Tech | August 26, 2010 | 34 comments

The next big source of alternative energy could be the air itself

source: http://io9.com/5622771/the-next-big-source-of-alternative-energy-could-be-the-air-itself

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pjacobs51
There's electricity in the air all around us, formed as water vapor comes into contact with dust particles. For centuries scientists have dreamed of tapping into this source of power - and we finally might be able to do it.

The knowledge that water vapor creates electricity goes back to the industrial revolution, when workers noticed the steam escaping from boilers created sparks of static electricity - and, for anyone foolish enough to touch the steam, a powerful electric shock. We've known the basic components of this form of electricity for a while - when water vapor and microscopic dust particles mix, somehow electricity is the result. But replacing that "somehow" with an actual scientific process has proved a seemingly unsolvable mystery.

But a team of researchers led by Fernando Galembeck of Brazil's University of Campinas may have made a breakthrough. As they explained at this week's meeting of the American Chemical Society, they were able to overturn a basic assumption about this process - that the water remains electrically neutral, even after contact with the charged dust particles. They were able to show that silica and aluminum phosphate, two of the more common types of dust, changed their electrical charges when in the presence of high humidity. That means the water vapor must have some of its own charge to exchange with these particles. The team has dubbed this "hygroelectricity", which basically means humidity electricity.


Galembeck says this gives them the chance to isolate the underlying processes of this mysterious form of electricity, and it might have other advantages as well:

"Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future. Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect. If we know how electricity builds up and spreads in the atmosphere, we can also prevent death and damage caused by lightning strikes."


It's now possible to create hygroelectric collectors, which could theoretically gather enough electricity from humidity to light a house or power an electric car. As an added benefit, they would drain the atmosphere of excess electrical energy that partially causes lightning to strike. The collectors would be most practical in regions with high humidity, which includes the tropical regions and (as I'll be more than happy to tell you) much of the eastern United States.



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34 comments // The next big source of alternative energy could be the air itself

  • brit50
    • 0
      brit50  

    • Honestly, this type of so called "alternative energy" although a good idea in theory is literally decades if not centuries away. We have no possible way of storing this energy. The lack of research to improve battery function, quality and storage (which would be what is used to store the electricity) will contribute to an even longer timeline before this type of energy can be conceived as use on a type of electrical grid.

    • 1 year ago
  • observer2121
    • 0
      observer2121  
    • brit50:

      It's difficult for small minds to see the potential in ideas but I guarantee this is not centuries away as you suggest. Ken Olson the co-founder of DEC famously said “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” If you have no vision you shouldn't comment on what you think the future will be because you will undoubtedly be proven wrong. It is worth it to explore all sorts of different options and the means to store the energy will be created.

    • 1 year ago
  • royulery
    • 0
      royulery  

    • in the 80's i was playing around with electrical fields in my garage. one thing i did was to make an 8 foot circular electrical fence using one conductor, wrapped 10x around. high voltage d.c. currents applied caused an air vortex to spin in the center. my thought at the time was to; build a giant version of this coil, say about 1 mile around and see if it would create a stationary tornado. i talked a lot about doing it but i got drunk instead.

    • 1 year ago
  • mitekillem
    • +1
      mitekillem  

    • This is not a new idea. Before Tesla died, it was rumored that he was talking about a way of pulling electricity our of "thin air". For a man of his genius, I be he noticed the "boiler effect"...and then there's the fact that the Earth creates lightning with next to nothing.

      Yes it's an awesome idea. But think about this: where will people work, once they've closed all of the power plants, and cars no longer need oil?
      What jobs will there be to replace them?

    • 1 year ago
  • royulery
  • brit50
    • 0
      brit50  
    • royulery:

      I might not agree that this is a plausible solution as of this moment (although very cool), we can both agree Isaac Asimov was one of the smartest, creative and most innovative authors of all time. His books seem modern today and he wrote them 40,50 even 60 years ago...truly remarkable.

    • 1 year ago
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • r0nan
  • existentialist
  • DefKid
  • existentialist
  • Animal_Chin
  • DefKid
  • Elizabeth16
    • -2
      Elizabeth16  
    • DefKid:

      I don't mean to be petty or paranoid, but I (with the feminine name) first evoked the name of Tesla. I've seen this on Current several times (and I 've only been here a month or so): a woman makes a comment, a man concurs, and some DUDE congratulates the man for bringing it up. You dudes have to stop thinking through your penises so much. Give it a rest.

      I don't expect some big prize for bringing salient points up. I just think this is bullshit. Sorry, women can be intelligent too, which I'm sure just makes you examine your penis more, thinking,"is it big enough?"

      Answer: no. Which is why men keep devising bigger bombs.

    • 1 year ago
  • DefKid
    • +2
      DefKid  
    • Elizabeth16:

      waaahhhh. Sorry I didn't see your comment first. Good for you goody two tits! The men who build bombs probably spend so much time in the lab to get away from a woman like youself. Here's a congratulations for ya....Way to turn a harmless comment into a a war of the sexes. Remind me not to talk about race or politics with you. Get a life!...Happy now?

    • 1 year ago
  • DefKid
    • +2
      DefKid  
    • Elizabeth16:

      And secondly I'm married to a woman who is more educated than myself, with two daughters who I'd never let feel inferior to anyone, man or woman. What happened to you that you feel so oppressed by "man"kind" that you need to post a completely sexist, senseless rant on a website in defense of not being recognized for a comment. You absolutely wanted to receive credit for your knowledge of forgotten inventors. Is that all you have to live for, the adoration of strangers. What an asshole. Go find an actual human to share your thoughts with! You miserable slag!

