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Charge a smartphone with a pan of boiling water
- mhb 15y agoThermoelectric devices are news now? You could buy them at all the surplus electronic places for at least 20 years.
- JonnieCache 15y agoThey have new relevance with the recent proliferation of mobile phones and similar devices in the developing world. See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p20hxRVj5c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p20hxRVj5c which is a video about kenyans charging their phones with bicycle dynamos.
- mhb 15y agoI guess. But they are incredibly inefficient and this way (in the diagram) of using the technology encourages the burning of forests. But maybe the vision (not in the diagram) is that a solar concentrator would be used to get the heat. Anyway, seems like solar cells are better for charging these devices in places where it is sunny.
- dexen 15y agoBurning wood == renewable, requires low investment. In fact, it's using Sun's energy captured some 100 years ago by natural means. Plant biomass, if left to rot, would release highly greenhouse methane (some 25 times as greenhouse-ish as CO2). Solar power == a lot of non-biodegradable waste from construction and decommissioning, requires high investment and constant maintenance, large infrastructure replace natural habitats (think rainforests and plains). Small solar devices are even worse in terms of environmental impact: manufacture, transportation and disposal of countless small units. </only slightly sarcastic>
- yread 15y agoIt's not that inefficient if you consider you can boil the water for drinking or making food and it charges your phone as a "side effect". The pan also looks a lot sturdier and more robust than a solar cell