Urine Powered Battery Developed

Saeed al-Sahaf writes "Research investment into developing smaller and cheaper chips to process information in disposable health tests has been significant, but they were still reliant on an external power source. The researchers at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology think they have overcome this problem with their latest urine powered battery. From the article "The battery is composed of paper, soaked in copper chloride, sandwiched between layers of magnesium and copper. The whole thing, once laminated in plastic, is just a millimeter thick, and 6cm by 3cm in size." The breakthrough promises a cheap and disposable power source for home health tests."

Two words: RED DAWN

[robyannetta]

Don't bother pissing in the radiator. Now you can piss in the GAS TANK!

Re:Two words: RED DAWN

[nocomment]

Gives whole new meaning to a "leaking" battery.

Re:Two words: RED DAWN

[Thomas Shaddack]

Is its performance piss-poor?

Re:Two words: RED DAWN

[macdaddy357]

The guy who came up with this was sure a whiz!

Next up:

[WilliamSChips]

Next up: Bullshit powered battery. John Dvorak would probably be able to fuel his entire home from the stuff he spews!

Re:Next up:

[G-Licious!]

Next up: Bullshit powered battery. John Dvorak would probably be able to fuel a small planet from the stuff he spews!

Fixed.

Re:Next up:

[Dr Reducto]

Next up: Bullshit powered battery. John Dvorak would probably be able to fuel a small planet from the stuff he spews!

That's no moon, that's a space station!

Re:Next up:

[bladesjester]

That was pig, not bull :P

With this one, we could hook it up to a few CEOs and we'd be set for life.

6 cm X 3 cm?!?

[merreborn]

That'd make for one huge pregnancy test!

Re:6 cm X 3 cm?!?

[back_pages]

"That'd make for one huge pregnancy test!" gasped both members of Slashdot's readership who are actually concerned with the size of pregnancy tests.

Re:6 cm X 3 cm?!?

[peculiarmethod]

trust me, she _means_ to do that. I'd suggest a plastic bed cover and learning to like it.

works for me.

First Piss

[Anonymous Coward]

First

cool

[Anonymous Coward]

this will be great for those car trips where my laptop's battery dies and I have to wiz at the same time.

Pardon me

[Aadain2001]

I'll be right back, I have to go fill up my laptop's battery....

Re:Pardon me

[WwWonka]

Great...now Everready and Duracel are going to get into ANOTHER pissing contest over batteries!

Re:Pardon me

[Hatta]

I'll be right back, I have to go fill up my laptop's battery....

Awesome, now I have an excuse to take the laptop to the bathroom.

Re:Pardon me

[Chuqmystr]

And this is all going to lead up to a Windoze laptop you MUST piss on to keep it running. That's just brilliant :-D You've made my day /.

Re:Pardon me

[jez9999]

I don't think much of this technology, the developers are just pissing in the wind.

Re:Pardon me

[Lemmy Caution]

What if you miss and pee on the laptop?

Wouldn't be any worse than installing Microsoft Project.

Technical Question.

[tarquin_fim_bim]

The whole thing, once laminated in plastic, is just a millimeter thick

So how does a reasonably sized chap introduce his electrolyte?

Re:Technical Question.

[Hogwash McFly]

Battery, electrolyte. Electrolyte, battery.

P Cells

[ackthpt]

The whole thing, once laminated in plastic, is just a millimeter thick

So how does a reasonably sized chap introduce his electrolyte?

and 6cm by 3cm in size.

And to think I was worried before about having a uroscopy...

should we call it bladdery acid?

Why don't we have hand cranks?

[hellomynameisclinton]

Why don't they just give us a hand crank? They're more than efficient to power or charge all sorts of small electronics. All we need is a universal plug interface, and we can all be our own emergency backups.

"Pee in this... and turn this."

While they're at it, why doesn't my car have an emergency gear/wheel/crank system that I can connect ot my battery on cold days when my Jolapy won't start?

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[robertjw]

While they're at it, why doesn't my car have an emergency gear/wheel/crank system that I can connect ot my battery on cold days when my Jolapy won't start?

There is no way you could crank enough to generate the power to start your car. You would be better off with a crank for the engine.

