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Electromagnetic harvester gathers free electricity from thin air
- lutusp 14y agoThis article is a well-meaning summary of a project the author doesn't understand, and that cannot live up to its hype. Consider the following: 1. There are any number of electromagnetic fields present in the atmosphere, caused by power lines, radio transmitters, lightning, and many other sources. 2. Notwithstanding the above, in a typical location, "harvesting" the sum of all the fields cannot produce any useful power. 3. There's an exception -- being located close to a commercial radio broadcasting station or beneath power lines. 4. In such locations, one might be able to harvest a small amount of power, but one doesn't want to live in such a place because of the possibility of long-term adverse effects of strong electromagnetic fields. 5. The above risk is well-established enough that many governments require warning signs near radio transmitters: http://www.satcoms.org.uk/satellite/forum/uploads/1/RadHazDowload.jpg http://www.satcoms.org.uk/satellite/forum/uploads/1/RadHazDo... 6. The originator of this idea either does understand these issues, in which case he's misleading people, or he doesn't, in which case he's misleading himself.