity already and have absolutly no need for truth.

There's not enough hamsters in the world to...

[Scythr0x0rs]

power your website while it's being slashdotted.

Re:There's not enough hamsters in the world to...

[Anonymous Coward]

1. ...
2. .. Slashdotted (magic word)
3. Everybody goes HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAH

I hate Slashdot formulae, however I will concede that I used one to illustrate my point just then.

Re:There's not enough hamsters in the world to...

[gavint]

That's why the Google cache is powered by Pigeons.

Re:There's not enough hamsters in the world to...

[Jim Hall]

I got in, but it was veeeeeeeeery slow. Here's a mirror:

hamster mirror

Yes but

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Would it work with badgers?

Re:Yes but

[suss]

Would it work with badgers?

The people at the Badger Institute Of Devon, England have been conducting experiments and have come to the conclusion that yes, badgers can generate electricity while running in a wheel, if two other conditions are met; those involving mushrooms and a snake. Oh yes, it's a snake.

Magical Trevor, the head of the department, was unavailable for further comment.

Re:Yes but

[BabyDave]

According to Weebl (the creator), you shouldn't link to badgerbadgerbadger.com any more (there's some dispute involving ad revenue going on). Use www.badgerx3.com

(The news post relating to this seems to have slipped off Weebl's front page now - use the "goto page" links at the bottom to find it, or read the forum thread)

Re:Yes but

[kg_o.O]

Can't...turn...it...off....Must...turn....it..off. .....badgerbadgerbadger!

Re:Yes but

[Anonymous Coward]

For all things hamster, try here:

Re:Yes but

[AndroidCat]

Does it have the original hamster dance? (Text translated, but who cares.)

Skippy

[Anonymous Coward]

I always thought Skippy was a kangaroo.

Re:Skippy

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe he was a dinosaur kangaroo?

Devo!

[vuvewux]

Man has finally harnessed the power of animals. Soon we will be able to bring animals to other fields, replacing farm equipment and automobiles.

Re:Devo!

[nih]

did the hamster that was powering the web server die?

Re:Devo!

[5m477m4n]

I'm sure within a week the hamsters will form a union. They'll become so expensive, that we'll start outsourcing our hamster needs to India.

Re:Devo!

[pclminion]

Soon we will be able to bring animals to other fields, replacing farm equipment [...]

Fields... Farm equipment... Get it?! Hahahahahhaha!

Sorry.

Re:Devo!

[fm6]

No, he just got a heart attack from all those hits!

Build one of these for Oprah...

[EvilCabbage]

String a baked ham to the thing and see if she can light up Chicago.

Thankyou, I'll be here all week. Try the fish.

Re:Build one of these for Oprah...

[stinkyfingers]

Oprah stopped eating long enough to finish a marathon - Google it.

Re:Build one of these for Oprah...

[freqres]

Meaning she will be hungry enought to light up both Chicago and L.A.

Re:Build one of these for Oprah...

[Anonymous Coward]

How do you know this, do you watch her show?

In other news...

[uodeltasig]

Skippy dies due to slashdotting a site with 14 pictures of him... Now who is going to power the annoyingly loud little nightlight?

Power

[Outsider_99]

I heard a theory once about getting a gym to power their lights from the people in the gym. The idea was to hook up all the bikes to a generator. I think its a good idea.

Re:Power

[DigiShaman]

I remember hearing about a gym bike that had a generator connected to it. The idea was that if you kept exercising, you could watch as much TV as you like...or physically able too. heh

Re:Power

[Anonymous Coward]

That joke made the round here in California during the power shortage few years ago. Think guys trying to show off to the girls with the current meter: yeah baby, check me out, I'm "electric!"

Re:Power

[Skater]

There was one at a nuclear power plant in Berwick, PA (in the visitor's center). I wasn't able to power it for more than a few minutes despite riding a bike daily...

In that case, the TV was hooked to a video camera pointed at the cyclist. The electricity the cyclist generated went to running the lights so the camera had enough light to show a picture.

--RJ

Re:Power

[(trb001)]

I laughed at first, but you may be onto something. There's a lot of wasted energy coming out of a gym. People are, essentially, expending energy so that their muscles can do work, but that energy is only going to move weights against gravity, so essentially to waste. Huh.

--trb

Re:Power

[syphax]

I'm all for this, but you have to realize that the economics don't work.

A pretty good cyclist pedaling pretty hard (200-250W) would take 4-5 hours to generate 1 kWh (worth around 10 cents).

If you were paying the cyclist (in the case of a gym, fortunately they are paying you), you're looking at $25+ per kWh. That makes solar look damn cheap!

Re:Power

[Aguila]

I've also ridden one at a nuclear power plant, and had difficulty maintaining power output. However, if I recall, the difficulty was due to lack of optimisation of the bicycle. First, the riding position (seat height, frame size) was not very adjustable, forcing me to ride in an awkward position. More importantly, however, the bike was the equivalent of a single speed bicycle... no ability to switch gears. Therefore, to obtain a high power output, it was necessary to have a very high cadence (peddle very quickly), which most likely switched the excercise from aerobic to anaerobic. If they would make a 10-speed model, I expect that a good bicyclist could maintain a decent power output relatively easily.

Re:Power

[Anonymous Coward]

It might take a while for one cyclist to do 1kWh, but if you rigged generators to most everything in the gym, from rowing machines to NordicTrack's to cycling machines, you might be able to generate at least a fair amount of electricity.

Re:Power

[pclminion]

Yeah, but the original poster was talking about lighting up the gym, not selling power. If you assume an average of 100 watts per exerciser (many people can't sustain 200 watts let alone 250), that's more than enough power to light the gym up. Especially with modern high-efficiency fluorescent lights.

