the weight of human body in energy?

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by deicider, Oct 11, 2009.

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  1. deicider

    deicider got omnicidead Registered Senior Member

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    As you can see its a question.
    I was wondering,if someone put "things"(i dont know much of mechanisms)
    under ur shoe or behind them as u walked or run ,the weight of ur body could produce energy with the appropriate as i said things behind or below feet.
    Note that i dont know much bout the eco-energy...just it came up in my mind and thought if somehow people managed to use the weight for example charge their ipods while jogging or something like that(it was an example..)
     
    deicider, Oct 11, 2009
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  3. one_raven

    one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    It's a good idea, but people have beat you to it.
    Nike came out with this quite a few years ago - I don't know how readily available they are in the market, however.
     
    one_raven, Oct 11, 2009
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  5. phlogistician

    phlogistician Banned Banned

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    I read an article (think it was BBC Science and Technology News) about a fabric being developed that was piezo electric, and that could therefore harness energy from movement when worn, to charge mobile phones etc.
     
    phlogistician, Oct 12, 2009
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  7. Fraggle Rocker

    Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    The human body, even in top athletic condition, can only generate a fraction of one horsepower. That's barely enough energy to light up a small room. If you're a really active person but not an athlete, your energy output might be several kilowatt-hours per day--less than a dollar's worth of energy.

    But don't forget, you're actually using that energy to move your body around, so it's being converted into mechanical energy and is not available for collection and storage. How much of that dollar are you using to accomplish the motions that define your life? Putting little generators in your shoes will divert energy you're trying to use for locomotion. Either it will slow you down or you'll have to put more power into your stride just to maintain your normal pace. It might be useful if you're trying to lose weight and just want to burn off some calories. But in normal circumstances it would be a pain in the... well in whatever body part is doing the work. And its impact on energy conservation, even if everybody did it, would be too small to measure. You could hook your shoes to your iPod and save a few cents a month on the electricity you expend in recharging it.

    Does anybody know the energy efficiency of the human metabolism, as well as the entire food production and distribution industry? My intuition suggests that buying extra food so you can work harder and convert the mechanical energy to stored electric energy is not going to turn out to be a "green" use of resources. Have you noticed that we don't use oxen to pull plows and turn mill wheels any more? There has to be a reason; if it was efficient we'd still be doing it: turning the chemical energy in hay into kinetic energy.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2009
    Fraggle Rocker, Oct 12, 2009
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  8. one_raven

    one_raven God is a Chinese Whisper Valued Senior Member

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    I disagree, Fraggle.
    Much is the energy that can be harnessed with such a thing is currently just wasted in heat due to friction and impact.
    There is a reason shoes have springy material in them.
    If you were to put some sort of energy harnessing device that energy that was being wasted would then be captured - it does not require you to expend more energy at all. In fact, if it was designed right, it could generate electrical energy and even SAVE you some of the energy that is wasted from impact and make you even more efficient.
     
    one_raven, Oct 12, 2009
    #5
  9. Enmos

    Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    Approx. 70.5 trillion Joules in longscale (Europe), or approx. 70.5 quintillion in short scale (US).

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    Enmos, Oct 12, 2009
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