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[badfrog]

My dad had an old Model T with an actual engine starting crank. Do it wrong and it could backfire and break your arm. I wouldn't call it convenient either, unless you're some sort of armwrestling champion.

Thankfully it also had the electric starter option.

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[robertjw]

My dad had an old Model T with an actual engine starting crank. Do it wrong and it could backfire and break your arm. I wouldn't call it convenient either, unless you're some sort of armwrestling champion.

Actually I always thought hand cranks were very convenient. Never had a Model T, mostly tractors or stationary engines. You are correct that they can be dangerous, but that has very little to do with convenience. There are many things that are convenient, but not safe.

Regardless, seems to me it wo

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[robertjw]

I'm not sure the size of the engine has as much to do with it as the compression ratio

Absolutely, but there's no reason why a 1.3L Civic couldn't be built with an automatic compression release. I think it's more a matter of demand - nobody actually wants a hand crank to start their car.

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[Clod9]

1) You can easily crank enough power to start your car, if the mechanism allows you to store up charge over time instead of cranking the engine directly. I don't think the parent poster was describing a direct crank, because the phrase was "connect to my battery", not "connect to my crankshaft".

2) It isn't really that much power, either. I can start my car if my battery is low by pushing it backwards up a very gradual hill for about 5 to 10 meters, then coasting and popping the clutch. I don't even break a

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[LoRdTAW]

There is one device that does it for primary or backup starting of diesel engines. It has a pull cord like a small gas engine and the first 10 pulls primes the spring and the 11th starts the cranking. It can crank engines up to about 14 liters in size if I recall correctly.

I have started large trucks by rolling them as well but as for pushing them anywhere well thats not going to happen (I have managed once to push a smaller truck that weighed about 18000 lbs but only a few feet on level ground). I used my

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[temojen]

Because it needs enough power to run the fuel pump, injectors, ecu, ignition coil, ignition system, oil pump, and turn the engine fast. Plus batteries & alternators are plenty reliable enough in most conditions, and less likely to break your arm on a backfire.

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[gardyloo]

Why don't they just give us a hand crank?

    Huh. *I* was born with one. Probably most /. readers were.

Re:Why don't we have hand cranks?

[orasio]

Please, stop whining.
On Radioshack you can buy a hand crank operated radio.
Buy it, strip the radio, and you have a hand crank generator.
Build a generator yourself, it's not that hard, it involves magnets and copper wire.

If what you want is standard hand cranks and plugs, and stuff, then it would have to be actually useful. Sorry , it isn't.

It can be done.

[hellomynameisclinton]

If you can rig up a system to spin the alternator (by re-mounting the alternator and using a jacked-up wheel with a belt for a flywheel), you can generate the ~14 volts needed to charge a 12V battery (charge voltage must be higher than discharge voltage - I won't explain that here, look it up), and with no fancy tools, you can recharge the battery enough for a start-up within a couple hours.

That's with NO special tools. If there was a crank system designed into the car, efficiency would increase so much

Great!

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I have a legitimate reason to piss all over the Compaq laptops at work.. No more awkward thinking up spur of the moment excuses

Re:Great!

[zippthorne]

remember to turn them off first. You wouldn't want to do a rendition of the classic board game from the Ren and Stimpy show.

In the bathroom of a dive bar...

[TheOtherAgentM]

What's that smell?

Absolute power!

Re:In the bathroom of a dive bar...

[blueturffan]

Power corrupts

Absolute power corrupts absolutely

A dive bar?

[deft]

"What's that smell? Absolute power!"

Actually, if you're ina bar, thats 'ABSOLUT' power you are using ;)

Energy Drink?

[ZellmoTheMagnificent]

So, does that make urine an energy drink?

Re:Energy Drink?

[Psykechan]

If they tax it without me having at least some sort of minor say-so in the matter, I'll just pee in the harbor!

Piss off? No....

[BigWhiteGuy_27]

...piss ON!

Is it powered by urine?

[Man of E]

I wonder if the power comes from the urine, or if urine is acting as an electrolyte that allows the energy stored in the "paper, soaked in copper chloride, sandwiched between layers of magnesium and copper" to be released.

Re:Is it powered by urine?

[tobirius]

The urine is only the electrolyte, the chemical reaction would be: Mg + Cu2+ --> Mg2+ + Cu The battery would also work with pure water. But the whole thing won't be a very "clean" source of energy. Copper chloride is not good for your environment.