Re:Power

[pclminion]

It's not lifting the weight against gravity which "wastes" energy -- a lifted weight can be used to turn a generator as it falls back down, if you want. It's the heat produced in the muscles during exercise that wastes energy.

A lot of the energy expended when you exercise just turns to heat, not useful movement.

Re:Power

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm all for this, but you have to realize that the economics don't work.
...
If you were paying the cyclist...

Naturally, "the economics don't work" when you throw in some completely irrelevant and stupid scenario.

Re:Power

[Skater]

Good point - I didn't even think of that. This was like riding an uncomfortable exercise bike.

--RJ

Re:Power

[syphax]

I didn't even get into the fixed costs (generators, etc.), which would themselves make such a project have a negative ROI, unless you count on increased memberships via clever marketing).

My broader point is that when you think about it, energy is insanely cheap ($0.10 / kWh on the grid vs. $35 DIY), which would be good news if the external costs (pollution, geopolitical situations) were already internalized.

Re:Power

[RaveX]

A couple things about this:

1. You're right, optimization of your riding position matters a lot. It can mean a difference of 30% in your power output.

2. Having a higher cadence doesn't make it anaerobic, it makes it aerobic. It lowers the muscular burden and shifts the burden to your oxygen transport system... pedaling at a lower cadence is anaerobic work, as it is more like lifting weights. Interestingly, the pro cyclist with one of the highest cadences right now also has the highest sustainable power output. And as far as peak power output, those numbers all belong to track cyclists, who ride fixed-gear bicycles and can generate over 2,000W for short periods.

3. As far as what a cyclist can generate... during the final hour of a Tour stage, that cyclist with the highest sustainable power output, Lance Armstrong, will average about 400W. An average cyclist can only generate about 100W.

Agonisingly true Douglas Adams/John Lloyd quote

[zaxios]

From ALBUQUERQUE, you say?

ALBUQUERQUE (n.)

A shapeless squiggle which is utterly unlike your normal signature, but which is, nevertheless, all you are able to produce when asked formally to identify yourself. Muslims, whose religion forbids the making of graven images, use albuquerques to decorate their towels, menu cards and pyjamas.

Re:Agonisingly true Douglas Adams/John Lloyd quote

[PatrickThomson]

if I had the points I'd mod you up, Douglas Adams is the most brilliant writer I've ever read. It was on his advice in a letter in The Salmon Of Doubt that I finally tried Earl Grey tea. And that rarely happpens to me.

God Speed Douglas Adams, and peace be with you.

Re:Agonisingly true Douglas Adams/John Lloyd quote

[Anonymous Coward]

God Speed Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams was an Athiest.

He's dead, and no amount of speed will change it.

Re:Agonisingly true Douglas Adams/John Lloyd quote

[SpooForBrains]

My favourite is Curry Mallet (n):

A device used for dispatching cats and small rodents for sale to the local Indian restaurant. For some animals the price garnered is not worth expending ammunition.

(please forgive the misquote, that was from memory)

The salient fact that makes this funny being that all definitions in the Meaning of Liff (sic) are real place names. Yes. There is a place somewhere called Curry Mallet.

Oh yes, Someone put it on the web

generating power

[h00manist]

The other projects on the site to generate your own power are a bit more interesting...

Prior Art!

[GaussianInteger]

Bah! I certainly have prior art! I've been using my human power to get to the Internet during power outages, as to prevent my Internet withdrawal syndrome from coming up.

Re:Prior Art!

[gkelman]

I've been using my human power to get to the Internet during power outages

Does running down the street shouting "HELP! Does anyone have 'net access at the moment? I need the interweb!" really count?

25+ years ago,

[WindBourne]

I did something similar for a wind generator for a futuristic class (in 1977, no less). One of the designs had an inner and an outer counter-rotating blades which later struck me as too complex. But I was thinking that a design with the magnets at the outer edges made a lot of sense.

Re:25+ years ago,

[Lumpy]

I helped design a extremely simple wind generatior system for 3rd world countries that uses discarded 55 gallon drums and car parts as the rotor to drive a pully and modified car alternator. (we designed it so the locals can get over 80% of the parts from abandoned cars that they come across)

we have a few that have survived hurricanes easily and only threw the belt off.

most wind generators can be extremely simple with no moving parts except for the rotor (Yes, it does NOT track with the wind, as it is vertical.)

Animal power generation is certianly possible.

the key is to modify your alternator/generator to use the surplus extreme power magnets and rewind the coils so it will generate decent amperage at low rpm's by adding more coils. (making your own alternator is easy with a car strut+wheelbearing+ break rotor)

I have seen a generator that would produce almost 15 watts at 12 volts from a horse exercize merry-go-round. 2 horses generated an average of 5 watts from less than 12 dollars of parts while they mose-yed around in a circle for a couple of hours, and 99% of that cost was the magnets. certianly cheaper than any solar panels and every watt you pump into that battery is precious... It generated enough power in a small battery bank to light a workroom very well and for a few hours with a 4 watt CF flouresent lamp that makes most 40 watt bulbs look dim.

Re:25+ years ago,

[Anonymous Coward]

Any chance you'd have some of the design of your wind-powered generator online? I'm really mostly interested in how you modified the alternator. What sort of extreme power magnet? How did you rewind the coil? /Geek thinking of Peace Corps style work for a year or two after graduation.

Re:25+ years ago,

[Lumpy]

a place to start is otherpower.com

also look at home power magazine.

I basically worked off of information I found online starting with otherpower.com and modified them for durability (Lots and lots of epoxy to protect things from weather) or ease of repair (no epoxy!)

