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Theoretical Shoe Inserts Could Power Your Gadgets
In his first accepted submission, Anon8---) writes "As published on nature.com, a process called electrowetting, 'in which a conductive liquid droplet, placed on an electrode, is physically deformed by an applied electric charge,' could be used to provide 10 watts of juice to smartphones and other gadgets as you walk. 'The technique depends on the use of a dielectric material — which is usually an insulator but that can be polarized in an electric field — to coat the electrode. When the dielectric is charged the droplet can wet the surface more easily, and deforms. In his system, Krupenkin runs this process backwards, using the changing physical form of liquid drops between dielectric-coated plates to generate charge and therefore electrical power.' So far, Krupenkin and Ashley Taylor have been able to produce a few milliwatts of power along tiny channels a few millimeters wide. They have patented the idea and are now concentrating on scaling up the device and designing a shoe to contain it."
For obvious reasons.
I am very small, utmostly microscopic.
...chargin'
one of these days these boots are gonna charge your gadgets too.
I can see this being used to get kids off their asses and at least moving around some.
Confiscate your child's phone charger, and make it so this is the only way they can charge said phone.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
Maybe not the sort of gear that DC-weenies churn out; but AC systems should be familiar with the imaginary power produced by theoretical generators.
I expect that the technology that enables this function would be patentable, and the technology is not described in any sort of detail in Frank Herbert. This is very much contrasted with Apple's Ipad patent which is just a guy holding a rectangle.
You're looking at the problem the wrong way. If you want people to power up their gizmos by using their chemical energy (which by all accounts they have too much of) then having them wear a pair of slightly inefficient shoes is more practical than giving them a hand crank and telling them to get on with it.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Even then, Stanley Kubrick's production designers already came up with the same rectangle.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Well, not with that attitude, mister!
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Somewhat immaterial. Unless you are taking a walk specifically to charge your devices (possible I suppose, but probably unlikely), most of us spend at least several hours a day moving around via a foot power. The energy created by our our regular controlled impacts with the ground is normally simply lost; this would allow the capture of at least some of it. In the third world environments they're targeting, people walk even more. I can also see this being great for hiking, camping, and all sorts of outdoor activities that can leave you far away from power sources.
I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
You make a good point, but there's two things I don't think you considered deeply enough: 1. It might not be a noticeable difference. Phones don't need much power. It could be millimeter depressions that generate this energy. 2. People, especially in this country, voluntarily get on treadmills to make their leg muscles use more effort. This can certainly be a win-win situation.
You don't patent fucking idea. You patent inventions. You patents processes.
YOU DO NOT PATENT IDEAS
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
Comedy in 21st Century America:
"Stop me if you've heard this one... disclaimer: this joke may be offensive to teachers, goats, bar owners, and priests... and to anyone related with or friends with, or otherwise associated with any of the above. Furthermore this joke involves subtle sexual innuendo. Anyone offended by sexual innuendo, especially that which involves teachers, goats, bar owners, and priests, may wish to refrain from listening to this joke. Furthermore, I wish to assure the audience that nothing in this joke is meant to imply support for any political ideology you may oppose, nor to imply opposition any political ideology you support... Now, as I was saying, a teacher and a priest walked into a bar..."
Jog in place on concrete, jog in place on a trampoline, and jog in place in some thick mud. There's a difference in the amount of work.
Will promptly have you back scattered, strip searched, anal probed and put on the Terrorist Watch List if they catch you with these.
You know, we're engineers some of us? Let's "run the numbers" ....
Assume walking is about the same metabolic equivalent as riding a stationary bike lazily (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_equivalent), you expend about 50W more or less. So a 10W shoe is going to make it about 20% more "difficult".
Hard to say how that will "feel". "Walking on sand" seems to about sum it up.
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"