Convert Mechanical to Electrical energy

Yes a magnet and coil will produce electricity. (plunger type action). You can buy magnet-coil flashlights. Shake action.

That's the way piezoelectric crystals work.

I always get lost when I think about electro-magnetics, but I'm pretty sure if you move a magnet up and down in a wire coil, you generate electricity:

There are hand crank generators as well. Think of WWII movies where the radio man cranks on a handle before transmitting a radio call.

These are cool if it is something small like a cell phone.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/aladdinpower_ha.php

Think also of the plunger type magneto that has had a starring role in many early 'B' movies that included explosives.

"Think also of the plunger type magneto that has had a starring role in many early 'B' movies that included explosives. "

The Rack Bar Detonator The rack gear on the plunger drives a pinion gear on a rotary generator to produce the voltage to set of the blasting caps containing mercury fulminate.

I don't believe the guy was powering up his transmitter by cranking the handle in this application. What he was doing was using a two-wire wired system and was ringing the bell on the other end. The wire was/is called salt and pepper for black and white. You are correct in that he was turning a generator to do that. This is the same principle as sound-powered phones on USN vessels. Your voice pressure moves a diaphragm hooked to a coil that moves it back and forth to generate varying amplitude electricity into the transmission wire. On the other end, the reverse occurs with the coil moving the diapraghm to generate the person's voice. To get them to answer the phone, the hand crank is spun. A centrifugul switch on the crank shaft closes to send the high volume signal down the line to the receiving speaker. If you happen to have the phone handset against your ear, it will hurt like a son of a bitch. This system is old as hell and reliable as hell and works; that is why it is still used. It takes on external power to work. The only downside to it is that a small ground greatly diminishes the sound and a short will kill the entire circuit.

"Peddle a bicycle and one can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy - bicycle lights..."

Don't try to hook up a larger generator to a bicycle to generate the output of a mini- power plant. It is hard tiresome work.

Thank you very much for your great responses! I would like to continue to ask you another question though... If a 12 ft. 500lb. strong man were available, is there or could someone develop a "plunger type" mechanism that when the strong man pushed it down (repeatedly) it would be able to turn whatever needs to be turned in the generator to produce electrical power? Since I do not know what sizes of generators there are and how much each produce electrical power, we can use a relatively small generator (if you would)... thanks again for your consideration.

"If a 12 ft. 500lb. strong man were available, is there or could someone develop a "plunger type" mechanism that when the strong man pushed it down (repeatedly) it would be able to turn whatever needs to be turned in the generator to produce electrical power?"

Yes. I could be done. Why the obsession with a plunger type drive, With a tread mill drive or a hand crank drive it is much easier to maintain a constant speed of the rotating generator to produce the maximum possible output?

Thank you again! Would you be able to recommend or direct me to a site that could provide me with the further understanding of how this type of "drive" works (mechanically) to turn the parts in the generator that would produce power? Thank you again!

NEPA"Would you be able to recommend or direct me to a site that could provide me with the further understanding of how this type of "drive" works (mechanically) to turn the parts in the generator that would produce power?"

Rack and Pinion, and Other Gear Drives Now you should see why the R&P drive takes so much effort as it reverses at each end of each stroke thus subtracting from the energy output of the rotary generator attached to the pinion gear as in the blasting machine.

Sterling stan, would you be able to give me a ratio of the power produced by a bycicle connected to a generator going at 20km.per minute.

Now that is an irrelevant question. Since the generator is a part of the bicycle and moving at 20 km/min or 1240 km/hr or 770.5 miles/hr you would fall dead from a heart attack in about 22.5 seconds or less.

Isn't pedeling a cycle and generating also converting mechanical energy into electricity?

vshwn7@aol.com

vvswn "Isn't pedeling a cycle and generating also converting mechanical energy into electricity?"

Take the time to read all of the posts and understand the difference in CAN DO and WHY DO!

Thanks again for your comments. When I was young, we had a toy that was called a spinning top - you pressed down on a toy plunger and this would somehow build up energy (spring mechanism?) and then it would spin... If the 500LB strongman could push down on the plunger repeatedly, could that be set up to generate power not spinning? Thanks!

The push-top incorporated a mechanical drive mechanism called a "double helical screw" that converted the linear motion of the plunger to a rotational motion. The same principal is used in what are called "Yankee Screwdrivers", available at most hardware stores if you want to experiment.

