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"Crowd Farm" to Collect Energy?
Cain writes to mention that a couple of MIT students would like to harness the mechanical power of large groups of people. "A Crowd Farm in Boston's South Station railway terminal would work like this: A responsive sub-flooring system made up of blocks that depress slightly under the force of human steps would be installed beneath the station's main lobby. The slippage of the blocks against one another as people walked would generate power through the principle of the dynamo, a device that converts the energy of motion into that of an electric current."
If all the exercise machines were in use 10 hours a day for a year, the gym could generate roughly $183 worth of electricity. At that rate, it would take about 82 years to pay off the initial $15,000 investment.
There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
Because Boston no longer has turnstiles for their subways. They have little "High tech"doors which open when you swipe a Charlie Ticket.
the japanese already have such a system http://www.japanfs.org/db/1667-e