Lego Air Turbine: Generating Power From Thin Air!

[@Giuliana-w1f]

The turbine would probably work better without the spacers between them, so it's not as easy for the air to escape through the side (probably not a big difference tho) And the piston engine would be more torquey and smooth with a second cylinder 90° out of phase (so there would be no deadzones without a power stroke)

[@JamiesBrickJams]

That's a fair point, I could certainly give that a try. I'd also love to get some advice from better Lego builders than me about how to make a better enclosure for efficiency. Failing that, I reckon 3D printing a Tesla turbine could be a fun (though cheaty) experiment

[@Overseer_Yt.]

@@JamiesBrickJamsI’m sure you can find a way to build a Tesla turbine without 3d printing, I’m pretty sure there’s a few lego designs

[@CENREAPERYT]

​@@Overseer_Yt.You can build a Tesla turbine with thin sheets of paper actually.

[@Overseer_Yt.]

@@CENREAPERYT I thought so, but wouldn’t the paper be to flimsy?

[@CENREAPERYT]

@@Overseer_Yt. Not actually. It'll work just fine because the pressure off air would be the same from all sides. I mean,if you put a sheet of paper on sawmill shaft,it can cut through 16 layers of aluminium foil

[@corpsefpv3154]

i've never thought about using those saw pieces as turbines. that's a neat idea.

[@xmysef4920]

Nice video! It seems to work pretty well! I have experienced with making turbines with pneumatics aswell, and one thing I realized is that taking the nozzle from an aerosol can and using it as the nozzle for the turbine helps TREMENDOUSLY. Like, please try it.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Hot damn that's a great idea - I'll give that a try!

[@xmysef4920]

@@JamiesBrickJams It literally gives the same power for a lot less air used

[@copperthemc]

The phrase "from thin air" has never been so literal :). Great work, keep it up!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Thanks a lot 😁🙏

[@74KU]

Is actually 'from thick air' given that is is compressed to over 1 atm.

[@BenskiBoi]

Yes because energy can’t be created or destroyed only transfer

[@Lobsinus]

More like storing energy with thick air since a ton of energy was used to compress that air then it was blown into a turbine and a small portion of the stored energy was recovered as electrical power

[@KevinATJumpWorks]

Great idea and execution! One idea for improvement: Remove the spacers between those turbine wheels. You are losing airflow there that you could use more efficiently if the gap between the turbine wheels was a small as possible.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I've heard that suggestion a few times now, so I suspect you're likely right - I'll give that a try in a future update! Thanks for the suggestion 😁

[@Ham-nuggetgaming]

@@JamiesBrickJamsmake an wind mill and and compasiter and try to add solar panels

[@KrispyMic]

I know how how bro can upgrade this just add some uranium 235 and make a nuclear reactor out of it!

[@TeraChad23]

He'd need to build a core with control rods, then build a water heater that uses the heat from the core to boil water into steam and make a turbine spin. It would work but radiation, cost and legal troubles are things to consider.

[@txikitofandango]

I like your narration in these videos. It's just the right amount for narrating your thought process

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Aw thanks a lot! I know it's not for everyone, but I enjoy making the videos this way, so I'm gonna keep this style 😄

[@Simple_But_Expensive]

Would like to see your 3 phase generator power a 3 phase brushless motor. Don’t forget to add load so your inrush current doesn’t damage your motor. Edit: I just discovered your channel. Going back over your other videos, I came across your levitating fan. This might be an excellent candidate for a 3 phase motor. It would eliminate the need for the reed switch altogether. Just in case you don’t want to do the conversion, I posted another suggestion there.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Another excellent idea, thanks for all your suggestions today! That's true, treating the fan as a traditional brushless motor is totally doable. I'll be honest, it does feel like a weird and lossy way to power it, but I sure do love the over-engineered nature of it 😁 Will certainly bear that in mind for some future experiments!

[@74KU]

From thick air actually.