I can see it now...

[halivar]

A desert covered in hordes hamster wheels, all providing power to the Western U.S.

We can hire Mexican immigrants to change the wood shavings!

Re:I can see it now...

[Anonymous Coward]

and shove it in your ass.... great idea!

Yes.

[suss]

'Can a rodent generate enough electricity to power a light by running on it's wheel?'

If it thinks it's being chased by Richard Gere, then yes, it probably can.

Re:Yes.

[StevenHenderson]

Dude, fucking excellent post. :) You beat me to the punch with that joke. I wish I had some mod points...

Sorry it's been done before

[craznar]

Anyone who uses Bigpond in Australia knows that hamsters power their central server complex.

Been known about for several years.

efficiency?

[nbert]

We can hire Mexican immigrants to change the wood shavings!

This makes me wonder how much a human would produce in a big wheel or several humans in a long wheel.

Don't blame me if you just think about hordes of illegal immigrants powering Las Vegas - wasn't my intention to imply anything...

Re:efficiency?

[at_18]

This makes me wonder how much a human would produce in a big wheel or several humans in a long wheel.

A moderately-trained human being can generate about 100 watts for several hours (in addition to the other 100 watts needed for the body to live). Top long-distance athletes (cycling, running) can go up to around 400 watts, but only for a limited amount of time (less than 1 hour). Peak power is of course higher (1 KW for a few seconds?).

Re:efficiency?

[Lumpy]

a Untrained human can produce easily 25-40 watts for several hours on a recumbent pedal generator. we did this last Field day. 5 Ham radio operators (usually fat guys) on home made recumbent pedal generators made enough electricity by leisurely pedaling to power all the radios used for around the world contacts for that 24 hours. some of the radios had a 100Watt power output and there certianly were more than 4 radios working at a time.

the key is power -> battery bank -> devices. when the radios are recieving they draw very little so the power you generate is stored for that high power intermittent draw.

none of us were atheletes in any way shape or form, and it was not difficult for any of us to do a 2 hour stint on the generators because of thwe recumbent design.

Re:efficiency?

[jkujawa]

A world-class bike sprinter can generate 1.9 KW (almost 3 horsepower!) for a few seconds.

Re:efficiency?

[Tired and Emotional]

I bet its less energy than was used to grow the marginal food they eat to produce that energy. Can anyone do that math?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Analise?

[miratim]

Is that kid's name pronounced Analyze or Anal Ice?

Re:Analise?

[dave420]

It's actually pronounced "Anal Ease", which is even more scary.

Ok, so it's not exactly "anal ease", but meh.

Re:Analise?

[Anonymous Coward]

Poor kid. if it's pronounced like Analese, does that mean the kid is from the land of Anal?

lol mod parent up funny.

[Anonymous Coward]

> One could also argue that getting kids interested in Jesus
> Christ can only be a better thing.

lol!

ob urban leged reference

[Suchetha]

does Richard Gere know about this?

suchetha

Re:ob urban leged reference

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a really curious about that. Is the second Richard Gere reference that I read here today. Richard Gere and Hamsters? What is the urban legend?

Re:ob urban leged reference

[Suchetha]

this story from snopes.com has it all. far better than i could write it

Re:ob urban leged reference

[Anonymous Coward]

But, as a reporter from The National Enquirer found when he attempted to track down the gerbil story, there were no facts to be had.

You know a story is bullshit when the National Enquirer rejects it. Who know they did fact checking though?

Re:ob urban leged reference

[AndroidCat]

What do you mean rejected? They still ran a story that they found absolutely no truth to the rumour. That way they get to use the story and not get sued.

Our last hope... gone...

[tacarat]

Now that we can be replaced with hamsters, why are the machines going to keep us around? I imagine they'll get a great ROI by ditching the human based Matrix in favor of a less complex one designed to simulate a glass cage with tubing in some 5th grader's bedroom.

Google cache here

childpower

[dresseduptoday]

Hah. This reminds me of my favourite power source, children. Everybody knows that kids have an infinite supply of energy. Now, if kindergartens had toys that absorbs this energy from the children in their games, the kindergartens can actually become very lucrative power plants, paying the parents to have their kids there. Hyperactive kids are of course the ideal ;-) _ /Bjorn.

If you really want to see power

[uodeltasig]

Check out google's use of pigeon power, it's The technology behind Google's great results

weasel?

[darekana]

FARM EQUIPMENT!? We have ALREADY harnessed the awesome power of the weasel to fight cyber-crime...
[Play the BSA's weasel ball game!]

Also check out the "young girl" and "boy band" videos!

Day of the Tentacle

[Stephen Williams]

How many of these would be required to power a time machine?

-Stephen

Re:Day of the Tentacle

[Linker3000]

Tons, but remember to let them dry out before adding them to the furnace.

Electric Light Hamster Show

[Dark Coder]

Don't forget to add this tune for your hamster's workout.

Here's the original site

Re:Electric Light Hamster Show

[Neophytus]

1999 called, they want their hamster dance back! (Which, for the record, I bought the CD of!)

I've run my computer off a hamster for years.

[muntumbomoklik]

In fact I swear my old 286 box died because I forgot to feed the poor power supply. :/

Great idea: hamster powered webserver

[thrill12]

Why not connect this low power webserver to the hamster. It could use the same circuitry as this handpowered webserver...

Re:Great idea: hamster powered webserver

[ag0ny]

Why not connect this low power webserver to the hamster...

Because if the poor hamster has to be running to keep his webserver up, he cannot post on his blog.

Come Pinky!

