“Pee As You Go?” - Pee Can Power Cellphones, In fact

Scientists working at the University West of England (UWE) in Bristol, United kingdom, have discovered a way to power a cell phone with Human pee.

The company have been able to charge a Samsung mobile by placing the fluid through a surge of microbial fuel cells. With this process, enough energy may be generated to send text messages, browse the Net and even make a short phone call.

According to the scientists responsible, the next stage is to fully power the phone with pee…Presumably washing their hands directly afterwards.

Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulos has labored for ages with microbial energy cells; he’s thought to be an expert in harnessing power from unusual options. The potential purposes of his work are very interesting from an environmental viewpoint.

Dr. Ieropoulos said, “We are very excited as this is a world first, no-one has harnessed energy from urine to do this so it truly is an exciting finding. Using the ultimate waste product as the source of power to produce electrical power is nearly as eco as it takes.” Eco-friendly technology is, seemingly, the good doctor’s main area of appeal.

The microbial cells work as the energy converter, they turn the organic matter straight into electricity, via the metabolism of live microbes. The electricity is the by-product of the microorganism’s natural life phase, meaning that as they ‘eat’ the pee, they generate power the energy that powers the mobile. Now that’s what we call ‘pee as you go’.

Toilet humour aside, the team have engineered a world first, as nothing as large as the mobile battery has ever been charged using this process before.

There are, at present, no plans to promote this tech on a sizable scale, but perhaps someday we can be signing a ‘P’ mobile contract, the trick, as they say, might be pissistance.

PS – I’m sorry about this one. The task and its implications are astonishing. All credit to the UWE team. Though, I continuously needed to do one of those ‘And Finally’ type tales and now I finally get to. Please forgive me, one and all.

SOURCES:



http://uk.news.yahoo.com/urine-could-charge-mobile-phones-152225132.html