[@leonardbinder5539]

🤓☝️

[@BadgePOV]

@Ourgreatadventure-hd1rtme

[@Daniel-Albert]

​@Ourgreatadventure-hd1rt🤓

[@AC4_23]

​@Ourgreatadventure-hd1rtme

[@XterminatOfficial]

It's just pneumatic power

[@darshanfishe]

Wait but wouldn’t that be running on thick air if it was compressed?

[@olorcain]

🤔

[@mechanical-001]

Yes. As you squeeze air into a small area, it eventually gets to the point where there is not enough space, so the air resorts to squishing together, leaving more space for air to enter, creating what you call “thick air”

[@spamtonneo3513]

Pretty cool generator, lego can actually save lives with that kinda stuff

[@fabe61]

Watching those beefy round magnets spin at such a high RPM after just being pressed into the Lego rectangles made me tense up - I’d be so worried about spinning one of them up and into the ceiling (or my face)

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I was worried too at the beginning! Can't believe there wasn't an accident. On the other hand though, they're wedged in REAL tight, so I'm not surprised they didn't budge. Beefing this up any more would need more security though for sure

[@Nico71Fr]

Always cool to see your experiments !

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Thanks a lot Nico, means a lot coming from you! And likewise - can't wait to see your next inventions

[@Innergaming111-gs3xm]

I had never thought that more electricity that the output needs would effect the magnet-copper resistance! Thanks!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Yup! Work is work. If you want greater output, you always need greater input. No such thing as free work 😊

[@DraconBerry2740]

Did he made air into power using lego

[@DarmiGames]

This is so cool! Lego power supply powering a lego speaker playing a radio! Love your vids man!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Really appreciate it, thanks for your lovely comment 😁

[@Drakar76]

you are always impressing me with your mechanisms

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Aw appreciate it, cheers!

[@StepaSnail]

9:23 The Mother of all full bridge rectifiers...

[@JamiesBrickJams]

😂

[@mylittleparody2277]

Use a MPPT chip to gather as much power as you can! You can charge up a LiIon cell, and probably expand your lighting time at least a bit. The passive AC to DC is lossy, and you waste ennergy by not using all the voltage and current when available. An MPPT chip will help you with that = ) Also, the flying wheel was like a mechanical capacitor, it would improve stability a bit too (even is your last design is "heavy", so it probably don't need it). So, yeah, nice video, thank you!

[@woaminibricks]

Your videos are always so entertaining and informative!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Appreciate it, thanks a lot 😄

[@douglasbullet6456]

This is great information for someone who lives in South Africa

[@CopperWhopper2009]

11:12 Are you in the middle of an apocalypse, stuck in a bunker? Just use LEGO! Buddy here made a generator AND a radio!

[@RedVRCC]

This guy would be amazing to have on your side in the apocalypse. He could make a generator out of legos scavenged from a store lmao.

[@alexsgarbagehut2517]

Its kinda possible to create a generator from spinning a bike wheel thing, like just attach a big gearbox to it (obviously not a lego one) and connect it to these magnets in a bigger circumference and a bit more of the wire, and you have a big voltage generator!

[@sampfrost]

ah, an example of peak kettle harnessing technology, but applied to wind rather than steam

[@stickman69420]

I think It's cool that electrical resistance works its way back to mechanical resistance

[@Jamboxxx]

I was teally enjoying this video, and then when you turned on the radio at the end i heard news about the Oireachtas!!! Didn't realize you were Irish too! Fair play, keep up the good work

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Haha class, good to see some fellow Irish here! 👊 I was wondering if anyone from Ireland would pick up on the radio bit

[@lukeomalley3769]

I was there!😃Love it James. Especially the news broadcast on the radio. Way to go sir.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

You were! Could barely navigate the apartment with all the damn air bottles 😅 Cheers Luke 😁

[@calvinthedestroyer]

You need to measure it with an oscilloscope and see what the signwave outputs look like. You can also calculate the wattage of the generator like I did for mine: kzbin.info/www/bejne/npapd2qPabd_o7M

