1912 Energy Harvesting In Megawatts - The MMR Breakthrough

[@bearish_bull]

Sir, I feel like you're a very important human being. Thank you for being you & existing. Much love from South Texas 🫡🌟☑️

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

wow - cheers mate

[@corinneyeager]

New Mexico USA you AREa very important and smart person.... What's Luke's videos called? Just imagine being around you so much..... What's in his head too!

[@undernetjack]

Also from South Texas, also thanks, Rob.

[@ibme8359]

"a penny saved is a penny earned"! As U have been telling us all "think out of the box"! Energy exists everywhere! Thanks again for Ur plethora of ideas.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@johnscott9979]

Robert's enthusiasm & buoyant personality always shines through .. & he is always a fountain of great information! (Does anyone else think he reminds them of Anthony Hopkins when he does his big smile at the end of each show?) : )

[@SheilaMink-c2t]

Robert, thank you for this wonderful video. It is sooo nice to know that there are many ways to generate electricity. I hope that you are having a great Saturday.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

thank you Sheila - mostly i think it is not a question of solutions we have them - it's more about willingness to embrace them

[@anotherdave5107]

Sounds like another good app for electromagnetic power scavaging. Periodic magnets on railcar underbodys and a series of coils on the railroad bed. Add low profile wind turbines on the roof and your vibration energy scavenger device to the rails. I wonder how much of the energy used to move the train could be recovered by using all available practical energy scavenging devices?

[@mauriceupp9381]

Well then why don't you attach these things to the suspension system on all four wheels of a car and use that to recharge the batteries

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

you could

[@williamyoung3240]

had same exact thought,

[@mauriceupp9381]

I was talking about electric car but you're right it wouldn't do a whole lot for a gasoline car unless you had one of those hybrids

[@darklich14]

​@Michael Skinner I've seen a suspension to electric generator product at a tradeshow.

[@PeKlim]

Maybe dampening characteristic is not good for suspension. Maybe this flywheel construction make suspension react too slow, or something. Think about dampening in time characteristic.

[@nate_river_]

One of the more interesting things about technology like this is that it has the very beneficial side effect of dampening unwanted movement which causes noise and wear.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

you are one of the few to have got that mate and it is spot on

[@aaronfranklin324]

Of course If the train and rail system was an elegant and efficient system in the first place, there would be no noise or wear. And no wasted energy to reclaim a small percentage of in exponentiating an escalation of complexity, finite lifetime parts, maintenance costs AND resource consumption. Simply providing adequate suspension for the trains axles, by mounting the dolly's on a block of foam rubber with a flat table bearing and central locating shaft would remove 90% of the wear on the train, save more energy than could ever be harvested, and allow cheaper and lighter construction, and higher load to vehicle weight ratios. So really this is a typical Yank, VERY STUPID IDEA. A VSI. Perhaps look instead at harvesting the energy of a tree or grove of bamboos, The structure of a bridge, skyscraper buildings, swaying in the wind. Large forces over decent distances, small frequency. A much better scenario for not wearing out your "mechanical rectifier" in a few seconds. How much energy does it take to 3D print your mechanical rectifier and how much energy can it harvest in the under sixty seconds it will last with kilowatt level inputs at multiple cycles per second Robert Murray Smith?

[@aaronfranklin324]

@@ThinkingandTinkering have you considered a combination wind wand and/or day/night thermal expansion reciprocating wand system yanking your cables Robert Murray Smith. A pair of these could torque your knob 24/7 without too hurried and stressful yanking, do you not think? It could be the curved roof of a building facing south that stretched and unfurld in the heat, and closed like a flower at dusk.

[@gshingles]

That answers my question. I wondered if you were actually taking this energy from the train operator, but I guess it's wasted energy anyway.

[@TimeSurfer206]

@@aaronfranklin324 I think you need to take a break from the Yabba and get some sleep, mate.

[@justtinkering6713]

My question is: You can harvest the energy of the train bouncing the track, but if you allow the track to bounce up and down , doesn't that make it harder for the train to go forward? If the track doesn't bounce , it's easier for the train to move forward. So you're just stealing energy from the train, i figure. Also if you are driving an AC alternator, it doesn't need a mechanical rectifier, moving clockwise and anti clockwise still generates AC current.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

you don't allow it mate - it's going to do it - whatever you do

[@tlangdon12]

That is certainly the problem with pavements that harvest energy from pedestrians (they make it harder to walk). On a railway, the train is already has a problem because the rail bed is slightly elastic. As each wheel is rolling down the track it is effectively climbing upwards in order to deflect the rail downwards, which is where the train loses all the energy that can be recovered with this device. WIth the device in place, it is effectively making the rail stiffer, so that the train requires less energy to move AND the movement (that does occur and which cannot be avoided due to the rail bed elasticity) is converted to electrical energy. If the rail bed could be made immobile, the train would require the minimum amount of power, but nothing could be recovered from the vertical movement. It's an interesting idea, but it seems likely to fail due to the distributed nature of railways. The best use for the power generated would be to feed it back to the overhead lines powering the electric traction motors of the train thus reducing the energy needed to power the trains.