[gijoel]

Come Pinky! We must prepare for tomorrow night! Why? What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain? The same thing we do every night, Pinky... Try to power the norhteastern seaboard!!!

Re:Come Pinky!

[Anonymous Coward]

Pinky and the brain are mice, c'mon.

Waah?!

[zaxios]

I searched and ended up back here again! Slashdot's summary should only be the first step, not the final freaking destination! What the hell is wrong with this planet?!

Alternatively:Hamster Wheel As CPU Cooler

[foobsr]

Quote: "To save energy, it would make sense to utilise the senselessly relentless pedestrian marathon tendencies of the domestic hamster (fatface domesticus). ..."

loc. cit.

CC.

Re:Alternatively:Hamster Wheel As CPU Cooler

[Anonymous Coward]

Slapping the hamster directly on the CPU might work better. (Use Boudreaux's Butt Paste for good conductivity.) Bit of a pain to keep changing the hamsters as they become crispy however.

nor are there

[aussie_a]

enough to power a vibrator.

Re:nor are there

[JollyFinn]

Get a condom that is strong enough, and put hamster in it. And there's your hamster powered vibrator, when, one hamster stops giving you the vibes change hamster.

How to get Electric Power from Hamsters

[Dr.Opveter]

There's numureous ways according to this

Re:How to get Electric Power from Hamsters

[fuzzybunny]

Awesome! How nice to see this still around.

I "created" this list originally by sticking a world-writeable file in my account on soda.csua.berkeley.edu and telling people to write their suggestions in it. Here's the original

Is it ethical...

[noidentity]

...to have a poor little hamster run on a wheel just to save a few cents of elecricity? What? They already run on wheels for fun? Uh, well... never mind.

Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy Ge

[Afty0r]

So I'm curious. I run/jog a bit, and if I use the gym they have machines that waste electricity just to make me run on the spot.

If we were to get a human-sized hamster wheel, how much energy could I *generate* on it doing a, say, 30 min hard run every morning?
If everyone did this, would it have an impact on our electricity usage in the homes - and provide an incentive for overweight people to jog (not only lose weight, but save money on electricity bills). Not only this, but it's good to jog on a surface which has your footfall a little higher than the point your foot leaves the ground (as a wheel would) because it lessens impact fatigue on your ankles and particularly knees.

Seems Analise needs English more..

[gkuz]

...than Science.

'Can a rodent generate enough electricity to power a light by running on it's wheel?'"

Or maybe CowboyNeal does. "Editing"? Whatever for?

Crystal Set Radio Powered Quartz Clock

[Linker3000]

I used to have a 1.5V analogue quartz wall clock that was powered by a Crystal Set. With a 10m antenna, I could pull in enough power to run the thing 24/7.

Other things, such as LEDs and small motors, used to get hooked up to the set too.

I also found a 1930s radio speaker in a junk shop - it was in a walnut case and included a multi-tapped transformer to give the speaker numerous effective impedances from 3.4 Ohms all the way up to 2K Ohms. Set on 2K Ohms, the crystal set was easily as loud as a small battery-powered AM radio.

Re:Crystal Set Radio Powered Quartz Clock

[ajs318]

Set on 2K Ohms, the crystal set was easily as loud as a small battery-powered AM radio.

..... But everyone else's radio went a whole 3db quieter when you were listening to it!

Still, serves them right for listening to MW radio, I suppose. Get an FM set already!

DOTT Reference

[. visplek .]

Well it worked in Day of the Tentacle.

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[doru]

Buy a cross-trainer. Some of them use magnetic resistance (eddy current brake) so one should be able to add a generator.

During a 1h training session, according to the machine I burn about 800-900 (kilo)calories, which is less than 1 kWh (not taking into account conversion losses). So I doubt that would make much of a difference for your electricity bill.

Hampton, Dixie, Hado and Fuzzy ...

[burgburgburg]

are all more than willing to power objects their way. Isn't that enough?

Re:Hampton, Dixie, Hado and Fuzzy ...

[tepples]

Some would rather just shoot the hamsters, and you can too with Hampsterdeath, part of freepuzzlearena.

I did this yeeeaaars ago...

[mrjb]

...playing The Incredible Machine :P

"running on it is wheel?"

[GreenPenInc]

Honestly. I know she's an 8th grader, but it's really not that hard.

Mouse Power

[stkpogo]

could it power my mouse /PC ?

hey no Hamster breaks while I'm onli

Scaling Up

[Artifakt]

This is basically an IIRC (if I recall correctly), but for those of you wanting to know what humans can do along these lines...

1. With a stationary bicycle hooked up to a small generator, a human who is classified as in moderate shape can power a 13 inch black and white television at about an even rate - pedal for half an hour, watch for half an hour.

2. it takes a near olympic grade athelete to power a 19 inch color set continuously and even then, it's a for a single half hour program or less. Mere mortal cyclists can charge a battery and get about a half hour of TV for over an hour's pedalling.

3. Those first two examples are based on 1980's era designs. These days, half an hour of cycling should be able to charge a laptop battery for about 4 hours use, or load up all the rechargeable batteries for several portable music players and portable game systems, and a bit extra for your flashlights.

I'd document these claims in detail and with rigor, but really, the frackin article started off with frackin hamsters and I just thought of a really dumb joke - see my next post.

Re:Scaling Up

[illumin8]

1. With a stationary bicycle hooked up to a small generator, a human who is classified as in moderate shape can power a 13 inch black and white television at about an even rate - pedal for half an hour, watch for half an hour.