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I'd love to do that! I don't currently have a scope, but it's on my list. I shudder to think how scrappy the signal would look for this thing, but I'd love to visualise it! Well done on yours - it looks awesome 👌

[@calvinthedestroyer]

@@JamiesBrickJamsthose scopes like the one I have are about $50 now, so not too bad. I was wonder how your generator would work if you doubled up the poles and coils.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Oh wow that's a lot cheaper than I was expecting - will see if I can find one. Adding additional coils and magnets works up to a point. But very soon, the main limitation becomes resistance against the generator when you add an appreciate load. Then it becomes a battle against the physical robustness of Lego, and the torque input it can manage

[@JoshuaMitchell-wt8wz]

I was tryna fiddle arround with a couple lego tecnic bricks and i made a perfect steering system lesgo

[@chrismayer3919]

I’m certain Gueilmo Marconi NEVER envisioned this! A LEGO radio! 📻

[@TCHNPT]

You might need to modify the Pneumatic Pistons, simply lubing and redrilling the holes will increase smoothness and better rpms

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I'd love to make one with modified components! Green Gekho has some incredible engine designs. My dream would be to collab with him to make a pneumatic engine generator using his latest powerful designs

[@TCHNPT]

@JamiesBrickJams I only know this from another KZbinr, he did a bunch of Pneumatic Engine Designs and wanted to see the max rpms he could get. He didn't go into depth about it, he doesn't speak in the vids lol, but he showed a point where it appeared he took apart the piston and lubed and I think drilled but it may have been smoothing out the edges that go around the piston. Afterwords it had a sizable increase in movement and rpms. Once I have the money I'm going to be checking out some of these sets myself.

[@fatboy_slippy]

I would add a gearbox to make it able to spin faster, as the rotor acts like a flywheel. I would also make it water based as water is heavier and cannot be compressed, making it unable to lose power that way. But overall, nice work!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Originally I had planned to use a gearbox, but to be honest, the efficiency losses due to the mechanical setup of Lego gearboxes made it a very poor performer. But I'll certainly try a gearbox for a future more powerful cylinder-driven generator!

[@royan.jdm2]

​@JamiesBrickJams..more deal with gear less RPM you'll get...

[@BenjiBoiiiYT]

This guy can literally do a car motor out of the spin (I think) which isn’t the easiest thing in the world 😮

[@brassandbricks7701]

You casually whipping out that Lego speaker was fun haha, awesome builds

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Haha cheers, that one was a lot of fun to build - v easy for folks to make at home themselves!

[@Ella.199]

Wouldnt it technically be thick air?

[@visitor1588]

8:43 The moment I've been waiting for the whole video. Putting the god damn capacitor :D

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Glad you got your bit eventually 😉

[@bennydovr]

so its running on the electricity to make your thick air, it costs more energy then its making but doesnt make it any less cool/satisfying.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Haha yeah this thing is incredibly inefficient. Really just a very lossy energy storage system

[@UK-hz6vx]

Really good video!

[@Dowigo22322]

When the magnet thing spins it sounds like if kirby was trying to consume something 😂😂😂

[@MichelleStanley-y4g]

This is real inspiring . Looks cool and is a 8.25 the Ricter fun scale. .

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Appreciate it, cheers for the comment ☺️

[@milesmcallister8542]

From now on, this shall be called an air battery

[@JamiesBrickJams]

That's actually a pretty good description of it 🙌

[@TedHavers-y4h]

Can you make some instructions on how to make it please.

[@fusion0101]

8:33 altho there were 3 coils, not 1. But anyways the fact that you can make energy just with bricks and air is insane

[@FEboats]

Light an incandescent heat lamp and I’ll be impressed.

[@CENREAPERYT]

You should put coils a bit further from the centre so the magnets pass in front of them completely.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

The position was carefully done so they do pass perfectly in front of the coils - perhaps the camera angle didn't show that off well enough. But you're still right in a sense - positioning them further out could potentially increase output slightly as they'd be moving faster against the coils

[@CENREAPER-YT]

Put more magnets and core in coils.

