Using Vibrations as a Power Source

FnH writes "The Inquirer is reporting that Hitachi has developed a technology capable of generating electricity from natural vibrations. While the amount of electricity generated is small, it could be used in sensors to relay data wirelessly to a computer."

Regenerative shock absorbers

[mlinksva]

This article made me think "hey, what about regerative shock absorbers?" Not "natural vibrations", but anyway ... it was being studied (PDF) [osti.gov], as of 2001 anyway. That paper says that based on experiments, "the average vehicle on the average road driving at 45 mph might be able to recover up to 70% of the power that is needed for such a vehicle to travel on a smooth road at 45 mph". Anyone know of more current research or implementation plans?

a dup

[JDizzy]

Technicly this is a dup [slashdot.org] of a previous technology.

Saw this 8 years ago

[menscher]

Ever see a self-winding watch? Usually they use an off-center weight that spins around to wind a spring. Saw one 8 years ago that spun a magnet through a coil of wire to charge a capacitor. Neat stuff, but you have to wear the watch every day or it will wind down.

Just run a long wire

[macemoneta]

Back when I was a cub scout (about 40 years ago), we ran a 50 foot wire and a ground connection. Connected them to a neon bulb and it lit up.

What's happening, if it isn't obvious, is that the radio signals broadcast all over the place are being "harvested" by the wire (antenna).

Forty years later, there's so much more RF (cell phones, cordless phones, 802.11, more radio stations, leakage from power lines, etc.), you could probably get the same effect with a 10 foot wire, especially in urban areas.

The wire can be (at least partially) coiled so it doesn't take as much space. It can also be "tuned" (trimmed to a specific length) to optimize signal reception. With a small capacitor to smooth fluctuations, you have more than enough power for micro-electronic devices.

More like a century old!

[goombah99]

Even a century ago people were building clocks that were powered by changes in air pressure. My alpine skis have LEDs mounted in them that are powered by peizo vibrations. And think geek sells a faraday flashlight powered by shaking it.