5th NU 6 by R100125

Electricity from Human Movements

Have you heard about bicycles providing light at night without the use of disposable batteries? Little Dynamos or electrical generators on bicycles provide light at night by converting the mechanical energy exerted by the biker into electrical energy that is used to light the LED bulbs. Amazing isn't it?  But that one is common already.

Here's another one. A flashlight that is charged by just using your hand. All you need to do is just pump the flashlight with your hand and voila, it is being charged.

With the latest trend now in research using nanotechnology, mechanical energy can be converted into electrical energy using nanogenerators.  In the study done by Georgia Institute of Technology, the nanogenerators produce current by bending and then releasing zinc oxide nanowires – which are both piezoelectric and semiconducting.

With the development of this technology there will be a lot of possible future uses and applications where you can power up devices without the need for bulky energy sources such as batteries. This could be useful in nanodevices for medical practice and even environmental sensors.

One thing that came up my mind is harnessing the mechanical energy that is being produced by runners of marathon events. There are a lot of Filipinos now, including my husband who are so indulged into fun runs. I wonder how much electrical energy can be produced if the runners' shoes have nanogenerators.

Imagine yourself listening to music using a pen size musical gadget that is powered by your shoes while running or walking.

Shoe electric generators… Nice. Coupled with the use of portable rechargeable batteries this can be very beneficial especially to soldiers in the fields who depend on batteries to power their electrical equipment.

With this there is no need for expensive solar panels in off grid areas. This can also be used by mountain climbers or hikers that would stay overnight in the woods.

I remember our hometown that is always affected by typhoon and have no electricity for days. Well this shoe generator will be very valuable for those people living there. This could charge their mobile phones, LED flash lights, their rechargeable electric fans and even their radios.

As long as the person using the shoe generator is moving they can produce electricity…  The source of energy is cheap if not free, unlimited and very environmental friendly.3 Available 3 years back