In an experiment, one tube produced 440 microwatts. When the researchers used four tubes at once, they could power 12 LEDs for 20 seconds.

  • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Remarkably, I was just reading some old xkcd "What If"s during lunch, when I happened across this one (third question).

    tl;dr: at 2012 energy costs (and assuming perfectly efficient turbines), capturing kinetic energy for electricity on a house’s footprint in the rainiest place in the US takes about a century to be worth the cost of manufacturing and installing it. That’s in the best-case scenario.

    Edit: turns out OP’s article is about charge separation, not driving turbines.

    • Aatube@kbin.melroy.orgOP
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      5 days ago

      I can’t replicate the findings of that equation even after doing the omitted conversion from ft²×m to L. That said I don’t understand what the unit of energy even means from its SI conversion lol, so obviously don’t take my word over that of a rocket scientist.