    • 1 year ago
  • Elizabeth16
    • -2
      Elizabeth16  
    • DefKid:

      “Good for you goody two tits! The men who build bombs probably spend so much time in the lab to get away from a woman like youself.”

      My, I have no idea why I’d think you’re a misogynist. You just demonstrated my point, which I meant as an extreme sarcasm: you just came out and said men build bombs to get away from women, or “gals,” or “two tits”, or whatever scum like you like to call us.

      Do you really use words like “youself” and expect anyone to take you seriously?

      “And secondly I'm married to a woman who is more educated than myself . . .”

      The word “myself” is reflexive, as in “I kicked myelf in the ass,” which seems a rather fitting example here. The proper term is “more educated than I am.” I’ll bet you just hate “two tits” types bringing such realities up, but hey, you left yourself, or "youself," wide open.

      “What happened to you that you feel so oppressed by "man"kind" that you need to post a completely sexist, senseless rant on a website in defense of not being recognized for a comment.”

      Um, what happened was that I spent my life trying to deal with misogynists in the workplace, in academia, and in my family. Sorry you can’t bear to read more than 20 words without leaving a comment. Given your inability to write a simple sentence without error, though, there’s no big surprise here.

      I'll bet you any money your wife fakes it, if she even bothers. Or if you even notice.

    • 1 year ago
  • DefKid
    • +2
      DefKid  
    • Elizabeth16:

      Shoot me for misspelling a word. Seems like your the one who is full of hatred for the opposite sex. Perhaps it has nothing to do with being a woman, maybe people just think your an asshole? Did that thought ever cross your mind? Women can be assholes too you know. Is that fair enough for you.This is a pitiful waste of my time. GET A LIFE.

    • 1 year ago
  • DefKid
    • +2
      DefKid  
    • Image
    • Elizabeth16:

      But before I go I have a gift for you. What is it you ask? A story about a woman who made weapons!...Women can aid the world in it's destruction too! Who knew!

      "Any girl can be glamorous," Hedy Lamarr once said. "All she has to do is stand still and look stupid." The film star belied her own apothegm by hiding a brilliant, inventive mind beneath her photogenic exterior. In 1942, at the height of her Hollywood career, she patented a frequency-switching system for torpedo guidance that was two decades ahead of its time.

      http://www.inventions.org/culture/female/lamarr.html

    • 1 year ago
  • Elizabeth16
  • DefKid
  • UtopianSky
    • +2
      UtopianSky  
    • Elizabeth16:

      You are being petty and paranoid.
      And a bit condescending.

      On Current, multiple people will make similar comments all the time, and just because someone compliments one comment that does not mean that they purposefully ignored another.

      It does not even mean they SAW the other one.

    • 1 year ago
  • Elizabeth16
    • -1
      Elizabeth16  
    • UtopianSky:

      When DefKid posted his initial response, there were three or four short posts on this site. I find it difficult to believe that he hadn't read mine, which was the first to mention Tesla. His response was mysogenistic and nasty to the extreme. I'm tired of men calling women paranoid when they notice the sexism of a situation. It's "the elephant in the room" scenario--don't notice what is so obviously there.

      True enough, I let myself into the fray, and am embarrassed that I did so. And probably I shouldn't have mentioned that men think too much about the size of their penises, although all evidence tells me this it true.

      And I notice that not one poster suggested that DefKid was a little extreme himself. Go figure.

    • 1 year ago
  • DefKid
    • +1
      DefKid  
    • Elizabeth16:

      I scrolled to the first reply. I found it interesting and commented. Then I went on with my life. I did not take time to read the whole thread. You ARE paranoid. It has nothing to do with your sex. You're just paranoid. Get over your self. I am really sorry if something happened during your day set you off. But I'm not any of the things you detest. I just know how to pull a chain. I happen to be a huge fan of Tesla and hate the fact that his genius is not celebrated in schools across the nation, much less, the world.

      Thank You! Thank You, Elizabeth16 for recognizing the similarities between Fernando Galembeck's work, and that of the great Nikola Tesla.

      If one more person knows of his name, and his feats because of your reply, the world is truly a better place for it. (Seriously)

    • 1 year ago
  • observer2121
  • observer2121
  • royulery
    • +1
      royulery  

    • i'm impressed but i think the energy solution will come from hot water solar. hot water collectors are cheap and efficient.

    • 1 year ago
  • royulery
    • +2
      royulery  

    • there's a great scifi movie with tesla in it, 'the prestege", the movie has the distinction of having actors that played both d.c. and marvel comic heros; hugh jackman and christian bale.
      '

    • 1 year ago
  • DefKid
  • Elizabeth16
    • +6
      Elizabeth16  

    • A century ago, Nikola Tesla told J.P. Morgan that the Wardenclyffe Tower he was building could pull free energy out of the air, and Morgan promptly cut off his funding and had it destroyed. Never heard of Tesla? That's odd. He only developed the A/C motor, radio, microwave, and just about everything else we base our high-tech world on. He developed directed-energy weaponry, figured out how to create earthquakes,and everyone thought him mad. He died penniless.

    • 1 year ago
  • mindcruzer
  • street_smart
  • Elizabeth16
  • hunzedog
    • +1
      hunzedog  

    • that sounds so crazy it just might work...how about a big balloon we could rub hair on or a state long piece of carpet we can drag a huge sock down it....zap....free electricity....

    • 1 year ago
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