So could you duplicate this to make a generator? Sure you can. But first off, a 12ft 500lb man does not exist (yet), so you are relegated to what DOES exist, a 200lb 6.5ft "strong" man. It is also already established that an athlete in good shape can consistently put out about 500W of raw power, 900W at peak for about 6 seconds with 30 seconds of rest in between. The problem then with your "plunger" generator idea is that a double helical drive would lose about 60% of the applied energy in friction. So your peak performing athlete would yield only about 200W or rotational energy. Then you have generator losses of let's say, unconservatively, 20%? So now you are down to 140W of continuous electric power output. Double that and you still are at 280W of electrical power. Not enough to even run a toaster.

So even if you found a 12ft 500lb strong man to work unceasingly on your plunger generator, he could not even make enough toast to sustain his own efforts.

Thank you very much for your comments.... I guess you could say that I am "toast".... have a great holiday.

There is no need for a 500 lb man. You can have a set of buoys/floats on the sea bobbing up & down. It is not easy to convert it into electrical energy directly. Perhaps the floats can compress air or pump water & they can run an air motor/ turbine coupled to an alternator

I see so you are interested in devices that can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Just to give you some inspiration and things to look up on.

Think of how a water wheel works...using potential energy from the water to generate energy (it's like free harnessed energy baring the cost of the materials needed).

The same goes for windmills (free wind energy)

So instead of using Man power for such a task, how about using some potential energy that already exist and is just waiting to be harnessed :)

Maybe even using the shock on the bike as an electricity generator with the magnet and coil generator(you know like the torch lights with the shaking up mechanism)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashlight#Mechanical_power

These things always amused me...

Do you guys think it is possible to harness more energy out of the sun?

I think we can currently harness about 11% of the sun's incident energy, correct me if I'm wrong...

SHAZ-"Do you guys think it is possible to harness more energy out of the sun?"

www.http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/RenewableEnergy/

Sure--Need some new ideas about how to do it though--Photovoltaics are cute, but I'd like to see something a little more substantial. It seems that in the U.S. we take all of our budget for alternative power and literally throw it into the wind--Pun intended.

I wish we could spend a little more on R&D before we jump into production of inefficient and expensive alternative power. i.e.

Shaz-"The same goes for windmills (free wind energy)"

www.http://dsireusa.org

Wind power has been subsidised into existence. There are so many different ways that tax dollars are dumped into it, that makes it near impossible to calculate wind power's cost per kwh. It's a huge business, but not producing power so much as erecting windmills for profit.

Let me throw out another question for you gentlemen to consider: If you had come up with an idea to convert mechanical to electrical energy, how would you proceed to try and bring it to market. Would you consider:

1) setting up a meeting with a turbine manufacturer,

2) trying to establish a relationship with a energy consulting group,

3) contacting a wind energy firm that understands the difficult process of a opening a new energy industry,

4) another approach - identify a different partner arrangement that will be able to intially secure the idea and be the best (or one of the best) vehicles to bring it to market...

Thank you in advance for your consideration and comments.

"If you had come up with an idea to convert mechanical to electrical energy, how would you proceed to try and bring it to market. Would you consider:"

None of the suggested approach unless and until I had the idea confirmed and approved by a registered professional engineer and/or the head of the mechanical engineering dept. of a university.

Stan, thanks for the comment... OK, would you go to an engineering consulting firm that offers this kind of service? Is there a firm of registered professional engineers that would be in this line of business - testing / confirming with continued involvement should things prove out? Thanks again!

Either one. A large engineering consultant firm would likely have more experts available and also cost more for their report. A non-disclosure contract would protect you from their appropriating your idea as their own.

A patent of the idea would have potential sale value, with or without royalties, to a firm in the appropriate business of making use of your idea.

Yes, there are methods to convert a force to electricalenergy. However, what you will use depends upon if you want electricity while a plunger is moving, or if you want electricity when a static force is applied, but there is little or no motion.

A magnet moving past a coil will produce electricity WHILE THE MAGNET IS MOVING with respect to the coil. The amount of power you can get out of this depends upon the strength of the magnet and upon the size and number of turns in the coil.

A piezoelectric element will produce electricity while a static force is applied, but the power you can get from it is very small.