Webman's Blog: 脈搏發電印度少女構想獲美大學採用

聯合新聞網 2009/10/16

一名印度高中女生偶然見到揮動手腕即能維持手錶運轉後，提出人體脈搏也可以發電供應手機電源，這個構想立即獲得美國史丹佛大學採用研究。

新德里15歲高中女生莎蘿吉妮．馬哈揚（Sarojini Mahajan），今年稍早參加印度全國創意競賽（IGNITE-2009）時，提出了上述點子，雖然僅得了「安慰獎」，美國史丹佛大學卻看上了她的構想。

每年舉辦全國創意競賽的印度創意基金會副主席古普塔（Anil Gupta）今天表示，史丹佛大學已發給莎蘿吉妮1000美元獎勵金，並將研究她提出的人體脈搏發電暨充電構想，是否可以成為史丹佛大學正在開發的一種電子書電源。

莎蘿吉妮接受媒體訪問時表示，她對自己的突發奇想能得到美國知名學府青睞感到興奮。她表示，早在去年看到一只利用手腕甩動為動力的手錶後，就想到也可以利用人體脈搏發電，為隨身攜帶的手機充電。

但她一直不敢告訴任何人，甚至學校老師在一次課堂上提到全國創意競賽活動時，她也是隨意和老師提到自己的構想，未料老師卻鼓勵她並協助她報名參加創意競賽，還和她進行了長達4個多月的研究，包括翻閱相關資料與撰寫報告等。

莎蘿吉妮表示，人體脈搏發電的簡單原理，主要是在手機裡安裝若干感應器，使用者手握手機行走或作些週期性動作時，即可以產生微弱電源為手機充電，此外，手掌心的熱力，也可以產生微弱電能。

長期以來，科學家即在研究利用人體內部能量以解決能源的問題，包括利用人體內部儲存的化學能、身體釋放出來的熱能或者肌肉脈動產生的動能轉化為電能。科學家表示，人體每天攝入的食物所產生的能量相當於1000個AA電池。

日本在2005年即開發出一種利用血液中糖分發電的燃料電池，可以植入糖尿病患者體內測定血糖值的裝置作為電源，或者為心臟起搏器提供充足電量。

2006年12月，英國也提出開發體內微型發電機的計劃，希望從心跳及肢體運動兩個方面，來研發利用人體動能發電的裝置。

美國也計劃將來借助人體血管搏動或者肌肉運動產生的微小壓力來形成電流，甚至還可以將這種奈米級的發電機植入胸腔，在不與心臟器官接觸的情況下，將心跳產生的動能轉化為電能。

此外，皮膚溫差也能發電。日本精工手錶公司就曾研製出一款不需要電池的手錶，依靠從手腕皮膚吸收幾微瓦熱量自行運轉，但由於這型手錶外形笨重、價格昂貴，精工並沒有將這款手錶投入商業生產。

【中央社╱中央社記者郭傳信新德里16日專電】

來源：http://mag.udn.com/mag/digital/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=217409

15 year old Indian student's idea clicks at Stanford

Think out of the box. This is what 15-year-old Sarojini Mahajan realised after her idea of using human pulse to charge a cell phone was picked up by Stanford University.

Sarojini, a class IX student of St Mark's Senior Secondary Public School, Meera Bagh, had sent her idea as an entry to IGNITE 2009 - a nationwide contest of innovative ideas. Though she won a consolation prize in the contest, Stanford University has decide to work on her idea.

According to Professor Anil Gupta, Vice-Chairperson, National Innovation Foundation (NIF), which conducts IGNITE every year, Stanford University has already given a token amount of $1,000 to develop a prototype if feasible. "The girl has provided the idea. But we need technical assistance to make it work. Stanford University has come forward to try out if human pulse can be used to charge an e-book they have developed."

After hearing this news, Sarojini said, "I can't believe it's true. I had thought of this idea last year but never told anyone till Neena ma'am once asked for crazy ideas in the class. It was just an idea which has become so big now. Sarojini recalled that she was just sitting once when she thought of watches that run on the human pulse. I wondered if mobiles could be charged using the pulse too." Neena Punj is Sarojini's teacher and guide.

Sarojini teamed up with her teacher to develop her idea further who had by then decided to send her entry to IGNITE this year. They both worked for nearly four months and conceived a charging system in which sensors would be placed on the cell phone. Holding it in hand in a particular way would charge it using the heat of the palm. Sarojini's recognition has got other students thinking too.

Punj said, "Students have a lot of ideas and some of are absolutely crazy. Many of them will be motivated to share them now. I have already started getting new ideas from students."

Anjali Agarwal fully agreed with Punj and said, "Sarojini has been a topper in class and though she loves science, she neither wants to become an engineer nor a doctor." "I may become a scientist but I have yet to plan," said Sarojini.

All those students, whose ideas have been selected, will be awarded President Pratibha Patil on November 18. IGNITE is being organized since 2007 across the country in partnership with the CBSE. This year, it was organized between April 15 and September 15. Gujarat-based NIF (National Innovation Foundation) received 1,344 entries from 21 states. But out of all these, Sarojini's idea generated in the classroom may eventually turn into an invention. Professor Gupta said, "We were already in touch with Paul Kim from Stanford University who wanted us to have a competition to find the joyful ways of charging their e-book . We told them that we already had such an entry and they agreed to take it up."