Harvesting Energy from the Human Body 160
Late-Eight writes "Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology are working on a new type of nanogenerator that could draw necessary energy from flowing blood in the human body. The hope is to incorporate the new nanogenerator into biosensors, environmental monitoring devices and even personal electronics that will require no fuel source, internal or external. Once completed, this new cellular engine could find various applications, even beyond medicine."
Hmm... (Score:1, Funny)
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Queue the "Matrix" references.... (Score:1, Funny)
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Hey, I was gonna say that - (gasp) déja vu...
Where is it Coming From? (Score:5, Interesting)
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I just think we should be sure about it first.
Re:Where is it Coming From? (Score:5, Informative)
Are you confusing calories with Calories? (Score:3, Insightful)
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Apparently some whizz-PR-kids thought it would be good PR if they lost the Kilo-multiplier in their energy description, so they decided that the Kilo- be replaced with a capital C. Well, all in all, if you're dealing with calories, you know you're in trouble. Check out the Wikipedia page on the Calorie. You'll see there are about a zillion different definitions for the calorie
It's easy to get confused! (Score:2)
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1 gram of carbs contains 4 kcal (Score:2)
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Either the Matrix has much, MUCH more efficient technologies, or here is yet another fine bit of fiction that has slid down the fantasy side of the fork in the road between science fiction and fantasy.
"Coppertop", indeed.
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Either the Matrix has much, MUCH more efficient technologies, or here is yet another fine bit of fiction that has slid down the fantasy side of the fork in the road between science fiction and fantasy.
That was one thing that always bothered e about the matrix--supposedly the machines began harvesting their energy from humans after we blacked out the skies to end their solar power.
That always seemed like a suicidal (and futile) tactic to me. I mean, it would be trivial to adapt machines to run on electricity drawn from geothermal, nuclear, tidal, or wind power to name a few...but all energy that keeps us humans alive is solar energy harvested via photosynthesis.
So basically in The Matrix, the humans a
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I just like to think that the humans are grossly misinformed due to a fractured understanding of historical events, that the machines blacked-out the skies to corral the humans, and that the matrix is a massive random number generator using human thought as a seed (rather than a power plant) - but that's just me.
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For instance, my first thought upon seeing Neo's psychic abilities is that the "real world" was actually a nested (outer) matrix, designed to corral "non-believers" by providing them with a grittier, more believable simulacrum; it's so awful that it *must* be true. Smith's soliloquy in the first film provi
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Or maybe some sort of chemical interception of nutrients and oxygen headed for cells? Or maybe they've
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Ugh, fine. . make me RTF :-p Yes I'd call it negligible, they say that their current design can do a few nanoamps at below 0.5v but hope to get a design that can pump out a microamp at 0.5v. Lets assume they perfected their "high-power" design and look at what it does. 0.000000001A is 1 microAmp, multiply that by 0.5v and you get 0.0000000005W or 0.5 microWatts. Having this thing run for 24 hours would give us 12 microwatt-hours which according to google is 0.0103250478 calories. So if it were 1% efficient (I'd be sure its quite a bit higher) it would draw about 1 calorie a day. . .or about 1/4 of a gram of sugar.
So what you're saying is that after all these years, technology has reached the point where I can finally stand tall and shout...
...
I HAVE THE POWER!
(Mods:
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Units (Score:2)
0.000000001 = nano-. (billionths)
If you really can't remember [wikipedia.org].
Calories to Watt-Hours (Score:2)
So, if we assume the 1cm^3 device generates up to 4 Watts, that's 111.648 Calories / day.
That is significant when compared to the 2000 Calorie recommended by the FDA, but it might not be as siginificant when compared to the trademen, military or athletes whose bodies use much more energy in the course of the day.
Now, I don't know for sure that they'll actually insert devices this large (if they're working towards 0.5V, this would be 8A) Personally, I'm more worried about how the
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That's equal to a 1/4 cup of Ben and Jerry's. Three bites of ice cream. http://www.benjerry.com/our_products/nutritional_
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Re:Where is it Coming From? (Score:4, Informative)
They're talking microamperes and like 0.5 volts so that makes it about microwatts of power; one microwatt of power over the course of one day is something 0.0864 joules, or 0.021 calories, and those are normal calories, not the food calories (which are really kilocalories). Doesn't look like a whole lot, compared to the energy an average person consumes in a day (2000 kcal, that's two million calories!).
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After all, in winter I get warmth from my electronic devices, it is only a way to pay them back
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I agree with Eddi3, leave my heart alone. I think we should rather focus an nano-fuel cells, say for something like consuming low-density lipoprotiens (LDL). That way both the organism and the device benefit.
Dennis Dumont
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4 watts per cubic centimeter is their projected power density. 1 cm^3 is awfully big, about the size of the tip of your pinky. I imagine that the generator they're talking about is a helluvalot smaller than that; a generator of that size hardly deserves the epithet of 'nano', and would probably only fit in major arteries and larger blood vessels. More like cubic millimeters. They're still talking about half a volt and something of the order of micro-amperes of current. Remember some basic electricity:
Likely Medical problems of this device (Score:5, Interesting)
First, we'll ignore the risk of infection on the assumption that we're implanting a device anyway and its just a matter of what power source we pick for the implant. The most serious general problem would be blood clots that form on surfaces of the device. These pose a sever risk if they break-off, migrate downstream and cause heart attacks, strokes, or blockages in the lungs or extremities. Even drug-eluting stents (which are coated with anti-clotting drugs) have now been found to cause clotting after the drugs dissipate from the coating.
