We have been relying on some of very basic renewable energy sources like wind, hydro and solar energy for long. Anyhow, the time has come when we should be hunting for more unconventional forms of energy. Be they the artificial tornadoes, animal poop or human sewage, we definitely need to think outside the box for powering our enormous endeavors.
dance floor
Wasted Body Heat
wasted body heat
Scientists have devised various thermoelectric devices that harness body heat and convert it into usable electricity. Blingtastic headband from Vladimir Leonov and Ruud Vullers of the Inter-university Microelectronics Center, quantum dot devices and thermal underwear probe into the unharnessed energy form to generate electricity for your gadgets.
Harnessing energy from tornadoes (artificial)
tornado
Canadian engineer Louis Michaud created a 13-foot-wide tornado-making machine, dubbed as Atmospheric Vortex Engine, which produces a powerful spinning column of air that could drive electrical turbines. More here.
Energy-harvesting dance floors
club energy 4 ewxo7 11446
As you groove to music at its dance floor, GO2 catamaran gathers enough energy for sailing. The world's first sustainable dance club Watt Club also does the same. Just recently, British Columbia Hydro and Sustainable Dance Club created a dance floor at Club Energy in Vancouver.
Creating mutant bugs that produce crude oil
mutant bugs
Experts conducting the project LS9 claim that they've discovered a some genetically modified bacteria that eat wheat straw and excrete crude oil. More here.
Exercise bikes to generate electricity
pedal powered hotel
The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers hotel has installed electricity-generating exercise bikes in its gym. Real-time display of the bikes' electricity output is provided on the iPhone screen. More here.
Drawing Energy Out of Thin Air
nokia
Researchers at the Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge in the UK are devising a technology to harvest small amounts of energy from radio and TV waves to power their cellphones. More here.
Poop Power
anaerobic digester 8nq2x 11446
Last year, we let you know about Shawn Saylor, a Pittsburgh farmer, came up with his ingenious manure-harvesting, energy-generating technology. In Haiti, however, the silver lining comes in the form of an anaerobic digester that utilizes human poop for producing methane. Methane, thus produced, can be used as a powerful source of energy.
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