Girl "invents" flashlight that is powered by the heat of a hand

A 15-year-old girl has invented a flashlight that produces a usable amount of light just by using the heat from your hand. And if the judges at the Google Science Fair like it, she may be on her way to the grand prize.

Ann Makosinski of Canada entered another Science Fair last year with a flashlight that used kinetic energy to power its LEDs, and this year she wanted to try making one that worked via the thermoelectric effect. That's when a small amount of electricity can be harvested as electrons flow between the cool and hot sides of a material."

Peltor Effect Flashlight! Great thinking! Bravo! Smart Lady!!

Gunner

I suppose that she meant "Anything repeated [endlessly]... will be believed ...". If she had said that, one wouldn't have to puzzle over it and infer what she must have meant.

(I know it's a sig, but it's not punctuated as one.)

Bob

Cool science project. And I'm all for encouraging kids to do science. But I'd stop short of calling it an invention. And if you do the math, it ain't likely to ever be practical.

Now, if you could embed the peltier devices in electroluminescent latex, you'd have something marketable. Maybe put some kinetic conversion to flash colors...;-)

Dibs on the sales rights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How well is it going to work at 90 degrees ambient? Art

Probably wont work worth a s*it at all. Until 98.6 grasps the flashlight and it starts powering up. Probably not very brightly...no idea of what the requirements for a Peltier device actually are, though I suppose I could go look it up.

Probably work Great at 50 ambient.

Even better at -40°

Even better at -40°

Yes.

Yes.

Take your PIC.

Take your PIC.

That comes with working HVAC. :)