[@justtinkering6713]

​​@@tlangdon12 It's similar to this scenario, We have a plastics recycling center near me. We have to take the plastic bottles etc there for recycling to save the planet. The bottles need to be washed and flattened and I have to drive them there in the car. Then the big truck has to drive there to pick them up. I use gasoline to drive them there which pollutes the air and the gasoline has to be produced also. In order to wash them, my well pump has to turn on to pump the water. I'm wondering, after using all that energy and air polluting, ARE WE ACTUALLY HELPING OR HURTING THE ENVIRONMENT???

[@stevecollins4567]

The sleepers that the device is on are a main suspension system.

[@frontagulus]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Yes it will bounce regardless, but the work required for the bouncing must, by thermodynamic laws, require more effort by the "bouncer" if that bouncing extracts energy

[@dbell95008]

Very interesting concepts! From the point of view of an electrical engineer reading about the Stonybrook scavenger, it struck me that: 1) there are probably more efficient generators than back-driving a stepper motor, and 2) eliminating the "mechanical rectifier" and using Schottky diodes or even better, "ideal diodes" using switched MOSFETs would introduce even lower conversion losses. Any way it's done, harvesting track vibrations is brilliant!

[@HiddenTechKnow]

Hi Robert, Again, thank you for your work in all your research areas! Why not just put the device on all of the shock absorbers of the train instead of along the tracks? Much less number of devices needed. Also it can be used to dampen the bumps and collect energy from almost all of them during the ride? Then discharge the collected energy at certain stations along the way. Also electric trains may be able to use the energy directly for forward motion. This could be applied to buses, trucks, cars, etc. too. Thanks again!

[@drsatan3231]

It will be very janky. If you put them between the axle and the frame it'll have limit to how much energy it can capture before the two collide with whatever kinetic energy is left But it could be done. Put piezoelectric pads on the frame lined up with rubber stoppers on the axle to catch the last of the kinetic energy and stop the two parts from slamming together hard

[@kennyclement2823]

It's the same energy,, and anything stable will have more longevity than anyting mobile

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

they are trying that too mate

[@seasicknarwhal6169]

if you put mass on the middle gear and turn the system to be vertical, you can use the power of gravity plus the aditional mass to power the system…would love to see something about this…otherwise i loved this video it was very informative and im glad i found it!

[@stevecollins4567]

Amazing, it might even reduce vibration in the train.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

apparently it does

[@rogerstarkey5390]

Mount the unit with the actuator vertical. Attach a 10m lightweight pole. Mount a simple paddle of lightweight material on the end, maybe mylar with a fibreglass hoop frame. Any wind movement generates power. You could fit a spring at the mounting point of the collector "paddle" which "breaks" (bends 90°) in high wind as a regulator, and allowing the pole to flick backwards, generating more energy as the force drops.

[@TheCyberSalvager]

Interesting stuff. Watching this I realised that you could also make a ratchet mechanism using a bicycle wheel sprocket. I have loads of those kicking around my workshop!

[@ricky4673]

That cow really loves you

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cow?

[@ricky4673]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Your cow lick! 🐄 😝

[@Justan669]

I bet you could incorporate this device into a type of suspension

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes i think you could

[@r3dshed]

How would piezoelectric cells bonded to the face of the rail in contact with the wheels, compare with the moving mechanical generator assemblies between the sleepers?

[@johndelong5574]

Wrap a coil of wire around a freeway and the passing cars will induce electricity . Put a hose across the highway, a one way valve attached. The traffic will produce a steady flow of compressed air.

[@agritechai]

Sir, I am learning lot from your videos.

[@benmauro1022]

the only difficulty i have with this idea is, how much less efficient does this make the trains? i understand that it uses waste energy, but that energy is part of the system that is a train on its tracks. if it takes too much it would be like running on a treadmill that harvests your running energy slowing you down, instead of running on a regular powered treadmill that replaces lost energy with wall power. if its a small amount i guess it doesnt matter, but i'll need to see some tests first.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

not at all mate - it actually improves the train

[@michaelyyy2872]

Thank you for your channel and your great explanations. There are aircraft engineers working on Piezoelectric energy harvesting from wing bending and vibration on aircraft. I was wondering if you'd ever set your mind to the problem of extending electric aircraft range?

[@HiddenTechKnow]

Also Piezo electric devices can be used in the same manner - the heavier the object, the more energy that can be harnessed.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes they are

[@TimeSurfer206]

This is as simply brilliant and as brilliantly simple as that Gearbox Brushless Commutator I was looking at the other day, the one with the 20+ year projected lifespan.

