Solving China’s Power Problems–One Pint at a Time
With everyone up in arms, or threatening to be, over China’s unquenchable thirst for energy I thought a bathroom break was needed:
Remember the old joke about the fellow who was in an Irish Pub’s W.C. pouring his pint down the urinal? When asked what he was doing. he replied, “Cutting out the middle man.”
Well, you might want to hold that thought (pun, bad as it is, intended) for a while. There might just be a renewable energy solution for China. A company in Singapore has developed a credit-card sized battery—powered by urine! This biodegradeable power source is initially for use in for medical test kits that test for problems in, well, urine.
The Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (now to be known as the Whiz Kid Reader) published the results. They describe the altered AA Battery as one that will last about 90 minutes and produce 1.5 volts–the same as a standard AA battery. When a drop of urine is added to some copper chloride paper, a chemical reaction takes place and produces electricity.
Researchers said the power, voltage, and lifetime of the battery can be improved by adjusting the geometry and materials used. . .And probably the brand of Ale.
That reminds me of a friend who came across an electric fence in the middle of the woods and….
But I digress….
Reprinted from September 17th, 2005
One response so far
I had never seen W/C on a restroom prior to going to China.
During a break in class I was chatting with a fellow teacher and I asked, ‘What does the W/C mean on the bathroom door?’
Without pause and with a straight face he replied, ‘Winston Churchill.’
He’s blogging at http://onhongkongisle.com now.