smartest gen e solution for gen y

8/2/2019 Smartest Gen e Solution for Gen y

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SMARTESTGEN E.

SOLUTIONFOR GEN Y

DONE BY: -

M.SREE RAMYA

ICE-3/4

G.NARAYANAMMA INSTITUTE OF

SCIENCE AND TECH.


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ABSTRACT:-ABSTRACT:-

This paper deals with the generation of electricity from body heat. The generation ofelectricity or power from body heat happens to be the newest revolution in the arena of

science and one of the greatest (though not the toughest) challenges for todays scientists

who are in a constant search of better and efficient fuels to power the day-to-day

appliances. Powering the cells using conventional methods has become obsolete attributed

to the fact that these cells which work on electricity can not be operated in remote areas

and in the places where there is a dearth of power. But the present trend of technology has

now come up with a very novel idea of generating electricity from internal body heat,

which has got many applications and could definitely prove to be a boon for the mankind.

Hence, in this paper we will be learning about the various techniques that help in

harnessing the body heat efficiently and convert it into electricity.


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HOW TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY FROM BODY HEAT???

German scientists have found a way of transforming body heat into electricity

using circuitry. The discovery means that we may be able to operate our mobile phones

using nothing but the warmth of our hands in the future. New circuits make it possible to

harness body heat for generating electricity, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute found.

This could prove particularly useful within the world of medicine - especially in

hospitals.Medical equipment used to measure bodily functions such as a patient's heart

rate, blood pressure, body temperature, pulse or breathing rate are normally attached

piece by piece to the patient. All require their own electricity supply. This normallycreates a spaghetti-like mess of cables next to the hospital beds.

DRAWING POWER FROM HUMAN BODY:-

In the future, this equipment could function without electric power, instead drawing all

the power needed from the warmth of the human body. The respective data would be sent

by a radio signal to the central monitoring station. The technology behind the discovery

works on the principle of thermoelectric generators, or TEG, made from semiconductorelements. The TEGs extract electrical energy simply from the change in temperature

between a hot and a cold environment. The difference in temperature between the human

body and its surrounding environment is only a few degrees, which would normally

produce only around 200 millivolts. This isn't enough to power electronic devices, which

would normally require between 1-2 volts. But the scientists found a way around this

problem.

The scientists have combined a number of components in a completely new wayto createcircuits that can operate on 200 millivolts which enabled them to build entire electronic

systems that do not require an internal battery, but draw their energy from body heat

alone. Also, that circuits that work at 50 millivolts already exist. Hence, temperature

differences of just 0.5 degrees will be sufficient to generate electricity. There's a wide
http://www.fraunhofer.de/fhg/EN/press/pi/2007/08/Researchnews82007Topic1.jsphttp://www.fraunhofer.de/fhg/EN/press/pi/2007/08/Researchnews82007Topic1.jsp


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range of possible applications for this technology as electricity can be generated from

heat at any place where a temperature difference occurs. That could be on the body, on

radiators to meter the heating costs, when monitoring the cooling chain during the

transport of refrigerated goods, or in air conditioning systems.

New circuits make it possible to harness body heat for generating electricity.

Energy produced this way can be used to power medical equipment, such as sensors

attached to the body of a patient in an intensive care ward, the institute said. The system

works on the principle of thermoelectric generators - semiconductor elements that extract

electrical energy from the temperature difference between a hot and cold environment.

Normally, a difference of several tens of degrees would be required to generate enough

power, but the divergence between the body's surface temperature and its environment is

only a few degrees.


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BODY HEAT COULD POWER PACEMAKERS:-

Patients could one day be fitted with pacemakers that run on body heat. Scientists at

Biophan Technologies in New York are developing a "biothermal battery" that turns the

body's own heat into electricity.This device could be used to power small medical

implants like pacemakers.If successful, it could enable patients with pacemakers and other

implants to go much longer without having to undergo surgery to replace batteries.