Wow, where can I sign up to get my house converted to this type of power. If I had to ride a stationary bike for a half hour just to watch a half hour of TV, or use the computer for 4 hours, I'd be in the best shape of my life! Seriously though, I should just get some willpower and exercise because I want to, not because I'm forced to. This method kind of reminds me of the "Slashdot Deprivation Device" that cuts off your internet connection and locks you out of root for a specified period of time.

Re:Scaling Up

[Artifakt]

I always figured 1 person would end up in the best shape of their life and a bunch of others would turn into couch potatos who yell "pedal faster!" a lot. But it would lend new meaning to phrases such as "Sci Fi channel's the Prisoner Marathon".

Wrong Animal

[Anonymous Coward]

Hamsters are fine and all, but I want real power output. Got one of those for my three year old son? :)

Can someone help me here?

[Artifakt]

Can I get these fricken hamsters with self powered fricken laser beams on their fricken heads?

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[JazzHarper]

On a treadmill, an adult male can probably sustain a power output of about 100W. For humans, bicycles are more efficient than treadmills. I've generated an average power of 200W for 2 hours on a stationary bike and I'm a middle-aged geek, not an athlete.

People are usually interested in this to figure out their calorie burn rate. Here are the conversions:

1 dietary calorie = 1000 calories = 4186.8 joules = 4186.8 watt-seconds = 0.001163 kWh

Human efficiency is 20-25%, so you can calculate that you actually burn 4 or 5 dietary calories for every 4000 J of mechanical energy you produce.
-

As good as a solar-powered night-light

[Ancient_Hacker]

As the great EE and philosopher Bob PEase has said: "Only problem with a solar-powered night-light is the 12,500 mile extension cord"

How much electricity?

[hashwolf]

"Can a rodent generate enough electricity to power a light by running on it's wheel?"

Well it methinks it all depends how big the rodent is... AFAIK the capybara is the biggest rodent.
From the size of it I guess it could generate enough electric juice to power a high power halogen lamp.

Here are some pics of the beast:
http://www.rebsig.com/capybara/capy2.jpg
http://stockpix.com/stock/animals/mammals/smallmam mals/9801.jpg

Re:How much electricity?

[Suchetha]

a capybara is not a rodent or even a mammal.
a capybara is a fish

Suchetha

Re:How much electricity?

[hashwolf]

Only to Roman Catholics my friend.

Oh well, if the pope said so... it must be true.
Everybody knows how scientifically advanced the vatican's resident scientists are. ;-)

Re:How much electricity?

[Anonymous Coward]

You've never actually seen one, have you?

Capybaras are the biggest rodents in the world, yes, but they don't run much. They are big fat rodents with short legs. They are actually water-dwelling, which led to them being classified as fish by the church (In Venezuela, they are hunted during lent, in fact).

So, no, I doubt they can generate much power. Not out of the water anyway.

Re:How much electricity?

[don.pratt]

AFAIK the capybara is the biggest rodent.

Actually, I think the ROUS's are bigger than these.

Hamster Power

[Mulletproof]

Has somebody been watching Cartoon Network? Kids Next Door? Come on, you can be honest with us...

Nocturnal

[kzinti]

Why do hamsters need a night light? They're used to working in the dark because, guess what boys and girls, hamsters are nocturnal!

What?

[Red Dane]

Isn't this old news? ;) I thought they had been using hampsters to power Hondas for years?

Re:What?

[WormholeFiend]

that would certainly explain the Honda Insight fp trolls

and initialize how?

[ImWithBrilliant]

Who would be able to come in the morning and turn on the lights to find the bikes?

Harnessing the power of people opening doors?

[ChoyLeeFut]

When I was working in downtown Toronto and participating in the morning pedestrian rush hour in the underground tunnel network beneath the financial sector (for those unfamiliar with the area, it's pretty extensive), I started to wonder if there were some way to harness the power of the motion of the many doors (including the fire-break doors). Now it seems that, like the hamster on the wheel, we have a way to transform the mindless movement of the masses into something useful.

Now if only we had a way to just plug people directly into the power grid....

Re:Harnessing the power of people opening doors?

[Red Dane]

True enough, pressure plates that push downwards and generate power (I.e. people walk across them)? Just some thoughts.

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[Anonymous Coward]

I was at the Glastonbury Festival this summer, one of the UK's biggest summer festivals which gets crammed with 150,000 hippies every year.

In one of the tents, a exercise bike was rigged up to a sound system (I assume with a resevoir to hold the power gained.) The idea being that the dance tent could be self sustained, green and economical enough to provide it's own electricity for the music, lights and bar equipment.

It worked! However not many people want to beast themselves on a bike/treadmill for 45 mins to listen to music and have a nice pint of beer.

Quite unique for the Glastonbury festival anyway I thought!

Mmmmmmm beer.

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[Alsee]

Ball park figure, if you're in really good shape and put a serious workout into it you may be able to run a bicycle-generator at 150 watts for a half hour.

That's 0.075 kilowatt-hours of power from your half-hour workout. Probably less than one cent worth of electricity (depending on your local electric prices).

Even if you had an entire gym full of people running them continuously the value of electricity produced is neglegible, and the extra hardware and maintanence costs to add generators and wiring to the equipment makes it a losing proposition.

You'd be better off digging ditches at minimum wage and using the money to buy solar cells or a wind turbine or to simply pay someone to pump oil out of the ground and burn it.

On the other hand, I guess a gym could set it up as a motivational gimmick. Running the lights and what-not off of "excercise power" would actually be more expensive, but maybe you can draw and hold costomers with the gimmick. Having the exercise machines display watts of power and total watt-hours for the session might give customers more focus and goals in their workout. And they get to feel they are being enviornmentally "green", chuckle.

