ah yes, they have reinvented the potato clock...
Alt.EnergyNetwork wrote: > Hi all, > > This could be neat. These people have supposedly > tapped usable power from a tree. > It is not all that out of the ordinary to detect small voltages > and milliamps from a tree. I did the nail in the bark and the copper tube in > the ground set up years ago when I was a child. > I didn't have an digital meter at the time (They were over $450 at the time, > way to expensive for a 13 year old kid) but I was able to measure between .4 > -.7 of one volt and from 50-80 milliamps,from various trees. I just chalked > it up weak galvanic reactions at the time and set the experiments aside. > > It is not too difficult to boost small amounts of juice enough to charge a > small battery using capacitors and diodes > , so in reference to this article, it may be time to revisit this idea of > obtaining usable power from trees. > > > It is after all, a press release, so take some of the Hyperbole with a few > grains of salt but the experiments do deserve some further consideration and > are an interesting area of experimentation > why would any rational person, for motives other than scamming, want to pursue this. The energy has nothing to do with trees and everything to do with the redox potentials of copper and aluminum. You can do the same thing with salt water. > > regards > tallex > > > < http://www.automotive.com/features/90/auto-news/17333/index.html > > > MagCap Engineering, LLC Announces 'Free' Unlimited Energy Source Developed > That Draws Power from the Environment > CANTON, Mass., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- An alternative electric power > generating system that draws energy from a seemingly unlikely yet abundant, > eminently renewable and virtually free power source has been submitted for > patenting by MagCap Engineering, LLC, Canton, Mass., in collaboration with > Gordon W. Wadle, an inventor from Thomson, Ill. > > Wadle has invented a way to capture the energy generated by a living non- > animal organism -- such as a tree. Chris Lagadinos, president of MagCap, > developed circuitry that converts this natural energy source into useable DC > power capable of sustaining a continuous current to charge and maintain a > battery at full charge. > > "As unbelievable as it sounds, we've been able to demonstrate the feasibility > of generating electricity in this manner," said Wadle. "While the development > is in its infancy, it has the potential to provide an unlimited supply of > constant, clean energy without relying on fossil fuels, a power generating > plant complex or an elaborate transmission network." > > The developers now intend to establish a collaborative agreement with a > company, academic institution or potential investors who can help finance the > additional research and development necessary to take the invention to the > next level -- a practical, commercially viable power generating system. > > Wadle likened the invention to the Discovery of electricity over 200 years > ago when charged particles were harnessed to create an electric current. "Now > we've learned that there is an immense, inexhaustible source of energy > literally all around us that can be harnessed and converted into usable > electric power," he said. > > Ultimately, it should prove to be more practical than solar energy or wind > power, and certainly more affordable than fuel cells, he added. > > Wadle said he got the original idea of harnessing a tree for electrical > energy from studying lightening, more than 50 percent of which originates > from the ground. This prompted him to develop the theories resulting in a > method to access this power source. Lagadinos then designed circuitry that > filtered and amplified these energy emanations, creating a useable power > source. > > Basically, the existing system includes a metal rod embedded in the tree, a > grounding rod driven into the ground, and the connecting circuitry, which > filters and boosts the power output sufficient to charge a battery. In its > current experimental configuration, the demonstration system produces 2.1 > volts, enough to continuously maintain a full charge in a nickel cadmium > battery attached to an LED light. > > "Think of the environment as a battery, in this case," said Lagadinos, "with > the tree as the positive pole and the grounding rod as the negative." > > Near term -- within the next six months or so -- and with additional research > and development, Lagadinos said the system could be enhanced enough to > generate 12 volts and one amp of power, "a desirable power level that could > be used to power just about anything," he said. > > > > It is enough power to charge batteries for any type of vehicle, including > hybrids and electric cars, or to use with an AC converter to produce > household power, he added. The LED industry is a prime example of a potential > user of this power source. > > Other applications would be to provide power for signs, security lights, > street, park and hiking trail lights, surveillance or sensor equipment -- any > application that heretofore couldn't be serviced because it lay beyond the > hard-wired power grid. > > Government agencies and the military could find the system especially useful > because the power is basically free, unlimited and can be produced in remote > locations. > > MagCap is now seeking to establish a collaborative relationship with a third > party, explained Lagadinos and Wadle. This is a step that could not be taken > until proper patent protection was applied for. > > A patent application for this pioneering invention was filed in December by > the developers' patent counsel, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and > Popeo, P.C., Boston, Mass. > > While the basic concept of this invention -- using a tree to generate > electric power -- seems too incredible to be true, Lagadinos said it can be > demonstrated quite simply. "Simply drive an aluminum roofing nail through the > bark and into the wood of a tree -- any tree -- approximately one half inch; > drive a copper water pipe six or seven inches into the ground, then get a > standard off-the-shelf digital volt meter and attach one probe to the pipe, > the other to the nail and you'll get a reading of anywhere from 0.8 to 1.2 > volts of DC power," he said. > > "You can't do anything with it in that form because it is 'dirty' -- i.e. > highly unstable and too weak to power anything," he added. In order to > properly harness this potential energy source, MagCap devised two test > circuits: one with three capacitors that were connected in parallel by means > of a switch and charged to 0.7 volts each. When fully charged they are > switched to a series mode, multiplying the voltage to 2.1 volts and flashing > an LED to show that sufficient power could be generated to produce a useable > result. > > The second circuit included a filtering device to stabilize and "clean" the > current so it could be used to charge and maintain a NiCad battery. The > battery then could be connected to the LED to keep the LED lit continuously. > > Wadle pointed out that there seems to be no limit to the amount of power that > can be drawn from an individual tree, no matter how many "taps" are inserted > -- each produces the same amount of energy, an average of 0.7 - 0.8 volts. > Size of the tree also seems not to matter. > > Interestingly, while conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that the tree > draws much of its energy from photosynthesis via its leaves, the voltage > output actually increases to 1.2-1.3 volts in the winter after the leaves > have fallen. > > Headquartered in Canton, Mass., MagCap Engineering, LLC is a leading custom > designer and manufacturer of magnetics of all sizes for the broadcast, > telecommunication, microwave, military, defense and energy industries. For > more information, see http://www.magcap.com > > > > other stuff > > > > > Governments Agree to $470 million Package > for Phasing Out Harmful Chemicals > > > Dakar - The member states of the Montreal Protocol on Substances > that Deplete the Ozone Layer have agreed to a budget of $470 million > to support the continuing transition by developing countries to > CFC-free refrigerators and other ozone-safe technologies during > the three-year period 2006 - 2008.... > > > full article > > < http://www.alternate-energy.net/N/news.php?detail=n1135031677.news > > > > > > > Polar Bears Drowning as Ice Melts, Scientists Say > > > Fairbanks, AK - Scientists say they have found > four polar bear carcasas floating in the water > off the coast of Alaska in the last 30 days, > victims of a melt down of ice shelves there. > > > > > full article > > < http://www.alternate-energy.net/N/news.php?detail=n1135030558.news > > > > > > > > Season's Greetings and all the best for 2006! > > Get your daily alternative energy news > > Alternate Energy Resource Network > 1000+ news sources-resources > updated daily > > http://www.alternate-energy.net > > > > > > > Next Generation Grid > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/next_generation_grid/ > > > > > > Tomorrow-energy > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tomorrow-energy/ > > > > > Alternative Energy Politics > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alternative_Energy_Politics/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > > > -- Bob Allen http://ozarker.org/bob "Science is what we have learned about how to keep from fooling ourselves" - Richard Feynman _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
