• Question: How exactly would your vibration experiment work?

    Asked by SamO to Valeria on 11 Nov 2021.
    • Photo: Valeria Nico

      Valeria Nico answered on 11 Nov 2021:

      My harvester (the device that converts vibrations in electricity) is made up of a magnet that due to vibrations oscillates inside a coil, generating a voltage (Faraday’s law of induction, maybe you studied it).

      I generally design and build different harvesters and i test them reproducing vibrations with a shaker in the lab so that i can measure how much power the harvester generates

Comments

  • Photo: SamO

    SamO commented on :

    Could there be a big enough one to power a car?

  • Photo: Valeria

    Valeria commented on :

    Unfortunately a car needs a lot of power to work (chilowatts, kW) and there is not enough mechanical energy in the vibrations that can be converted into electricity to power the car. Remember that energy is never created but can be only transformed so if there is not enough mechanical energy in the vibrations, the electrical energy won’t be enough! Some hybrid cars however are able to recharge the battery while they operate using petrol or diesel.