-

Creepy image ....

[gstoddart]

A desert covered in hordes hamster wheels, all providing power to the Western U.S.

Why does this sound like a pre-cursor to the matrix or something?

=)

Re:Creepy image ....

[Dogtanian]

Why does this sound like a pre-cursor to the matrix or something?

I'd pay good money to see that (well, more than I'd pay for Revolutions); but then, I have a fetish for hamsters wearing overcoats and black latex.

In all honesty, I have to wonder how a hamster/gerbil/whatever perceives the situation (a la Matrix) when they are in a cage with a wheel. Does it seem weird to them at all? Or are they so instinct driven that they don't consider it?

Dexter Lab and Gyro Gearloos

[SWTP_OS9]

Sorry! The mutiple hampster wont power much beyond the LED. Dexter tried it with 100 and no go! Would not recharg his lab!

Even if you use a larger creature like a water buffalo like Gyro Grearloos did in an underdevelop country. It still takes way too many men to shove them up and down the ramp to generate power.

Is hamster food cheaper than petrol or diesel ???

[Dark$ide]

The problem I have with this is that skippy needs fuel. He's going to be burning extra calories pushing that little alternator that the folks have sneaked onto his wheel.

• Is the cost of those extra sunflower seeds and the extra grain cheaper than driving this alternator with an internal combustion engine?
• What happens when skippy gets bored, he'll have more food but less excercise - who's going to pay the vets bill when skippy gets obese?
• Will this cause or prevent heart disease in skippy?

Direct Translation

[gr8_phk]

Your direct translation link is broken.

Take the what pill?

[AndroidCat]

Woah, and Keanu Reeves wakes up from the Matrix and discovers that he's a hamster! I knew it, and it explains so many things about him!

Re:Take the what pill?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hamsters generally have a greater range of facial expressions than Keanu Reeves.

Re:Take the what pill?

[AndroidCat]

Maybe if he grew some face-fur and whiskers?

TIM

[Anonymous Coward]

I have already seen this: do you remember "The Incredible Machine"? or utterly "The Incredible Toon Machine"? he!.

+4 Funny, -1 Overrated = Lost karma

[Anonymous Coward]

Lame!

Now we know...

[Anonymous Coward]

how the hamster dance website was powered.

Just one?

[qray]

One hamster may not be much, but imagine a building full of hamsters each running on its own wheel! And for those peak usage periods just throw in a cat to the mix.

Re:Just one?

[Hagar129]

I've got a black lab that could power my house...she just keeps running and running and running.....

Hagar...

Re:Just one?

[justkarl]

One hamster may not be much, but imagine a building full of hamsters each running on its own wheel!

I'm sorry, but we're on slashdot. Any post like this needs to be in the format: "Imagine a beowolf cluster of....". Thanks for playing.

Re:Just one?

[qray]

Oh, sorry, you must have thought I was joking. Oddly enough I got a similar reaction when I walked into the pet shop earlier this morning. I wonder how much thermal energy these hamsters would generate during this activity.

Re:Just one?

[Battlegeek]

And I have a neurotic border collie (yes, I know that is redundant). Put him on a treadmill and dangle a tennis ball just out of reach and he would power my neighborhood.

Get it right!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

> running on it's wheel

It's *its*, NOT "it's." EVERYONE GET THIS STRAIGHT! I'm completely apoplectic because I see it wrong EVERY DAY!!!

"It's" is a contraction of "it is." It is NOT a possessive!!! It's so freaking simple! Why do I see it wrong not only every day but every TIME?!

That's a paddlin'. Now write it out 500 times.

Re:Get it right!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like someone had too much coffee in their sugar today.

Re:Get it right!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I just wish there were a death penalty for apostrophe abuse!!

Re:Get it right!!!

[pclminion]

It's so freaking simple! Why do I see it wrong not only every day but every TIME?!

Because reasonable people understand that it doesn't matter, and take pleasure in making people like you "apoplectic?"

practical applications

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem is this just isn't practical. What we really need is something bigger.

Like some ROUSs.

But frankly, I don't think they exist...

Oblig South Park quote

[osvejda]

Lemmiwinks, Lemmiwinks, Lemmiwinks, Lemmiwinks!

Lemmiwink's journey is distant, far and fast!
To find his way out off a gay man's ass!
The road ahead is filled with danger and fright!
But push on Lemmiwinks with all of your might!

this-mod=flamebait

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know.. That Jesus guy wasn't even a Christian*. What kind of example would he be? (Won't someone think of the children?)


*Google has many definitions for Christian. Here are a few:
A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST
anyone who trusts in "the Christ" (i.e., Yeshua/Jesus) as his Savior
The word "Christian" comes from the Greek word christianos which is derived from the word christos, or Christ, which means "anointed one." A Christian, then, is someone who is a follower of Christ.

It'd be ridiculous to think that Jesus was his own disciple/follower, and more ridiculous to think that Jesus believed he could achieve salvation through "the Christ". Hence Jesus wasn't a Christian.

for the sake of whatever you hold dear...

[untaken_name]

...somebody please tell that 8th grader the difference between "its" and "it's"

Please. This is such a serious problem, my local community college contains the same error on its terms of usage desktop background. Promulgating incorrect word usage on every PC on campus is bad enough, but no one even cares about fixing it. It's a fucking college, for fuck's sake. Please people, please, please take a little more pride in your expression. All you have to do is ask yourself, "If I replace "it's" with "it is," does the sentence still make sense?" If not, don't put the apostrophe. How much easier could it be?

Re:for the sake of whatever you hold dear...

[Anonymous Coward]

What about: there, their and they're

Re:for the sake of whatever you hold dear...

