I wanted to share some of my favorites.
1. People Power
- Need to charge your cell phone? Use "welectricity" from your new Orange wellies (rain boots). These boots take advantage of the thermoelectric effect and convert feet heat to power.
- At a Parisian metro station, heat from trains and riders cause station temperatures to be around 60F-70F year round. By harnessing this heat, they will power 17 homes.
- Besides heat, you can also harness movement. Piezoelectric crystals can produce voltage when deformed. By inserting these crystals into rubbers, Princeton University's Michael McAlpine has found a way to harness energy from shoes, sidewalks, roads, etc. The possibilities are endless. If you're interested, here's a technical article about his work.
2. "(Almost) Waterless Washing"
- Through the use of absorbent nylon pellets, Xeros has found a way of cleaning garments with 90% less water.
3. The Bloom Box
- Bloom Energy has found a clean way to oxidize natural gas. In the future, they hope to replace natural gas with renewable fuels. Google already has a slew of Bloom Boxes running in California. Some of you received this video from me earlier this year; however, I thought its awesomeness needed to be revisited.
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