Canadian teen’s battery-free ‘hollow flashlight’ could bring light to developing world.. Grea

reply to post by 727Sky


I wonder if it would be possible to make a fabric which operates in the same manner as these tiles? If so, one could create clothing which uses the difference between ones body heat and the ambient temperature, to create power to run small devices, or charge a battery up over time.

And, to those poo pooing this idea, comparing it with shakeable torches... are you serious? A shakeable torch, while cooler than a chilled cucumber in the arctic, still has mechanical parts, parts which can fail. This has no moving components what so ever, and thereby is a much more reliable tool, since it has no parts which might wear over time, in the way that even a shaken torch would. I for one can certainly see the potential, not just in this particular application, but in many more.

This is great work on the part of the young lady responsible, and I for one applaud her efforts!

Cant find it right now, but I know we did this same topic a few months ago... which makes me wonder why its supposed to be news all over again today.

Here, for example is an article from back in July.

Furthermore, its not even clear to me that she invented it. Separately, perhaps, but these things arent even new.

December 2012. Basically the same thing...

...that this forum shows has been in existence and on sale since 2008.

Discussion about the topic 4 years ago.

lotta amateur/green research done in2 this.

And here's another video from last year...


And here is another video from 2011.

So as near as I can tell, people have been lighting up LEDs with hand heat ever since experimenters started playing with peltier devices.
She's not the first to think of the idea, not the first to experiment with it, not even the first to build one, and there's already even one on sale for years now.

So... apart from the fact she's a girl, and google... its not actually news.

TrueBrit
I wonder if it would be possible to make a fabric which operates in the same manner as these tiles? If so, one could create clothing which uses the difference between ones body heat and the ambient temperature, to create power to run small devices, or charge a battery up over time.

Yes.
Like the flashlight, this is an old idea.

A real fabric has been made...link

But here's an earlier experiment, from 2010.

reply to post by TrueBrit


I get what you're saying about moving parts, but I think you underestimate the ingenuity of ordinary people - with a bit of thought most people can fix things like that. Not so with a Peltier tile: there's a good reason they haven't caught on in overclocking.

Ultimately I think the issue here is how problems in the developing world are popularly viewed by the West: this idea that we'll uplift the poor savages with our technology. Give me a stack of peltier tiles, a few sheets of graphene and a pasta-packet full of carbon nanotubes, and I'll cure AIDS/hunger/pee shivers - but one of the biggest obstacles in this area of engineering is cultural acceptance of the project, and if the people you're trying to help don't welcome the design, you've wasted your time.

727Sky
This flashlight the young lady has put together is a marvelous idea and invention IMO and I do hope it goes into full production and lives up to it's potential!

edit on 4-10-2013 by 727Sky because: ....

Peltier modules are old hat, they're expensive, inefficient, and rely on a temperature differential.

In Canada, with cool temperatures, you might get enough power to get a dim light from your hand. In the tropics with temps in the 90s, no. A module of sufficient size would be maybe $50. It would be cheaper to make a solar charger and use a battery powered light, by maybe 10x. I've got solar powered walkway lights that put out more light and are only a couple of bucks a shot.

So while you see 'marvelous', I see "inappropriate".

OrphanApology
It'd be interesting to use body power to power an ac unit for jumpsuits. I bet there'd be good money in an invention like that. I had a family member who worked in the oil fields in TX and he said for certain hazmat jobs he'd be working in 110 degree weather in a full suit. There are ice packs but again still probably miserable as can be.

There would be, except for this little issue of Carnot numbers.

If it's 110 degrees, the only energy extractable from the temperature of your body is by moving heat from the environment into YOU. That means we've got to efficiently heat you up. That sort of obviates cooling you down.

Basic thermodynamics is an issue for a lot of people. Another poster upthread wanted to really delve into this sort of thing. But the amount of energy you can get from it is very limited, unless the temperature differential is very large. That's sad, but true.

eirikur
reply to post by 727Sky

 

tech.slashdot.org...

I don't want to be a downer, considering how great it is that young people are innovating, but this thing apparently costs 26 dollars. The other day I bought one of these:

www.shenzhen-wholesale.com...

The Peltier effect is certainly something that warrants further research, but I don't see how this is really practical for the context she proposed...

You missed the bit about the battery-life of the tactical flashlight:

Accessory: 1x CR123A 3V last for about 30 mins continuously

That's the problem with batteries - they need recharging. And if you could recharge them through the mains power supply, you wouldn't need torches and batteries in the first place.

It can't bring light, and it won't. Seeing a light-source in a completely dark room doesn't require much. However, illuminating a surface, even at a short distance, is a totally different issue, and that's exactly what she isn't showing you.
She seems like a clever girl and all (really, I wish I was that eloquent when I was her age) and the idea is pretty neat, but it has little to no practical use.

reply to post by 727Sky


My first tought after watching her vid was...