[untaken_name]

Yes, those errors are annoying too. (as are to and too, for that matter) I was merely responding to the error I saw, however, as I believe in choosing my battles. I doubt I'll have any effect (not affect) but it doesn't cost me much to whip out a slashdot post.

Hamster-powered PDA! Notebook!

[jellybear]

What would be great would be a hamster-powered handheld or notebook computer. That way, instead of needing to recharge the batteries, you could just give your hamster a scrap of food. You'd need a fairly energy-efficient computer (transmeta?)--and maybe more than one hamster.

Even better, one could have general-purpose generator that you can hook up to your handheld, cell-phone, or notebook depending on your need.

For flying, if you can carry the unit onto the cabin, maybe could share your in flight munchies with him, and do your computing... I don't know if they'd let you...

Dies anyone remember the ad...

[JFMulder]

from Budweiser where you had a rodent running in a wheel with a Budweiser in front of it. Some guy passes by and decides to take the beer. At that exact moment, the rodent stops running and all of New York light's turn off. So the guy decides to put it back in front of the wheel and the rodent starts running again, turning the lights of the city back on.

Harvey Harvey Harvey the wonder hamster

[MrByte420]

...he doesn't bite and he doesn't squeal. He just runs around on his hamster wheel!

Rhythm 'n' Grammar

[Anonymous Coward]

Can a rodent generate enough electricity to power a light by running on it's wheel?
Ohhhh...
If you want it to be possessive, it's just ITS, and if it's meant to be a contraction than it's IT'S ... scalliwag.

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd go with the wheel. One could get the momentum built up, grab on tight, and then see if it's possible to make two complete revolutions.

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[nEoN nOoDlE]

yeah, but what about the humiliation of running every morning in a man-sized hamster wheel?

Old News

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't the Flintstones already do this?

Ann-a-lease, moron.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a common name.

I bet you think people named "Mercedes" and "Estes" are named after cars and model rockets, don't you?

What are they teaching in the schools these days!

Re:Ann-a-lease, moron.

[miratim]

'cept Analise isn't a common cultural derivation or name, like Estes or Mercedes. Unless, of course, they meant Analise with an accent, in which I still saying naming your kid "Analysis" is stupid.

I Tried That

[Master of Transhuman]

Captured the mouse in my room.

Told him to run fast enough to power my night light.

He didn't run fast enough to make enough light for me to see to feed him so he didn't have enough energy to run fast enough to...

Result: dead mouse. No night light.

Now I can't see to clean up the dead mouse.

Room smells bad.

The machines used cold fusion, anyways.

[Anonymous Coward]

Even Morpheus knew that, but couldn't take that fact to its inevitable conclusion:

The computers didn't need us for power. They just had fun screwing with people's minds.

dont you know how skippy feels?

[Anonymous Coward]

I look around my cubicle, sigh, and reflect that I know just how that sodding Hamster feels.

Hamha!

[tepples]

No, my little sister just watches whatever channel Hamtaro's on.

This one...

[Hugonz]

Probably this rodent can...

Not all the characters are mice...

[Mr. Muskrat]

Don't forget Brain's archnemesis, Snowball the hamster.

This is an obvious fake!

[ioexcptn]

If anyone noticed in the fourth picture down, there is a 6 pack of O'Doul's in the background! Everyone knows you cant build anything while drinking non-alcoholic beer. Geesh.

Someone pass me a Pabst.

The answer is easy....

[Anonymous Coward]

...connect them to the MATRIX! Or would it be the HAMTRIX?

millions of mini windmills on our highways

[evilmousse]

Some time ago I got a flat tire, and was constantly blown back by the windforce of passing trucks. The thought occurred to me, that all that energy goes to waste despite being very predictable and fairly ubiquitous accross our country. I'd like to see someone invent a very disposable, mass-producable, cheap windmill, maybe as big as a pinwheel, that we can use to cover the center medians of our highways and possibly power at LEAST all the traffic lights.
This article looks like the efficiencies are increasing.. now to make it fractions of a penny to produce.

-g

i produced about 137watts for 20 minutes today

[tofu2go]

i just got back from my morning workout at the gym, and while running on the elliptical machine i noticed it measured watts, in addition to the standard calories/hr. it said about 137. that's plenty to power a light-bulb. now given that there were many others on ellipticals and stationary bikes, i'm sure they could gather up some reasonable about of energy. they'd just need to store in in a battery until it's needed. an ideal gym would have plenty of windows or skylights to avoid using lights during daytime hours, and store up all the human-produced energy throughout the day for use at night when the lights are needed.

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[gjbivin]

On a treadmill, an adult male can probably sustain a power output of about 100W

How many kilohamsters is that?

Light of the World?

[Anonymous Coward]

What's his Watts output?

Funny, I thought Sol was the light onto our world...

Given the choice of a functioning star,
and a person from the middle east,
the star sure comes in handy!

The day you can run a line to your church
and stop paying the electrical bill is a good day indeed!

(you'll need a bigger wheel for the church minister...)

Come Again?

[danieleran]

And then I'd laugh because I said come.

Re:Devo! (obligatory comment)

[Anonymous Cowardly B]

Wow, now just imagine a Beowulf cluster of these! [ sorry, it HAD to be said... ]

Perhaps its just

[retinaburn]

...the Path and the sheer volumes of people passing through it, but I had the same idea.

Screw hamster power

[pclminion]

I'm just glad to see otherpower.com linked on Slashdot. Well, maybe. Er.. Anyway, I'm not participating in the /. effect this time (in other words, I did not RTFA) because I've read his site a million times.