LONGER LASTING

At the moment, most patients who have been fitted with pacemakers need to have surgery

to replace the battery that powers the device every few years. The scientists who are

developing this new type of battery say it is designed to last as long as 30 years. The

battery uses thermoelectric materials, which are special types of semiconductors that

produce electricity when one side of the material is heated and the other is cooled. These

materials have been used to generate electricity on spacecraft that are too far away from the

sun for solar cells to operate. Recent advances in nanotechnology have now made it

possible to use these materials to power small devices, like medical implants. With the

nanotechnology revolution under way, the ability to now put thousands and thousands of

these small semi-conductor nodes that convert heat to electricity in the small space, perhapsthe size of one or two postage stamps, has become feasible.

Pacemakers have been used for 40 years

Scientists believe the battery can be implanted under the skin, where there can be a

temperature difference of up to five degrees Celsius. The device could be used to power


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pacemakers and other devices, such as the tiny neurotransmitters that are implanted in the

brains of some people with Parkinson's disease.

CAPTURING THE BODY'S ENERGY FOR WORK ON AND OFF EARTH:-

Covert military operations and space shuttle missions are both burdened by the fact that

they rely on an inefficient, energy-wasting machine: the human body. Considering one of

the biggest logistical problems planners face is getting power to equipment in remote

places like Afghanistan or the moon, researchers are devoting their efforts to cut some of

those losses through "energy harvesting" from the human body. If that gives you creepy

images of people wired up as batteries a la "The Matrix," stop fretting. What NASA and

the Pentagon want to do is scoop up electrons from what bodies in normal activity produce:

heat, motion, flexing and stretching, compression, urine, and body heat. This is quite

different from other human-powered schemes that take extra exertion, like spring or

dynamo flashlights and radios that are wound-up by a special handle, flashlights that are

squeezed by the user to generate charge, or flywheels that store energy from a cord that is

pulled. According to a recent survey, the human body on average with 15% fat is capable

of producing 11,000-watt hours. When the average Joe eats his daily bread, he takes in

3,300 watt hours. The charge rate is about 7kW if the waiter starts pushing you out the door

after a half hour lunch, according to the Center. "Clearly the amount of energy consumed

by an individual is sufficient to provide power for electronic devices if a suitable method

can be found to convert a small fractionof that energy to electricity.Broken into usableterms, waiting to be harvested are 81 watts from a sleeping person, 128 from a soldier

standing at ease, 163 from a walking person, 407 from a briskly walking person, 1,048

from a long-distance runner, and 1,630 from a sprinter, according to the center. But of

course theres not 100% capture. Body heat, for example, can only be converted with 3%

efficiency with current thermoelectric materials. Advances in nanotechnology and

materials science are causing energy needs to drop at the same time production and transfer

of it is increasing. The military applications are humble still, though, aimed at small gear

like personal battery chargers, medical sensors, displays, gun sights, and range finders.

Boots that turn the compression of a compound into voltage have already powered a radio.

NASA is hoping to feed a range of body monitors, electronics and mission-specific


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devices. In the commercial sphere, companies are racing to power simple things like

watches for now, and many more miniature home appliances that will run on body heat in

the near future.

Some of the most promising mechanisms for passively converting human body functions

into electricity are:

Piezoelectric devices: Piezoelectric substances, like some ceramics, also generate electrical

energy from mechanical strain but without the need for voltage to be applied. This well-

understood material is the core of "heel strike" devices that generate electricity from

walking. Generating 1-2 watts per shoe is not out of the question. A major issue that

remains is the durability of these devices. Great for soldiers, bad for astronauts as giant

steps are what they take, walking on the moon.

