Does anyone need a reminder about lightning and electronic equipment? It’s a bad idea to do the following while lightning is in the vicinity, especially if you are outside and near tall trees;
Listen to a radio
Listen to an iPod
Use a personal computer
Operate a video recorder
The woman who shot this video was hit by lightning - and it’s all on tape, including her scream. She lived:
From what i understand, it went through my left hand holding the camera, crossed my back and exited out of my right hand holding onto the metal railing. No entry or exit wounds, as i was not directly struck, i got just a really good zap from one of the “finger arcs” that happen when lightning hits.
As we approach the 9 June 2008 launch announcement for iPhone 2.0, it’s a good opportunity to discuss the iPhone’s power requirements.
I’ve never heard anyone ask if an iPhone can be solar powered, but I have had a professor ask me when someone will “solve the battery problem”. She was annoyed that her mobile phone and computer needed to be recharged daily. Since she works outdoors for a few hours a day, she thought a solar-powered iPhone would be a great invention.
Is that a solar cell in your pocket?
The short answer is that a solar powered iPhone is almost impossible. The iPhone is really a small computer with a very bright LCD screen. It takes a powerful lithium-ion battery to run an iPhone, and that battery needs more power than the sun can provide. Apple’s official page on iPhone batteries has some details and tips, but is light on technical specifications. Even the Apple specs page doesn’t list the battery’s output and charging requirements.
I ended up searching through eBay and Google Checkout listings to find a number that sounded reasonable: 1400 mAh. It takes a few hours to charge that battery from a 2.5 watt USB cable. iPhoneAtlas has a nice article with some tips for extending the iPhone’s battery life
It’s just silly to add a solar panel directly to an iPhone, for three reasons.
iPhone users like carrying the device in their pockets or purses - and those are places the sun doesn’t shine!
Many mobile phone users recharge their phones at night, while they are asleep.
There’s also the problem of heat. Apple recommends keeping the iPhone out of direct sunlight, because heat can damage the battery and the iPhone itself.
Adding a solar cell to the iPhone would probably make the device thicker - according to Wikipedia, the device is 4.5 inches long by 2.4 wide, and is only 0.46 inches thick. A solar cell that is small enough to fit on the device would produce only a few minutes of iPhone power in an entire day of sunshine.
Apple does hold a patent for putting solar panels on portable electronic devices. But the best solar cells can only deliver a 20% efficiency ratio - and that’s when the solar cell is outside on a clear, cloudless day. Solar cells just do not work well indoors or in overcast conditions. This post from TUAW and thesetwo articles from Forbes have some more details.
Solar chargers
It’s easier to design a solar-powered charger than placing the solar panel on the iPhone itself. The solar charger contains a large battery and several solar cells. The user places the charger in the sun for a few hours to charge the built-in battery. Then the user connects their iPhone to the charged solar device, so that the large battery is recharging the iPhone’s smaller battery.
Solio makes a cute hybrid solar charger that can handle an iPhone. It’s shown in the picture, which was provided by benbrown through a Creative Commons license.
Solar Technology sells several models of hybrid chargers, but they only ship to the UK. The Solarmonkey resembles a clamshell phone, but it can charge an iPhone.
Brando of Hong Kong has a more versatile solar device that can charge its battery from an onboard solar panel or through a USB port. It’s designed for charging small devices that require a maximum of 4.5 watts. Brando will ship to the USA. This Gizmodo article has some additional pictures.
Solar furniture
Frankly, it takes a large solar panel to directly charge an electronic device. The designers of the SOLo lounge table have the right idea. they’ve come up with an outdoor glass-topped table that is a very attractive and expensive solar panel. The table costs US$14,000 and is built to order, making the SOLo a good fit for businesses in sunny climates, or homeowners who want an interesting conversation piece.
Several blind people live near our home, and sometimes they cross in front of our driveway. I’m always patient, as it’s obvious to me that they are listening for engine noise.
Before I saw this article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, I hadn’t realized that blind people cannot hear gasoline-electric hybrid cars at crosswalks. I’m ashamed to say I had never thought of it, even though I owned a Honda Insight for two years.
Most hybrid automobiles shut down their gasoline engine at a full stop, and some models, like the Toyota Prius, can use their silent electric engine at low speeds. There’s no gas engine noise to warn blind pedestrians of an approaching vehicle.
The American Council of the Blind has proposed a research study, to be conducted by the US Department of Transportation. The research would determine if an indicator noise could be added to hybrid cars to help the blind hear the vehicle. Crosswalk signals now include an audible signal, to help local governments comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A Federal solution is vastly preferable to local and state regulation. In the past, the Federal government has mandated other safety features for automobiles, including air bags, brake lights and seat belts. Audible signals for the blind could be combined with for backover avoidance technology that is designed to warn drivers of children and objects behind their reversing vehicle.
USB ports are handy, but only when they are fully powered. On some models of the MacBook Pro, it’s the left USB port that is the primary port. If you’ve got an iPod, a headset, a USB-powered hard drive or an external USB hub, plug it in to the left USB port.
The right USB port on the affected MacBook Pro models is hubbed. That means the USB port is sharing the some bus and power source as the keyboard, trackpad, IR receiver, Bluetooth and the iSight video camera. There’s not much power left to run a hungry USB device.
On older MacBooks, the fully-powered USB port is towards the keyboard. The USB port that is nearest to the MagSafe power socket is the hubbed, underpowered port.
Google has invested US$10 million in BrightSource as part of the Internet firms’s RE>C initiative. According to news.com and ValleyWag, BrightSource builds solar thermal facilities and sells the generated electricity to commercial customers and electricity. The generation system is cost-effective during peak periods of the day.
Google’s data center use large quantities of electricity, so Google.org has been awarding grants to suppliers of renewable energy technologies such as solar, thermal and wind.
Google also announced today that it is hiring a Head of Renewable Energy to supervise the company’s research & development programs. The company already invested in eSolar and Makani Power - see this Google web page more details and links.