[@soulabanich8070]

Can you make one with as many coils as you can. It would probably create a solid current for the LEDs

[@mrrp_mrowp]

at this point i expect a nuclear reactor made of legos

[@alflog.gaming123]

True

[@melchiorvanhaute7333]

It might be the least efficient way, but it is 100% eco-friendly!! (except for the materials maybe)

[@sigmamale4147]

Who cares

[@melchiorvanhaute7333]

@@sigmamale4147 I do, and if i was you i would shut up, based on your name your 8 or something.

[@FlammableElectronics]

3:25 You mean a FULLBRIDGERECTIFIAR?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I can't even say that word in my head without hearing Electroboom's voice 😂

[@FlammableElectronics]

@@JamiesBrickJams hah

[@MarcBossYT]

Cool

[@sharonbradford4494]

Please make a wind turbine using one of the generators and big blades

[@JamiesBrickJams]

A wind generator is certainly on my list 😉

[@peterhollitzer4786]

When u will find now a little Compressor, wich use low power, which can produce "air" witch is much enough to blow the turbins.... do u will have than a perpetum mobile??? or endless energy and energy left - p.e for light

[@sharonbradford4494]

That’s actually a one-to-one gear ratio known as a direct drive. Did you take out both gears from the generator and the engine you will get an actual direct drive

[@JamiesBrickJams]

You're right, not the smartest idea - it would have been better designed if I removed the gearing for that one rather than losing efficiency through the gearing. But a future version will run much better!

[@butterbits372]

Honestly that rotor makes me scared for your magnets. If it falls apart while spinning, the magnets could collide and maybe destroy each other or something in between them.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Ha yeah me too, the first few times I was pretty nervous. But they seem to hold in place quite tightly. I wouldn't advise other folks do this though!

[@humantwist-offcap9514]

Wait a second, hold up… the engine was coming under load because the circuit had too much electrical load, and that was transferred via the magnetic interaction from the magnet and the copper coils? Is that right?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Yup! Any time an electrical load is placed on a generator, you can feel the resistance against the generator input. So for example, if you crank a generator, it'll move easily with no load. Add an electrical load (e.g. a powerful light), and you'll immediately notice the resistance against your hand increase. Same for this pneumatic engine. Add an electrical load, and the engine will take the strain. Sometimes even enough to stall the engine. Kind of like starting a car in 5th gear

[@SwankiestPants]

I have a video idea for you that doubles as something useful as a diy project for your audience, can you make a hand crank powered usb phone charging port out of Lego? Preferrably with some kind of internal power storage so you don't have to worry about your phone getting a stutter charge if you aren't cranking right or get tired before your phone is charged?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Love a good crank generator! I actually already have a video on a hand crank generator that uses a voltage regulator to stabilise the output at 5v, pretending to be a USB, and was used to charge my phone. But will likely do something like that again in the future

[@draakedhornehar4827]

"they still work well with a single coil" proceeds to show them with 3 coils xd

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I noticed that earlier - I think I filmed that out of sequence 😅 It only used 1 coil to the breadboard though! So the result is still accurate for one coil

[@Jayderzomb]

I’d be interested what lpe powers engine could achieve

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I'm pretty confident a powerful LPE (like green geckos latest ones) would produce a very significant output. I'll likely test that out in due course

[@Jayderzomb]

@@JamiesBrickJams Bro then redo you research, there’s still a lot more torque able to be produced, just google lpe power

[@kasencornwell]

You should do a vid we’re you do 6 coils

[@ZaneFroster_]

how do you make your coil? is there any special way you wrap it in to a circle? and one more question. what wire do you use

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Those coils I actually just wrap around some Lego. The middle is a small technic smooth bushing, and then I often sandwich it between a couple of Lego wheels or liftarms. Then you just wrap a bunch of turns! At the end secure it by wrapping a bit of wire around it. I believe these coils were made with 30 gauge copper wire