Re:Is it powered by urine?

[bladesjester]

Pure (distilled) water isn't an electrolytic solution. Tap water might work, but not well since it doesn't have much chlorine in it.

Re:Is it powered by urine?

[jfengel]

Why is it I never have mod points when somebody actually useful shows up? Thanks for the answer. Just for good measure, what are the electronegativaties and how much electricity do you get out of it?

Prior art

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

I saw that once in a bar near LA: there was a urinal with a 3x3 square hole and the top half of a small paddlewheel behind it. A small sign advised that it was an electronic pissing contest machine, and that men who could turn the paddlewheel the fastest would win a free supersize softdrink (to play again no doubt). A bulb on top of the urinal would go brighter and brighter as the paddlewheel would turn faster.

Re:Prior art

[The Ultimate Fartkno]

That was no urinal, son... that was a glory hole. Twenty bucks says that there was someone behind that hole dressed like the Gimp.

Trademarked: "UP Battery"

[Henriok]

The copy writing muse wispered to me.. These are going to be called "UP Batteries" Urine Powered...

Pee in the cup?

[cmeans]

So now, every home health test will require you to pee first?

Got to be a joke in there somewhere...

Wow

[Murphy Murph]

So, let me get this straight...
It's a battery.
Shipped dry.
Electrolyte added only when needed.
How is this new?

(It's not really urine powered anyway. Urine is just the electrolyte.)

Re:Wow

[Humorously_Inept]

Yep. Looks like they "invented" the Voltaic pile. I invented that in a ninth grade science project.

Re:Wow

[tassii]

Yeah.. they've dated them back to 200 BC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2804257. stm [bbc.co.uk]

Re:Wow

[Angst Badger]

How is this new?

Near as I can tell, it's new like most everything else is new -- the folks who slept through basic science classes missed how simple galvanic cells work, and now they're surprised by PR from an engineering firm whose employees didn't sleep through science class.

For those just tuning in now, Wikipedia has a nice explanation [wikipedia.org] of this cutting-edge 1780 technology.

For those inclined to experiment, stick a copper rod and an iron rod an inch apart in the dirt in your backyard, and piss in the space between them. Connect wires to the tops of the rods and then to a voltmeter. Wooooeee! You've got current. And you can recharge every time you need to pee.

Of course, technically speaking, you aren't recharging anything. Rechargeable batteries involve a reversible chemical reaction, while a galvanic cell just slowly dissolves its anode and cathode in the intervening electrolyte. For the purpose of providing a feeble current to a disposable medical device, it's not a bad idea. The battery is, however, really old news -- like more than three hundred years old. It's the microelectronics that can take advantage of such weak currents that are the real news, but those aren't exactly at the bleeding edge, either.

This just in

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Calvin becomes new Enron CEO. News at 11...

It's all just for our convenience...

[anicca]

Health tests my ass...more likely drug tests. Now it can wireless the data it senses to a handheld! They can have the cops waiting for you outside before you even know it...

I Have A Feeling

[kevin_conaway]

This battery is going to take the pressure off the industry. It doesn't take a whiz to see that they're looking out for number one. Trust me, these guys are going to make a big splash very soon!

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:I Have A Feeling

[superpulpsicle]

I was laughing till I puked food all over my damn keyboard and monitor. Now I know better to not eat infront of slashdot.

Re:I Have A Feeling

[bill_mcgonigle]

Probably not. The performance of this new batter is reported to be piss-poor.

Logical extension:

[GeneralEmergency]

A Pee-Powered Peltier Six Pack Cooler!

Ok, so the first two beers are warm. I could live with it.

Re:Logical extension:

[bill_mcgonigle]

Ok, so the first two beers are warm. I could live with it.

Just make the first two Bud - you can use them to power the device.

Let's do the math...

[Pollux]

The whole thing, once laminated in plastic, is just a millimeter thick, and 6cm by 3cm in size...0.2 millilitres of urine the battery will provide around 1.5 volts, with a maximum power output of 1.5 milli-Watts

So, let's get some facts...Jeeves says [ask.com] that normal humans feel the need to urinate when they hold 150 - 200mL of urine in their bladder. 200mL sounds decent for this math.

