Electricity Generated By the Movement of Many Feet on a Surface
REPORTER'S NOTE: Several recent scientific reports have stimulated my spiritual sensibilities. One touted a new photo of earth from space that reportedly rivaled all previous photos. All I could think was, "If men are capable of taking such in-depth pictures both outwardly into space, and inwardly into the microscopic world, then how easy it must be for God to peer into the hearts of men." Other articles, glorifying scientific advances in cloning, have left me humbled by the fact that if men claim to be able to take a speck of dust and "recreate" life, then who could doubt that God will raise our "dust" into a glorified body? Now comes this report of harvesting energy generated simply from hundreds or thousands of feet moving along a surface. Anyone thinking The Walls of Jericho? –Teresa Neumann
(Boston)—For MIT grad students, James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk, the phrase "Crowd Farm" refers to the energy generated from "herds of people trudging through [public places like] South Station or flooding the gates at Fenway Park." Theoretically, the force of those feet striking the floor generates energy that, according to a Boston Globe report, could be harvested and converted into electricity. The two students envision a future city in which the crowds streaming through subway stations, sporting venues and tourist destinations produce energy for harvest and their idea recently placed first in an international sustainable construction competition. (Graphic: MIT.edu)
Notes reporter Jennifer: "The broad concept, called 'energy harvesting,' has been in development for at least 10 years, driven initially by the military's need for a lightweight, portable means of recharging communication devices and other electrical gear...A design firm in the United Kingdom is even testing a floor that generates electricity from the motion of a pedestrian's heel strike."
The report also notes that if implemented at a busy train depot like Victoria station, commuters' feet could generate enough electricity to power 6,500 light-emitting diodes, or LEDs.
