Posted on 07/24/2014 3:57:47 PM PDT by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
Intrigued Londoners looked on today as a smartphone's battery was charged by a strange contraption made of 800 apples and potatoes connected with hundreds of nails and lengths of copper wire.
The art installation was created outside the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush, essentially just a large-scale version of the classroom science experiment where a single potato is used to power a digital clock.
By stringing 800 pieces of fruit and vegetables together with galvanized nails and wire, artist Caleb Charland was able to scale-up the power output so much that it could charge a mobile phone – in this case a Nokia Lumia 930, charged via a wireless mat.
The hand-built circuit created an electrical current of an average 20mA and around six volts.
Charland said: “The utter simplicity of this electrical phenomenon has endlessly fascinated me. Many people have had the experience of drawing power from fruit in the classroom, and it never ceases to inspire the imagination of all ages.
“I have never worked with anything on this scale before, and it was a challenge. By creating this large organic charger to power a Lumia 930 device, this work speaks to a common curiosity we all have for how the world works, as well as a global concern for the future of Earth’s energy sources.”
The project was a publicity stunt paid for by Microsoft,
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Well, they are conductors...but I don’t think they’d fit in your pocket very well.
All the apples and potatoes would cost more than just plugging it in. “Art” is not always functional.
Actually, I’ve always thought about what a hit I would be if I traveled back in time to like the 1400’s with my iPhone. But then I always realized my fame would be short-lived as my phone would shortly lose it’s charge. This would totally solve this problem!
Who would you call in the 15th century?
The professor could have done it with a few cocoanuts, pennies and wires.
hmmm. Guess I’ll still have to figure out that part.
But they wouldn’t have been as pretty!
Geeeez.......just use the microwave.
Take several cases of phone with ya. Pass out the phones a few at a time. Make ‘em pay for a recharge in your secret lab. Could give the phones away and receive revenue for a recharge.
Dont forget the “you didnt build that” cell tower!
heck just launch a satellite.
you are correct ... I did forget the cell tower.
The stopwatch, timer, calculator, camera, and voice recording features would be enough to get him burned at the stake.
That is awesome.
The could work in an emergency situation if you didn’t need to eat more than you needed to charge your cell phone.
No kidding.
They didn’t take well to the unusual in those days.
Very creative. But with the new super high price of food, this contraption Doesn’t look like very practical
Gay!
MNDude, Textide is correct. Don’t take a phone. Take a firearm and lots of ammo. If you do take a phone and they find the phone, the firearm and ammo will come in handy. Take transportation of some sort too for a fast get-away.
Power for the cell tower might be a challenge as well - not to mention the central office switching equipment to route the calls.
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