Then there are the mechanical/hydraulic problems associated with impaired blood flow (the upstream blood pressure will need to be higher that the downstream pressue -- that pressure differential times the flow rate defines the amount of power extracted). If implanted in an artery this device will increase the back pressure on the heart (leading to an enlarged, inefficient heart) and impair circulation on downstream side (increasing problems with infections and function). If implanted in an vein this device will impair circulation on upstream side and probably lead to fluid build-up on the upstream side.
Cool idea, but I doubt it's compatible with the human body.
Re:Likely Medical problems of this device (Score:5, Informative)
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Having something in the venous system, like a vena cava filter, may be relatively safe and still produce usable energy. Other places that are not in the circulatory system that might still be used to produce energy may be s
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Going by that,the energy that powers the generators (blood flow)) has to come from somewhere...
So,It does look like we are merely going to expend our own energy powering this generator.
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BAD idea. (Score:2)
Not if it's scaled up to any practical size - even to power very tiny stuff.
Pulling energy from the flow or the vibrations in it raises the backpressure. The pressure has to rise or the pressure in the veins downstream collapse in the lower-pressure part of the cycle, which causes all sorts of havoc, such as floating blood clots that produce strokes and heart attacks.
Pulling energy from the flexing of the vessels due to the
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Since it's powered by the vibrations from the pulse, the energy used would presumably otherwise by converted to heat by the mechanical dampening of the pulse by the vein walls. Since this is not a way that the body
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Would turning the crank on a generator terrify you? That's another way of harvesting energy from your body that places more stress on your heart.
Re:Where is it Coming From? My beer gut. (Score:2)
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I honestly think you could make good money on an implant that does nothing but burn calories.
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Cue the Matrix comments... (Score:4, Funny)
Great! (Score:3, Interesting)
Tell me where you're so that I could spot you and eliminate you in order to divert myself away from the inevitable future.
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HemoElectric Dams (Score:1, Interesting)
Harvesting Energy (Score:2)
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The "self winding digital watch" people have run into the problem that that status-symbol types don't think it's a status symbol, and with the rotating counterweight, the things are both big and expensive to manufacture.
Solar powered watches are more useful. I have a $50 model from Casio, which is both solar powered and updates itself from WWVB, so it pretty much maintains itself.
Self-winding mechanical watches often need a powered winder, [ewatchbox.com] a device to rotate them when not in use. Then you have to cha
Lipo? (Score:1)
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The body doesn't waste much sugar or fats at all as in doesn't pick it up.
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Thank you! (Score:1, Funny)
I'll finally have a relationship with someone. I just hope my dearest won't squeeze the life out of me.
Awesome, if this means that... (Score:3, Funny)
Where do I sign?
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Porn perputual motion machine (Score:5, Funny)
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A question of space (Score:1)
Desperate? (Score:2, Insightful)
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They are... (Score:2)
I think for many people, yes they are that
Gas? (Score:1)
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and the best part is... (Score:1)
Skin Contact (Score:4, Insightful)
They are having a major problem though (Score:4, Funny)
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Welcome to rabbit hole (Score:1)
A disruptive technology (Score:2, Funny)
No thanks (Score:3, Insightful)
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A little extra exercise hardly hurts. Or do you think top athletes die young due to their heart wearing out?
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hmmm (Score:1)
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Too bad (Score:1)
Heart implants (Score:2, Interesting)
A better way (Score:2, Funny)
Inductive Gadget Belt (Score:2)
The newest hacks... (Score:2, Funny)
DIY: USB adapter you can hook up to your spinal cord to charge up your I-pod!
What a stupid idea (Score:2)
worst case scenario is VERY BAD (Score:2)
sure, on a tiny scale, the tiny fractions of a watt seem insignificant - but the energy is not free, it slows your bloodstream a tiny amount.
when a nanoscale does it's typical ramping up to larger swarms to do a collective job, it can and will eventually add up.
just add self-replication and we have a potentially awesome sci-fi horror flick without the fi.
Tommyknockers, anybody? (Score:2)
Weight watchers, plug-in style. (Score:2, Interesting)
You may not need the system to be wired up in series... which could cause some problems if it fails or
If its alright with you.... (Score:2)
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I wonder how much power they'll be getting? Probably something in the neighborhood of 120 volts of bio-electric power which, if I'm not mistaken, is enough bio-electric power to run an entire civilization of self-aware, artificial-intelligence, anti-gravity, lasers-on-their-heads, robots.
It's also enough power to propel six hours and forty-three minutes of incoherent techno-babble, pretentious, pseudo-religiosity and a plot that makes sci-fi serials from the thirties look positi
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Are you referring to devices that generate wind, or to devices that generate electricity using wind?
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http://www.geoduck.com/epicenter/order.cgi?page=h
WTF? (Score:2)
What ever happened to the wind generators? I heard that someone made a computer system with such a generator built in.
Are you referring to devices that generate wind, or to devices that generate electricity using wind?
I'm equally puzzled... Did someone have a computer with enough wind INSIDE it to justify the generator? I hope their CPU is ruggedly attached, they may get tornadoes or the occasional hurricane inside...
Otherwise, I thought there was a highly scientific name for a "w
Re:Next step - feeding on human blood ... (Score:5, Funny)