At Last...Pee Power!

[Dirtzinert]

 Whoda thunk it?


Scientists harness the power of pee
Judy Skatssoon
ABC Science Online

Urine batteries can't power laptops yet, but they could theoretically keep a digital watch working

A urine powered battery the size of a credit card has been invented by Singapore researchers.

A drop of urine generates 1.5 volts, the equivalent of one AA battery, says Dr Ki Bang Lee of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

He says the technology could provide a disposable power source for electronic diagnostic devices that test urine and other body fluids for diseases like diabetes.

These currently need lithium batteries or external power sources. But with this system, the body fluid being tested could power the unit itself.

[mid_nite_poet]

...what will they think of next

[cerina]

Wow ... 1.5 volts ... I could be sitting on enough potential power to supply my whole town  :eek:

[Lonestar]

Wow ... 1.5 volts ... I could be sitting on enough potential power to supply my whole town  :eek:

:eek::eek:

[WOLF]

The way i feel now-i could light up Texas .

First its wtaches,whats next?

Got to go now(to much coffee).   (*looks at watch 1st*)

[Michelicious]

Just don't want to be around when the battery leaks...  :twisted:

[messylaura]

is that for real or are they taking the piss  :mrgreen:

[Michelicious]

Dunno if I even want to go there...

[Khaizerex]

Just don't want to be around when the battery leaks...  :twisted:

 :lol:

I was thinking the same thing.

I don't really know how this works, and I don't like not knowing how things work. But my guess is that it's really hard to operate an electrical watch with a drop of urine. I don't know the contents of urine, so I can't really say it definitively, but you've got to do something with the urine to make it operate the watch.

I guess I don't really care about a urine operated watch...

[Michelicious]

 HEY KHAI!!!  Nice to hear from you again!  Judging by your post, I'd say the studies are going well...you're getting technical on me!
Again, I'm like you... not too confident about anything being operated with urine... especially if I'm in close proximity!

[Khaizerex]

I absolutely agree with that last statement.  :)

It's good to be back, I just finished my spring semester.

My studies are going well, I went a little technical because this sounds like a simple aspect of some chemistry/physics field that shouldn't take too much to understand. So I wanted to know how that worked.

[Michelicious]

Are your studies finished for the summer Khai, and if so, will you be working in your field?

[Khaizerex]

I've just completed my first year of college. And at my school, there's no summer courses. So I guess I'm done with school for now. And this summer, I'm working in my field, yes. I've not really decided what I want to do. Since I came in thinking I'd be a chemistry major, and a chem major needs to have physics in there some where, so I took both chemistry and physics concurrently both semesters. And now I'm leaning toward the physics because I really enjoyed this year of physics. And I don't really want to get away from chemistry because I really like that too. While I don't want to double major in chemistry and physics, because if I were to do that, I don't think I'd spend any time in college taking any courses but in those two fields. So I've kind of thought about chemical physics. And so this summer, I'm making things in a chemistry lab, and after I make them, I look at them under some really cool pieces of physics equipment. So I really am working in both departments, under the supervision of two professors at my school, one in the chemistry department, and the other in the physics department. So this summer is very interesting as well as intellectually challenging for me. I think I enjoy my job a lot more than I would if I were to work a mindless job just to make some money this summer.

[Michelicious]

I knew you had to be in some chemistry, physics or medical courses.  Your above description on the pros and cons of 'urine' as a power generator was much too well versed for the ordinary jo-shmoe (no guys, that does not mean that this is what we are).
Plus, do you realize how fortunate you are to be working in your field, PLUS with some of your professors.  Definitely says something about your I.Q.
I'm quite impressed with you.  Best of luck.

[Khaizerex]

Thank you!

[sweety]

 :lmao:  alteast you would know the time when u had too pee  :P

[cerina]

[Michelicious]

Oh no... another one of us!  Yahoo!

[Lonestar]

...I don't really know how this works, and I don't like not knowing how things work. But my guess is that it's really hard to operate an electrical watch with a drop of urine. I don't know the contents of urine, so I can't really say it definitively, but you've got to do something with the urine to make it operate the watch.

I guess I don't really care about a urine operated watch...

The usual wet-cell technology calls for two dissimilar metals as anode (-) and cathode (+) and an acidic electrolyte.  To the best of my knowledge [and I'll admit, it's limited], "healthy" urine is somewhat neutral and sterile.  If this cell is using unadulterated urine, then my question would be, what are they using for anode and cathode?

[Melekkalbi]

The usual wet-cell technology calls for two dissimilar metals as anode (-) and cathode (+) and an acidic electrolyte.  To the best of my knowledge [and I'll admit, it's limited], "healthy" urine is somewhat neutral and sterile.  If this cell is using unadulterated urine, then my question would be, what are they using for anode and cathode?