[@sharonbradford4494]

By the way, I’ve actually got 24 V string lights with a 24 V solar panel but they come forward with the 120 V to 24 V transformer and that is OK if I put them on my switched outlet

[@cloudedarctrooper]

Excellent! *Now power it with live steam instead of an air tank*

[@JamiesBrickJams]

If steam didn't melt Lego that'd be an awesome project 😉

[@rafcion6726]

Wouldn't those turbines spin better if you lock them up, sealed. So ALL the air acts upon the proppelers? (Yeah i don't know how can you seal them up with legos😂)

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I'm pretty sure you're right, that should improve efficiency! I tried a few different designs that mostly sealed it up, but I actually didn't see any increase in speed or output, so I just removed it to make it more interesting to see in action. But I'm sure if it was done properly it would improve output

[@RoboRushers]

you should make a town and make some of those engines so you can power the town!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Ha that'd be a cool idea

[@velcroman11]

Looks cool and is a 8.25 the Ricter fun scale. 😀👍

[@stuartpratt3662]

wounder how much efficiency is saved with a hand pump

[@At3go]

Try making a pump that eats electrycity from generator to get more air in the bottle almost infinite electricity

[@silverstreetman]

Hi Jamie, pleased to watch you. My 6 year old son has been watching you for a while. He is asking that I create a similar setup for the motor. Would you kindly share where to buy material to create the Lego motor and generator and share names of the itmes. Many thanks to you.

[@gamerboyredyt]

0:46 never turn LED’S on with them in the case it can heat up and potentially damage half the roll

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I've got thousands of these things lying around - more than happy to sacrifice a few of them 😉

[@gamerboyredyt]

@@JamiesBrickJams alright my bad then, as long as your having fun that's worth it 😁

[@auntydoll8]

this is insane :O i wish i was 12 years old right now ! keep up the great videos :) xoxo

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it 😁🙏

[@drierwhisper729]

Generating power from *thick* air. Lol nice video.

[@lilwave1533]

Hi, I really like your videos, just one question, what did you studied? Have you studied electronic?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Hey, I studied research neuroscience, but my dad was an electronics engineer and got me interested in electronics tinkering at a young age 😁

[@GKendin]

You should try to make a turbine powered lego boat

[@JamiesBrickJams]

What a cool idea

[@elumalaiponnusami3949]

The video is nice 👌 My question is , how do you achieve the required air velocity at the nozzles out of “ thin air “ ? I assume this is nothing but a mini windmill ! But how to convert thin air into compressed air of pressure & volume ? 0:07

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I guess a turbine is technically a kind of windmill with extra steps. Not sure I entirely understand your question, but the air nozzle is just supplying compressed air (at high speed) from those bottles. And the bottles were supplied air by the compressor. So as the bottles release air and return to atmospheric pressure, that high speed air turns the turbine blades, which then go through a gear reduction to turn the rotor. The term 'out of thin air' is just a fun play on words 😉

[@MenschGusti]

Put a crank on it. A big one. Perfect for power outages

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Which is exactly what we need in Ireland right now after this storm knocked out a chunk of our power grid!

[@anupnandi3481]

Hi . I wanted to Purchase Lego Air Turbine: Generating Power From Thin Air!. but i searched LEGO website but not found. Can you pls give the link the place i can purchase ?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Hey, this is my own creation that i made, so it's not a real product for sale. Though perhaps in the future I'll try to create some instructions to build it

[@jasonmassart8760]

What if you powered your whole house via magnets?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I already have enough accidents with large magnets lying around the place 😅

[@royan.jdm2]

Im happy with pneumatic engine to generate , but still struggling with the RPM...😢

[@pazsion]

well you started out ok... but instead of putting the energy back into it to get more... you just immediately use 120v and 6000 amps. instead of making something that could power itself... i dont get it...