Urine-based fuel cell: First subject urea to enzymatic hydrolysis to make carbon dioxide

and ammonia, and then oxidize the ammonia to nitrogen and water. But one problem with

the system is the need for alkaline conditions that may require transport of sodium

hydroxide, a hazardous compound. Also, to achieve power generation in the range of 0.5 -

1W, a system to concentrate the breakdown products of urea, such as reverse osmosis, will

be necessary. But for astronauts and soldiers on the run, one attractive feature of this fuelcell concept is the production of water as a by-product of the system.

Inertial energy scavenging: You can own a piece of this technology already some Seiko

watches are powered by a weight that swings as you move, driving a tiny generator. No one

expects to generate much electricity from these systems, but deployed in each element

needing electricity they could do the trick in concert. Also, while gravity is absent in space,

inertia is not.

Electromagnetic generator: Large muscular groups (especially legs) can generate

electricity by simple motions against gravity and small direct current permanent magnet

motors. But there are little or no efforts within the scientific community to design efficient

small generators of the type needed for harvesting of human energy.
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Thermoelectric materials: These materials convert body heat into electricity by using

combinations of materials (metals and ceramics) that are poor thermal conductors and good

electrical conductors. When two of them at different temperatures come into contact,

electrons migrate, charging a battery or creating usable current through something called as

the Seebeck effect. The trouble is that you need to great temperature differences to get

significant energy, and on Earth most places are pretty close to body temperature.

ONE HOT TIMEPIECE:

New Watch Runs on Body Heat

A Japanese watch manufacturer has come out with a new wristwatch that generates its own

power by utilizing the difference between ambient and body temperatures. The watch,

which went on sale in late 1998, is fairly expensive, since it is a new technology. A

Japanese watch manufacturer has come out with a new wristwatch that generates its own

power by utilizing the difference between ambient and body temperatures.

POWER GENERATED USING DIFFERENCES IN TEMPERATURE

The principle behind this new watch's power generation has long been known. It was

discovered by a German physicist named Thomas Johann Seebeck (1770-1831), and is

therefore named the Seebeck effect. Basically, if two different types of metal are joinedtogether in the shape of a ring, and if the two junctions are of different temperatures,

electrons will flow from the warmer side to the cooler side, forming a kind of a generator.

This principle has already been used to generate power for spacecraft such as planetary

explorers, and research is under way to use it to produce electricity from waste heat

generated by factories and power plants.

The material used to generate power for this new watch is a type of semiconductor in the

shape of a rod. Power is generated when the ends of the rod are of different temperatures.

A temperature difference of one degree centigrade generates 0.2 millivolts of electricity per

rod; more electricity can be obtained when rods are strung together in alternating fashion.

The semiconductors used in this new watch are 0.08 mm on each side and 0.6 mm long;

this allows 1,000 of them to be strung together and sandwiched between the watch face and


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back. With this construction, a difference of 10 degrees centigrade between body and

ambient temperatures generates about 1.5 volts, the same as an ordinary dry cell battery.

Third Type of Self-Powered Wristwatch

There are already two kinds of self-powered watches: ones that generate power by using

the natural movements of a person's arm to oscillate a power-producing mechanism, and

ones that use natural or artificial light to generate electricity. This new type of watch uses a

third energy source: heat. This third type of power generation is more suitable than

movement or light for people who do not move around much and who spend significant

amounts of time working in dimly lit spaces. The commercial production of the watch

represents the culmination of three years of continuous research and development.

Since the power generation mechanism relies on the difference between the temperatures at

the watch back (next to the wearer's arm) and the watch face, the battery will not charge if

the watch is not worn for extended periods of time or if the wearer is in a warm climate

where there is not much difference between body and ambient temperature. For this reason,

the battery is designed to power the watch for 10 months once it is fully charged.

EFFICIENCY:-

The watch is designed to conserve energy if power is not being generated. First, the secondhand will stop moving; then, if power is not generated for three days, all hands will stop.