[Michelicious]

Another 'interesting' use for 'urine batteries'...

Physicists in Singapore have succeeded in creating the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. This new battery will be the perfect power source for cheap, disposable healthcare test-kits for diseases such as diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cell phone.

Just what we need... health kits and cell phones powered by 'piss'!  
Give them time, and they'll harness 'fecal matter' to run our appliances!

[cerina]

Give them time, and they'll harness 'fecal matter' to run our appliances!

I can think of a few places they can go for an endless supply    :roll:

[Khaizerex]

So have a current running through a circuit, we need to have a certain potential difference between the cathode(+) and the annode(-) that is used to drive the current--which runs in the opposite direction as the actual movement of electrons. In a regular battery, you have a copper half and the zinc half of the whole thing. You need a conductor connecting the two--and that's the salt bridge for the movement of electrons.

So what happens is that one end loses an electron, and it moves through the conducting liquid--to the other side. Of course it's not likely to move from one end to the other in a straight line, they bump into things, and run in all sorts of random directions. But think of it as a density thing, if you have a PVC pipe filled with ping-pong balls, and you stick one more ball in one end, you'll get a ball that comes out the other end, though it won't be the pingpong ball that you've just stuffed in. And when you finally have the end that loses electrons lost all of the electrons it's willing to give up in equilibrium--in chemistry terms--fully oxidized end--be it copper or zinc, it's very specific, but I don't remember which one is which. I think the zinc is oxidized (lost electrons) and the copper is reduced (gained electrons). But when the end being oxidized loses all of the electrons it's willing to give up, you have a dead battery. The idea of a rechargeable battery is that you stick a power supply on the battery that'll reverse the flow of electrons--as well as the current. So we have the oxidizing half-cell becoming the reducing half-cell. And the vice versa happens on the other end. So you put some electrons on the part that will lose electrons when driving a current using this battery alone. Plugging a recharged battery goes back up to what I was describing before. Of course I'm describing a very basic battery--a battery I can use to light a lightbulb (but not too brightly, as we need more current drive) when you give me a piece of copper and a piece of zinc, and a lemon. It's called the lemon battery--surely you can google that term and find a lot of ways of creating this simply battery. Remember to use a very small lightbulb that has low resistance--otherwise you'd be disappointed!

The urine--being full of ions that make it a conductor, can be used as a salt bridge--the idea of a battery is a complete circuit with flow of electrons--or charged particles that can help in moving the electrons. You need a potential difference (commonly known as voltage) to drive the current. I don't know where the drive is coming from in this urine powered watch. I'm really confused on this part. I think many of you have gotten sick of reading of my science geekiness, so I'll let some one else speak.

[Lonestar]

...Give them time, and they'll harness 'fecal matter' to run our appliances!

Quite possible today.  Burn it to boil water to steam, and use this to power a turbine coupled to a generator/alternator.

Of course, the exhaust from such combustion would be something to deal with...

...I think many of you have gotten sick of reading of my science geekiness, so I'll let some one else speak.

No, not at all.  To clarify your point [from something I began to write up]:

Volta.  In 1800 Alessandro Volta developed the first electrochemical cell by layering copper and zinc discs in a jar of salt water. The chemical reaction that resulted created the first steady supply of direct-current electricity.  In this reaction, the zinc electrode (or anode, negative polarity) loses electrons to the electrolyte (in Volta’s example, the salt water) through the process of oxidation.  At the same time, the copper electrode (or cathode, positive polarity) gains electrons from the electrolyte (specifically, from the element hydrogen within) through the process of reduction.  Connecting the anode to the cathode will result in a flow of electric current.

Lemon Cell.  A common middle- or high-school science project is the construction of an electrochemical cell using a lemon, a galvanized nail, and a copper penny.  In this, the lemon’s juice functions as the electrolyte; the nail (the galvanizing being a coating of zinc) as the anode, and the penny as the cathode.  Empirically, potentials of 0.8 to 1 volt have been obtained using the average size of lemon.

Vinegar Cell Using Zinc And Copper.  Another such experiment is the construction of an electrochemical cell using a galvanized nail as the anode, a length of copper wire as the cathode, and the electrolyte being table vinegar (typically 5% acetic acid).  All within a small container such as a plastic 35mm film canister.  Resulting potentials have been measured comparable to the lemon cell, above.

And you are correct, urine is saline, although the more "yellow" it is, the more concentrated [which is one reason why we're admonished to drink a lot of water, to dilute it].

Personally, I wish that zinc foil wasn't so expensive [about $75.00 for a 4-1/2 x 4/1-2"/ 11.43 x 11.43 cm sheet, last time I checked]; it'd be neat to make up several cells out of plastic medicine bottles. as an emergency power source.