The guys at otherpower.com do cool stuff. If you're wondering, "what's the point" with the hamster nightlight, you aren't seeing the whole picture. These guys have built, on their own, dozens of pieces of creative power generator equipment -- mostly out of wood!

Click around on the site a little bit (AFTER the Slashdotting subsides) and check out the other, real stuff they do. Like, making a 3 kilowatt wind turbine using a Volvo brake assembly, neodymium magnets and hand-wound copper coils, and hand-made wooden blades. I dream of having a workshop to do that kind of stuff.

Finally

[ColonBlow]

Now my pet can start earning its keep.

wH/hM? yea, watt-hours per hamster-mile!

[javaxman]

definitely my new favorite metric. That makes the whole article worthwhile.

Here's a two button mouse with a button mouse...

[antdude]

http://www.techspot.com/gallery/showphoto.php/phot o/433 :)

pignic human-powered band amps

[anadem]

At the last Pignic (some years back, now sadly discontinued) at the Hog Farm in Mendocino CA the band's amps were at least partly powered by a bank of maybe a dozen stationary cycles linked to generators.. I've no details unfortunately, but it was nice to see everyone getting hot and sweaty to keep the music up.

RIP Skippy...?

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2004/1/21/13619/63 05

Lazy Hamster

[mscheid]

Now, if I just could get my lazy-ass hamster to actually use the darn wheel! ;-)

I don't have to RTFA.

[NeuroManson]

I submitted this damnned story to /. almost 10 months ago, and it's still pending.

2003-11-24 07:19:32 Hamsters as an Alternative Power source (Index,It's funny. Laugh.) (pending)

Re:Slightly OT - Human Hamster Wheels & Energy

[pclminion]

In your proposed scheme, the energy ultimately comes from the food you eat. In fact, it would be more efficient to simply burn the food in a furnace and use it to run a steam generator, than to go through the extra step of being consumed by a human and converted into mechanical power.

So in a sense, it is more environmentally sound to just burn the food in the first place, because it's more efficient that way, so you get more "bang" per unit of food burned.

However, in a world where humans grow fat and have to exercise anyway in order to stay healthy, it might be a good way to convert some of those wasted calories back into useful energy. But I still think the "real" solution is for people to eat a proper amount of food in the first place.

Does Anyone notice the major design flaw here?

[CA_Jim]

The article states they picked a nocturnal Syrian Hamster because he likes to run in the wheel. He starts running in the dark, the light goes on and the nocturnal hamster thinks it's daylight so goes to sleep. Light goes out, rodent thinks it's time to wake up and starts running the wheel...

Whouldn't you wind up with a neurotic hamster after awhile? It reminds me of the old Steven Wright joke, "I named my dog, 'Stay'. Come here, Stay! Stay, come here..."

Hamster Olympics Five Ring Circus?

[llZENll]

With a resistant wheel hampster is going to get ripped! Wait a few years then put Skippy on the ground and watch him run 20mph :) Then send a picture to the olympic commity to add the event...

Couldn't get enough voltage?

[mcrbids]

I don't understand why, after all this neat-o science stuff, he couldn't get enough voltage to charge a battery.

He created an alternator, which generates DC. By creating an generator (which generates alternating current) he would be able to step up the voltage with a transformer to whatever voltage was required to charge whatever battery. (12v is typical)

Sure, the amperage would be squat, so it might take a *long* time to recharge a depleted battery, it would nonetheless charge.

I learned this using a bicycle generator to make a windmill - I created windmill blades and connected them directly to the generator. Unfortunately, it rotated slow enough to only generate 1.5-2 volts or so. By stepping this up 1:10 I was able to recharge a 12v golf-cart battery successfully (though slowly - it took several days) with modest wind.

put inmates to work on them

[capt.mellow]

. . . . rather than have them sitting around watching cable tv, or working out for free while ppl outside pay to go to the gym, have them doing something like this all day, every day.

An idea, but somewhat stupid. Right?

[oR3n]

Who'd buy a hamster for a light. I guess it's just that much more satisfying to plug in the light and get "instant gratification." ;-)

Um. Yey for science?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Great. Squeeky wheel AND a light to irritate me in the middle of the night.

Why don't ya invent a little squirt gun so he can squirt me whilst I sleep too?

Straight Dope. Re:Heh.

[FlutterVertigo(gmail]

Just remember, not all online (in newsgroups) considered good ole' Cecil to be above board - there would be discussions online and it would magically appear in books, modified enough to pass muster.

I did, however, fill in for a local talk show [what seems to be many] several years ago. The staff was trying to cram info into the host's head while I was over talking to Cecil. They figured out I knew more about the material than the staff could cram into the poor host's head.

So away we went - the host was at his desk and I was on stage, ad-libbing a 30-minute, commercial-free live show. I think the host & staff were a bit intimidated afterwards because I was there, off the street, doing the show, live.

(who needs a degree in broadcasting?)

All power to the hamster

[PurPaBOO]

How about a hamster powered portable mobile phone charger? No more need for a power outlet, just a little cage, wheel, water, and a bag of sunflower seeds :-)

Re:Straight Dope. Re:Heh.

[The Conductor]

Straight Dope was not the source of my information. I used the Straight Dope link becaue it ranked high on Google and had a nice little short exposition of the point I wanted to make. (I thought my orginal source was either Reason or Liberty magazines, both very reputable libertarian publications, but I can't trace it on the web.)

In any case, most claims of Hitler's anti-christian attitude draw from the same primary sources...mostly the memoirs of his close aides. The idea that Hitler held christian attitudes comes from taking his public statements at face value. I would consider the former sources more creidble than the latter.