Could you take one of those "hand warmer" packs and use it's heat to operate a table lamp.
Maybe we could replace crude oil with herbs in minor applications.

No, really. I could get behind this if it worked out.

Serdgiam

OrphanApology
Have you seen the fabric these guys came up with?

nanopatentsandinnovations.blogspot.com...

By far carbon nanotech is the field of science that to me is the most interesting. It'd be interesting to see wall panels covered in this material. No more heaters.

I havent seen that!

Though, I am of the personal opinion that simplicity and basics will be the next "big thing." These newer technologies will be even more effective then. I think that going only in one direction (i.e. more complicated) is best complemented by research into optimization and efficacy changes.

There is a missing link in our current understanding that will change many things.

But, thats for later..

Thank you for the link

There was once a comparison done between how heat efficient Viking clothing was at sea (leather and fur helmets and clothes vs. modern fabrics like Goretex). The Viking clothing was more efficient.

cut a hole in the top and this doubles as a flesh light! WIN WIN!

This may not be a BREAKING INVENTION - but its so wonderful to me, to see that the youth are getting brighter and brighter. As much stupid as there is in this world (you can thank churches and governments for that), it goes to show how much light and intelligence is still forth coming on this planet.

In otherwords, all that trash the "elites" like to feed the masses over the years, is just a waste of time.

It is my FIRM belief, that the youth coming into the world TODAY, are going to be the ones to change tomorrow. So many gifted and brilliant souls are incarnating into this planet, and its creating tension for the controllers of this world.

The youth like this British Columbian girl, are showing us, tomorrow will change. The only reasons we perceive and recognize how much dark and evil is in this world - is because that is all media wants to focus on. But there is so much beauty, generosity, care, share, and love within this species that is not being looked at.

The future is bright, just like this young ladies flashlight. That is the message I am making

reply to post by alfa1


Imagine what happens if we use this principle to make self heating clothing.

Would that be considered an overunity device?

Now something like that would be useful in a place like canada

Serdgiam

OrphanApologyThis is cool. Not very practical for use in a flashlight but it's great to see a teenager doing something beside preparing for a future career as a first grade teacher.

It'd be interesting to use body power to power an ac unit for jumpsuits. I bet there'd be good money in an invention like that. I had a family member who worked in the oil fields in TX and he said for certain hazmat jobs he'd be working in 110 degree weather in a full suit. There are ice packs but again still probably miserable as can be.

Peltier and thermo-electric cooling is used (not frequently) in overclocking PCs. Its rather neat, here is a good forum for it!

It is also used in cooling cold saltwater nano fish tanks as well. Tons and tons of uses really...

teamcommander
reply to post by 727Sky

 

My first tought after watching her vid was...

Could you take one of those "hand warmer" packs and use it's heat to operate a table lamp.

Not even close.

Maybe we could replace crude oil with herbs in minor applications.

No, really. I could get behind this if it worked out.

Hand warmers aren't herbal. Generally wood chips and an oxidizer of some sort. It takes energy to make the oxidizer. More by many many times than you'll get back from a Peltier module.

reject
reply to post by alfa1

 

Imagine what happens if we use this principle to make self heating clothing.

However, it doesn't work that way. If it's cold outside, the only way to make energy with a Peltier module is to move heat out of YOU to the environment. So instead of self-heating, it's actually "augmented cooling", since freezing your butt off is the only means of making energy this way.

This is the opposite but same example as the guy above who wanted to make you cool in the summer. Peltier modules, like any sort of heat engine, maximize misery. So you'll be hot in the summer and cold in the winter, if you want any energy out of it.

hmm I worked on a project with peltier elements last year, but I never had the idea of using the energy to build a flashlight....
Not really technically complicated, but having the idea is the key. I guess that is why I am not an inventor.

edit: actually if I think more about it and consider that you need a temperature gap between the cold side and the warm side it might not even work in a summer night and is far less efficient in summer than it would be in winter.
Nice of her to have the idea, but the more I think about it, the less it seems to be a really outstanding one.
Peltier cells have a really bad efficiency.

reply to post by eirikur

Yes but your $4 flashlight with 3 xenon bulbs will burn batteries fairly quickly, and your batteries will cost MORE than your flashlight did!
That battery can be bought for about $1.50 to $2 apiece and last as long as 30 minutes according to the manufacturer.... ya think they might be exaggerate a bit? So for the same $26, since your flashlight does NOT come with the battery, you will get 7 to 11 hours of use, roughly. Yours will probably put out more light though. But if someone needs a light for any length of time, they would have to carry a number of extra batteries with your type.








4 If you use your light regularly, it will definitely cost more in the long run or even somewhat short run.

shes cute.

Even if she hasn't invented it. She's built one