When the watch is in power conservation mode, the push of a button will cause the hands

to display the proper time. This is the world's first heat-powered watch.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION:

This invention relates generally to thermoelectrically-powered wrist watches, and more

particularly to a wrist watch of this type whose construction is such as to minimize shunt

heat losses whereby the thermoelectric generator housed therein operates at high efficiency.

It is known to power analog or digital solid state wrist watches by means of a

thermoelectric generator which operates on the Seebeck effect to develop a voltage due to


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differences in temperature between two junctions of dissimilar metals in the same circuit.

In thermoelectrically powered wrist watches of this type, the components of the watch

movement are supported on a metal carrier that is held within the watch casing with the

major portion of the carrier in close proximity to the metal back of the casing.

The thermoelectric generator is placed within the casing with its hot pole in contact with

the casing back. This back, which is of good thermal conductivity, is pressed against the

wrist of the wearer to be heated thereby, the cold pole of the generator being in contact

with the relatively cool carrier to provide the necessary heat differential for developing the

voltage.

Because of the close proximity of the metal carrier to the heated casing back, a transfer of

thermal energy takes place therebetween which tends to equalize the temperature. This

effectively acts as a thermal shunt or bridge across the thermal generator. The resultant heat

loss reduces the efficiency of the generator.

While an undesirable heat transfer can, to some degree, be reduced by filling the space

between the metal casing back and the metal carrier for the movement with thermal

insulation, such insulation does not satisfactorily solve the problem. A more effective

practical solution is to provide a relatively large spacing between the casing back and the

metal carrier, but this necessarily results in a casing of greater thickness or height and

hence in a watch whose bulky appearance leaves much to be desired in aesthetic or

ornamental terms.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION


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In view of the foregoing, the main object of this invention is to provide a

thermoelectrically-powered wrist watch of the analog or digital type whose construction is

such as to minimize shunt heat losses whereby the thermoelectric generator therein

operates at high efficiency.

A significant advantage of a wrist watch in accordance with the invention is that it becomes

feasible to design and manufacture watches with thinner or flatter casings, thereby creating

watches having a more pleasing appearance. Moreover, because the thermoelectric

generator has an improved yield, the watch is caused to function in a more reliable

manner.Briefly stated, in a thermoelectrically-powered wrist watch in accordance with the

invention, the thermal energy picked up by the back of the watch casing is transferred to

the hot pole of an electrothermal generator housed within the casing.

To avoid thermal shunts, in one embodiment of the invention, the metal carrier for the

movement is thermally isolated from the upper component of the casing which is thermally

isolated from the back thereof. An alternative expedient for this purpose is a casing back

constituted in part by thermal insulation material. In practice, both expedients may be

combined to advantage. Because of the reduced transfer of heat from the casing back to the

carrier, it becomes possible to provide thermoelectrically-powered wrist watches which are

of flatter or thinner construction than existing forms of such watches.

Automatic watch: An eccentric weight called a rotor, swings with the movement of the wearer's body and

winds the spring

SOME PROS AND CONS OF GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY/POWER FROM

BODY HEAT:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jaeger-Lecoultre-p1000838.jpg


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ADVANTAGES:-

1.It produces clean energy.

2.No waste or pollution occurs.

3.It can produce a fair amount of energy that is just enough to power household equipments

and to perform our daily chores.

DISADVANTAGES:-

1.the energy produced is very little.

2.It sometimes becomes difficult to harness the body heat and then couple it with suitable

devices to produce power.

FUTURE ASPECTS:-

With the emergence of an omnipotent field like Nanotechnology, one can definitely have a

pretty good perception about the progress of this smartest and newest technique ofgenerating electricity from body heat, which can prove to be quite beneficial in the long

run. As the mother earth is running out of its huge reserves of fossils and other non-

renewable resources to serve the growing demands of the mankind, this novel technology

will quench the thirst of the technology savvy people and meet the demands of energy

requirement in the near future as the merits of this technology outnumber the demerits.

smartest gen e solution for gen y

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