200mL / 0.2mL per battery = 1000 batteries that can be charged on a normal fill of urine.

1000 batteries * 1.5 mW per battery = 1.5 W
1000 batteries * 1.5 V per battery = 1500 V
1.5W / 1500V = .001 Amps = 1mA

So, my own piss only has as much power as a spark of static electricity. Sorry folks, but it's going to take more than one run to the toilet to power your laptop.

Wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

1 battery outputs 1.5 mW / 1.5V = 1mA

theoretically you could get 1A at 1.5V by wiring them in parallel, OR 1mA at 1500V by wiring them serial, both outputting 1.5W of power.

Re:Wrong

[Humorously_Inept]

Mod parent up. Grandparent is seriously flawed. Kirchoff is rolling in his grave!

Re:Wrong

[Omnifarious]

I was noticing the error as well. I was disappointed that the article didn't say how much work (watts*time) could be extracted from a particular volume of urine. Though I would imagine that it might very well vary a lot.

Re:Wrong

[Greenisus]

Dr. Welch?!?!?!

Re:Let's do the math...

[robyannetta]

Sorry folks, but it's going to take more than one run to the toilet to power your laptop.

That's why frat parties exist.

Personal computer in bladder

[mnmn]

If this thing could be made small enough, it could be put within the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_bladder> bladder</a> (1.1 to 1.3 litres) to work as a permanent machine. It could talk using 802.11b and bluetooth, be its own 'hotspot' so that a human mesh can be made. You wouldnt need to carry a wallet at all. It could also check your health that way. I wonder if it can be used with a plug and an actuator to 'hold it' for you when you really have to go and have nowhere to go.

End of sentence missing

[Tom7]

The breakthrough promises a cheap and disposable power source for home health tests. ... that you pee on.

Almost perfect timing.

[azav]

Oh, how I could use an empty battery right now.

Or 20.

Sigh....

[Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Russia, battery piss on YOU!

no no no

[chochos]

This one's better suited for this thread: ALL YOUR PISS ARE BELONG TO US

Wow!

[geoffeg]

Entire universities could be powered by frat boys as they piss on the lawn and walls after getting drunk.

Of course...

[ultramk]

you could then combine it with this system, [mit.edu] and you'd have a... um... piss-powered and controlled PSP. (SFW)

More of a "pee-ess-pee", I guess.

(i like that they use a chick with a strap-on for the photos... makes the whole thing hotter, somehow)

m-

Are they sure that it's urine powered?

[ChiralSoftware]

It sounds like it's using urine as an electrolyte. That's like a "potato battery", which again is just using the potato as an electrolyte, and is not getting any power from it.

----------------
mobile search [mwtj.com] - try it on your phone

I have kidney disease...

[timster]

...you insensitive clod!

Re:I have kidney disease...

[Master of Transhuman]

I have seen the future, and it is incontinent.

I'll wait ...

[rowama]

until the next model; the one that incorporates crystalized urea. Then "just-add-water" will work. If they can do it this way, it will be much more acceptable, IMHO.

Piss On This..

[nurb432]

No wait, seriously: What chemical component is it converting? The ammonia? The acids?

The concept isn't hard to believe, but the story isn't overflowing with hard facts..

Re:Piss On This..

[shawb]

Nothing in Urine is converted. The urine acts as an electrolyte between sheets of copper and magnesium. Actually, urine doesn't even act as the electrolyte, the copper chloride impregnated in the paper does. The urine just dissolves the copper chloride and completes the circuit. Distilled water could be used here just fine.

I'm a bit skeptical

[JourneyExpertApe]

I'm afraid this post will get lost in all of the pee-pee jokes, but what the hell. I don't see what function urine serves in these batteries. I didn't think urine was all that energetic. The article says these things can output a maximum of 1.5 mW at 1.5 V, so why not just use a tiny alkaline battery? A very tiny battery could be produced for a few cents and they have shelf lives of several years. I just don't see why you need to involve urine at all (other than the fact that it gets your research in t

Re:I'm a bit skeptical

[Beardo the Bearded]

It acts as the salt bridge for the anode and cathode. I also didn't see the point until I read the article.

The idea is to have non-powered devices like pregnancy tests and diabetic testers that don't cosume power until you use them.

