Noticias de Chile
Inventive Students develop their Powerful Idea
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Six Christchurch secondary pupils have created a device that uses a pot of boiling water to charge cellphones, power a light and run a radio.
(via Stuff) The small generator has a flat base and a cup on top, which is placed on a pot of boiling water. The cup is filled with water, and, using the heat generated from the pot, it creates enough energy to power small devices.
Sam Mackwell, 16, developed the generator in his backyard shed after the St Thomas of Canterbury College pupils came up with the idea after the September 4 earthquake.
He said a lot of Christchurch people were having to boil water and the generator meant they could take advantage of the energy that would otherwise be wasted.
Sam built 10 prototypes before designing the final product. He also destroyed his iPod Touch and a video camera while testing earlier models.
The six pupils, Craig Stanton, 16, Sean Feast, 16, Andrew Coburn, 17, Stephen Pilton, 17, James Agnew, 17 and Sam, have formed a company as part of a business programme, the Young Enterprise Scheme.
They have borrowed $1000 from the school's board of trustees to develop the prototype and to fund the building of another 10, which they hope to sell for $50 each.
Sam said there were similar devices on sale in the United States, but they were expensive.
The group wanted to sell the generator at a realistic price. James said they were not concerned about making a profit. They were concentrating on providing a product that could help people.
They hoped to sell the device, called The Lion, in retail stores.
"We called it The Lion because the lion is seen as a strong and resilient creature. Our product is born out of adversity."
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