[@ahmedmohamed-ky3eo]

Im thinking that you put the air pump like powerfull one and hook the power into generator and the powerfull pump goes to air bottle and i think it makes infinite electricty btw convert the volt like 7 to (the pump volt requirement)

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Ha I wish. Converting power from the pump to air then back to electricity is one of the least efficient ways of energy conversion 😉

[@quayneveenstra5433]

here cani buy it? my ac is broken ill just use that idea: make one that works with water!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I like where your mind is at - a water powered thingy is definitely on the menu 😉

[@rausxmerdo]

amazinng job!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Thanks 🙏😁

[@RayhanSchoolSubscription]

Hello Jamie. We are a school in Lebanon. We are planning to replicate your project in classrooms, as they are very beneficial. I've joined your channel, but couldn't find information or details on the exact Lego pieces and other materials you are using in this video or other ones.. can you please help. Thanks

[@rausxmerdo]

wow impresivve

[@ainfinite1236]

or just make a simple vacuum engine if done corectly you can go about 12k rpm and it also sound cool + no refuel

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Coming soon 😉

[@jwggamer]

what magnets do you use? And where do you get your lego from?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

These are 25mm x 10mm neodymium magnets from Amazon, and the Lego is just a collection of parts from loads of sets over the years

[@LIGHTBULBCODING]

Epic video! Instant subscriber!

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Aw thanks a lot, and cheers for joining 😁

[@TorinShipley-xc7ss]

Hey, can I tell you something?I heard you say single coil.When there is three coils when there is multiple lights

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Yeah there were 3 mounted, but only one hooked up to the board. Should have made that clearer 😅

[@Foreststrike]

Use Brick Technology's V8 air-powered engines to see if you could generate even more torque for more electricity.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Good suggestion - I love his engines! My dream would be to do a video with one of Green Gecko's modified engines to see how hard it can be pushed with a generator attached

[@LiptonLordGaming]

time to store a few in my basement and make free electricity 🤫

[@parkerlewis7924]

Good luck

[@SpaceViperShorts]

Couldn’t you make a vacuum engine design? Instead of blowing, sucking?

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Already got one working 😉 Will likely make a video in the near future

[@haerild]

0:10 may i ask how many turns the copper wire has on the first clip?

[@thewolfstu]

what if you made a big ol crank pump that you can use to easily build up a large excess of air in a tank to cut out the need for the compressor. like a sorta crank generator but with a compressed air intermediary for power storage.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Haha I guess you could ... This would be way less efficient than just having the crank drive the generator directly (air is really inefficient to create and turn back into electrical energy). But I sure do love needlessly over-engineered concepts! So cool idea 😉

[@xmysef4920]

@@JamiesBrickJams Yeah, but maybe more of an energy storage thing?

[@thewolfstu]

@@JamiesBrickJams HeeeHeee, Pneumatic energy storage go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I'm sold 😄

[@rausxmerdo]

FANTASTİCCC!

[@luitenantcaleb5908]

8:30 works well with one coil.

[@rotatingcat1957]

If you stacked it multiple times and linked them together, you could've charged a laptop with it

[@JamiesBrickJams]

I guess you could, though you'd need hundreds of bottles of air to make a dent in that battery!

[@primodernious]

make a lenz less generator. need one medal disc rotor from a saw cut away the teeth's then cut the disc similar to a turbine but so that the steel can cover one magnet and one coil with the space of one magnet empty. then place magnet and coil in the stationary frame one magnet and one coil and repeat. place another set on the other side. place the disc rotor in between the two sides of the stationary frame and when you now rotate the disc it will alternate the inductance between the coils and the magnets but in such a way that there is no drag on the load.

[@JamiesBrickJams]

Hmm will need to do some research to understand what you're proposing here. But I'd be cautious - there's no way round the conservation of energy. For a generator to output anything (with a load attached), there will always be resistance against it. That's a requirement for energy to be transfered from mechanical input to electrical output.

[@GERntleMAN]

And next the whomping willow please