I don't know how they'll get a computer-operated pregnancy test down to the price of a multi-pack of dipstrips, but hey, I'm not the one pissing away a government grant.

Yuk, yuk. I'm so funny.

Super name...

[Linker3000]

My laptop runs on a You Pee Yes.

Finally, Dog-Powered Street Lights

[ScentCone]

Just my bigger male bird dog alone should be able to light up my block at night, and he's very accurate.

There goes the investor's money

[FunWithHeadlines]

Now watch them just piss their financing away...

Wizz on my cell phone?

[PhYrE2k2]

"Hey Jerry, could I put you on hold for a second, I have to take a wizz on my cell phone if you're going to be more than a few minutes."

Water-Sports-Powered Vibrators, Anyone?

[Master of Transhuman]

Imagine the uses!

New Business Plan!

1) Make battery.
2) Piss!
3) PROFIT!!!

Re:Water-Sports-Powered Vibrators, Anyone?

[Dunbal]

Not to mention:

1) Make battery.
2) Piss!
3) PROFIT!!!
4) Buy beer with the profit
5) goto step 2

Damn

[eno2001]

Now people won't be able to say that someone is "pissing it all away" when they will really be "pissing it all back".

(You see, I have this thing. It's called a sense of humor. As warped and cracked as it may be, it sets me leagues apart from those who don't have one. Mod appropriately.)

The good news...

[stubear]

...for most geeks is the port to recharge their laptop battery won't be much bigger than the current 1/8" headphone jacks.

Ouch!

[psychofox]

I'm sorry, but have you ever tried pissed on a battery before? Electric current through my schlong is something I can do with...!!!!

Cool!

[cparisi]

Now I almost *never* have to walk away from the computer!

Look, this isn't new...

[Junior J. Junior III]

I've been powering my clock for the past 20 years with a potato. A FRICKIN' POTATO!

Or however you spell it. Damn Quayle, ever since him that word's given me uncertainty. And /. doesn't have a spellcheck function. Or editing@!@#$

Couch potatoes rejoice!!!

[lcllam]

Great! Now I don't even have to get off the couch to change the batteries in my remote anymore. And as a side benefit, I don't have to *share* the remote anymore.

Re:I don't know about you...

[FLAGGR]

Uh dude, RTFS. It's for home health tests that you have to pee on anyway, like pregnancy tests. So yes, since teen pregnancies is a big part of American culture already, this thing is a gold mine. :)

p.s., your sig is lame.

So now...

[game kid]

...we will see spam for More Piss, More Power with BL4DD3R En14r63MeNT??2?

Re:Well

[justsomebody]

Cool, can you fill up my phone battery while you're at it? Please?

On more serious terms:
If urine energy would become too popular, we can expect worldwide beer shortage and families with more children opening energy farms.
Unfortunatelly, there's no action without reaction

Re:Perfect for PeeDAs?

[Dunbal]

It is just using the urine as an electrolyte

Hmmm, dunno about the chemistry on that one, but I do know a bit about urine. pH is around 5 but varies greatly. It contains:

Water (obviously)
urea (not an electrolyte - (NH2)2-C=O )
electrolytes including potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, ammonium, calcium, a bit of sodium (if your kidney is working right, otherwise a lot of sodium), and traces of everything else.

Re:The article fails to mention

[Dunbal]

What property of my pee is prone to chemically react?

I'm not a chemist, but I would say "not much", since I am a physician. Urine is pretty much just filtered blood, with essential stuff reabsorbed as much as possible, and concentrated according to the water needs of your body. A few ions are actively secreted by the kidney, but not at amazing concentrations. You'd chemically burn the tip of your penis off after you urinate, otherwise!

I'm pretty sure the copper ch

Re:The article fails to mention

[belmolis]

My guess is that the urine just acts as the electrolyte. It doesn't have to be extremely acidic to be a usable electrolyte. Normal urine has a pH of around 6, but the pH can be as low as 4 or as high as 8. The main mechanism used by the body to maintain pH balance is the excretion of acidic or alkaline urine. Diet has a signficant effect. Vegetarians tend to have more alkaline urine, people who eat a lot of meat more acidic urine. Starvation and dehydration increase the acidity of the urine. Also, decrease