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Urine Powered Battery Developed
Saeed al-Sahaf writes "Research investment into developing smaller and cheaper chips to process information in disposable health tests has been significant, but they were still reliant on an external power source. The researchers at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology think they have overcome this problem with their latest urine powered battery. From the article "The battery is composed of paper, soaked in copper chloride, sandwiched between layers of magnesium and copper. The whole thing, once laminated in plastic, is just a millimeter thick, and 6cm by 3cm in size." The breakthrough promises a cheap and disposable power source for home health tests."
I wonder if the power comes from the urine, or if urine is acting as an electrolyte that allows the energy stored in the "paper, soaked in copper chloride, sandwiched between layers of magnesium and copper" to be released.
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I saw that once in a bar near LA: there was a urinal with a 3x3 square hole and the top half of a small paddlewheel behind it. A small sign advised that it was an electronic pissing contest machine, and that men who could turn the paddlewheel the fastest would win a free supersize softdrink (to play again no doubt). A bulb on top of the urinal would go brighter and brighter as the paddlewheel would turn faster.
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Health tests my ass...more likely drug tests. Now it can wireless the data it senses to a handheld! They can have the cops waiting for you outside before you even know it...
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The breakthrough promises a cheap and disposable power source for home health tests. ... that you pee on.
My dad had an old Model T with an actual engine starting crank. Do it wrong and it could backfire and break your arm. I wouldn't call it convenient either, unless you're some sort of armwrestling champion.
Actually I always thought hand cranks were very convenient. Never had a Model T, mostly tractors or stationary engines. You are correct that they can be dangerous, but that has very little to do with convenience. There are many things that are convenient, but not safe.
Regardless, seems to me it wouldn't be hard to engineer a hand crank that is a little safer than the one on the old Model Ts. Something with a one-way clutch that can't pop back and hurt you. Maybe with a gear reduction so it's easier to turn. Many of the engines in modern cars are smaller than the old Model T engines and probably turn easier, so a crank could be a viable option.
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until the next model; the one that incorporates crystalized urea. Then "just-add-water" will work. If they can do it this way, it will be much more acceptable, IMHO.
If you can rig up a system to spin the alternator (by re-mounting the alternator and using a jacked-up wheel with a belt for a flywheel), you can generate the ~14 volts needed to charge a 12V battery (charge voltage must be higher than discharge voltage - I won't explain that here, look it up), and with no fancy tools, you can recharge the battery enough for a start-up within a couple hours.
That's with NO special tools. If there was a crank system designed into the car, efficiency would increase so much (you also wouldn't have to remount the alternator) that you could get the car started with 10-15 minutes of cranking (and one hell of a tired arm).
The biggest problem with the ad-hoc system is that modern alternators require a starting voltage across their inner coil in order to BEGIN charging (again I won't explain here), and without a special system, you would be relying on residual battery voltage for the alternator start-up. If it was planned for, the crank would start by juicing the inner coil, then transition to spinning the alternator once the coil is charged and feeding back into the car's battery.
With all due respect, not knowing the solution does not mean there is no solution.
It is just using the urine as an electrolyte
Hmmm, dunno about the chemistry on that one, but I do know a bit about urine. pH is around 5 but varies greatly. It contains:
Water (obviously)
urea (not an electrolyte - (NH2)2-C=O )
electrolytes including potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, ammonium, calcium, a bit of sodium (if your kidney is working right, otherwise a lot of sodium), and traces of everything else.
I wonder how the battery actually works. Any chemist figured this one out?
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