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Newsgroups: fido.science
Distribution: fido
From: Michiel van der Vlist 
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 03 10:35:00 +0100
Subject: PNU 659
Message-ID: 
References: 
Organization: Thou shalt not go faster than light.
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Xref: intern1.nntp.aus1.giganews.com fido.science:56

Hi Jasen,

 HT>> expect that soon the output will be at the level of 300 volts, and
 HT>> 1 watt of mechanical power or 0.5 watt of electrical power.  The
 HT>> device might not yet be as compact as the best micro-batteries
 HT>> currently available, but it will be able to do what batteries
 HT>> cannot, namely supply power over long periods.

 JB> immagine one of those in a mobile phone...  0.5W is probbly
 JB> not enough power though. :)

Not if the battery is totally dispensed with. That's not  efficient however. A
turbine is inefficient when it has to  operate over a wide range of loads.
That's one reason they  are fine for aircraft but not for cars.

Look at it this way: The battery in my cell phone (Siemens M35i)  is 3.6 Volts,
500 mAh. Or 1.8 Wh. That's enough for 3 to 4 days  of average operation. A 500mW
generator could charge the battery  in less than 4 hours. So 500 mW is plenty
for a cell phone.

Not for a laptop though and I suspect they are aiming for  that...

Cheers, Michiel