Re: A82: Finger power?
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Re: A82: Finger power?
I think this idea is interesting, but ultimately fruitless. The problem I see
with it is that human bodies do not put out enough electrical energy to power a
calculator. The proposal states that we "boost" the output from your body to 6
volts - this is rather difficult because of the law of mass-energy
conservation. One equation you learn in physics states that power=
voltage*current, and power is a measure of energy per unit time. Since our
bodies put out a limited range of energy, the power term is essentially fixed,
and so in order to "boost" the voltage, the current must be decreased inversely
proportionally because energy has to be conserved. (This is what a step-up
transformer does). If we did have the right transformer to boost the voltage
so much, the current would be so low that we wouldn't be able to use it.
I don't think our bodies put out enough power to drive a calculator no matter
how much electrical manipulation one does with it. I know some watch company
is making a watch that runs on electricity from your body, but watches don't
require nearly as much power as a calculator does.
As for the CD player - i'd like to see a reference for that because i don't
think it's possible... but hey - i could be wrong. =)
- Bryan Catanzaro
Thomas J. Hruska wrote:
> Here is a crazy idea for those who want to save batteries. Your body is a
> salt bridge and conducts a small amount of electricity, right? Okay, what
> if we created a small device that connects two wires to the sides of your
> pinky finger and boosted the output from your body to 6 volts to power your
> calc? Then to cover all bases to avoid future messages, the calc would use
> the batteries to power it when you weren't using it but use the finger
> thing to power it when you wanted to save batteries. The finger part of
> the device could use a velcro strap to hold it in place and some type of
> conducting plate could connect to the wires that power the calc (to avoid
> catching on the finger). Some type of mono/stereo jack could be used to
> connect it to the calc (located next to the link port). The controlling
> circuit to override the batteries could be on a circuit board inside a box
> that could attach to one's pocket or belt loop. There will also need to be
> some type of modulator to keep a steady flow of electricity going (every
> beat of your heart and motion of your finger will fluctuate the electricity
> enough to possibly blow out a circuit in the calculator...the modulator
> would keep this fairly stable).
>
> So, what do you think. Is this possible? I know that some "new"
> technology is coming out that will power your CD-player with a similar
> method. If your finger can power a CD-player then I think it could power
> your calc. ASM programs that take a long time to play eat a lot of
> electricity and something like this could spare my batteries and time
> recharging (I hate waiting 24 hours for my really old recharger to finish
> recharging those small AAA batteries). Would this be cheap to make
> ($5-$15)? What are your ideas?
>
> Thomas J. Hruska -- thruska@tir.com
> Shining Light Productions -- "Meeting the needs of fellow programmers"
> http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/8504
> http://shinelight.home.ml.org
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