[@challacc4388]

Love this guy! Thanks for the videos!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol awesome - cheers mate

[@nicholjackson8388]

Thanks!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@andrewgamblin7264]

Hi. Rob, another clever idea. My comments aren't directly related to the topic of today's video, but do relate to energy scavenging. Over the last few days I've been replacing my old wooden decking boards with 18m² of new dark grey composite boards in my south-facing garden, and in a couple of weeks time I will be installing another 26m² at my son's house in his east-facing garden. It struck me that on a sunny day these boards are going to absorb a considerable amount of solar energy and become pretty hot, perhaps even uncomfortably hot. The boards are hollow - each has five channels running the length of the board, each channel having a square cross-section of maybe 2 cm². It struck me that this type of installation could be turned into some variation of a solar water heater. I'm no engineer so how this might be converted in to working device is beyond me and I wondered if you might have any thoughts. Regards

[@kennyclement2823]

Wow,, I've seen lots of decks made out of these being in handyman trade,, but a solar water heater never occurred to me, excellent idea 💡,, to create a thermal siphon water heater would be simple, possibly laborious,, but how to convert it into more than hot water I don't know

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i think it's a good idea mate - for how to proceed you might want to look at ground source heat pumps

[@TimeSurfer206]

@@kennyclement2823 Use the hot water for a hydronic heating system in the house as well as domestic hot water supply. Those two are the biggest energy consumers in a house. And the single fastest and most immediately cost-effective change you can make to your house is to shoot the third biggest energy consumer: Your clothes dryer. A clothesline is cheap as dirt, uses free fuel, and seldom needs a house call from an expensive technician. A clothes dryer uses between 1800 Watts and 5000 Watts. I shall use the average, 3,400 Watts. If I run my dryer for an hour a day, I'm consuming, obviously, 3.4 Kilowatt hours per day. Times 30 days in a month is 102 Kilowatt hours. My utility's current Residential rate is 11.84 cents per Kilowatt hour. This is 12 bucks a month I am not spending. As a rule of thumb, multiply this number by the number of people in your household. If you have kids, I bet your dryer is running most of the day. We never see this meter running its toll up. So we never realize its impact.

[@lohikarhu734]

my seiko watch has an "MMR"... it winds the mainspring when the counterweight rotates in either direction...easier, as it's rotation-to-rotation, but, tiny, and efficient. It seems that the flywheel in the system mentioned ought to be on its own one-way coupling, so that it can continue to spin freely, for a bit, between input pulses...No? Like a diode and capacitor... but, ideally, the one-way should be in the low-speed part of the ysytem, to reduce friction losses?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

good points mate

[@lohikarhu734]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Thank you sir... I do my best ;-)

[@randomconstructions4513]

>a energy harvesting device that doesn't require making the system less stiff finally some real innovation in this space

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate

[@charlescann531]

Love the idea put one of your parabolic funnel wind turbines near the train tracks to use the wind generated by the passing trains and the amount of energy would be truly amazing

[@johnfowler4820]

Very good point, imagine the amount of air moved by the Eurostar at well over 300 kmh

[@kennyclement2823]

A new design of the wind wall

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

oh wow - awesome thinking mate

[@charlescann531]

@@johnfowler4820 all trains generate a lot of air movement another place they would work is along highways or where you have good convection currents. Such as in cities. “True genius is not inventing the wheel it is finding new uses for it.” The Cosmic Fortune Cookie.

[@NoChateau]

By extension the airflows will likely be most concentrated in highly frequented train tunnels. Applications in 100's of miles of London Underground and cities worldwide?

[@alt3241]

A stepper motor makes multiphase power in either rotation direction the advantage of the described system is the efficiency of the mechanical energy where the stepper motor rotor inertia is a factor of concern and not the coupling energy efficiency . The rail application is interesting in that the fact that energy harvesting represents interception of energy lost in the suspension of the rail . Here is an interesting potential application interception of energy needed for downhill overspeed prevention but this particular device is not as appropriate .

[@alt3241]

Downhill recovered energy could be stored for other trains to utilize for going uphill .

[@martinhoult]

so three trees or more ? MMR attached to one tree each , each attached to each other by a sprung lawnmower pull cord each cord once pulled in one direction will turn a wheel that turns the gears on one side after the tree sways back to and past its original starting place the cord returns and the other expands both powering opposite wheels in opposing directions on MMR generators ?? Should work on many levels of wind strength and cords with enough length to avoid breaking, but under just enough tension to pull cords and spring returns sprung enough to return cords to be ready to be pulled into action again ? I was going to attach them to a generator with a sprung clutch originally and once at a tension setting let go to spin and generate power ready to be pulled on the next movement , the opposite pull on the same thing on another generator on each tree ?

[@josephthibeault4843]

Man I love your thinking

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@andrewwhittaker6622]

Very interesting video I wonder if it could also be used on vehicle suspensions And how effective it would be A massive amount of vertical movement wasted in those also Cheers

[@iami9307]

6:22 hybrid, and electric vehicles already do that

[@andrewwhittaker6622]

@@iami9307 Ok Cheers i didn't know that

[@iami9307]

@@andrewwhittaker6622I ment they use generative breaking that is

[@andrewwhittaker6622]

Oh ok I was thinking of shock absorber movements a lot of wasted energy in those Regen has been used for years for Delec Train braking or dynamic braking i think they call it here in Aus Cheers

[@iami9307]

@@andrewwhittaker6622 actually a shockabsorber, or strut that most cars use now have virtually no movement. that is unless the wheel hit a pothole speedbump or washboard road.

[@htmagic]

RMS, the locomotives are electromotive diesels. When the train brakes, there are calrod (resistive heater) elements and fans that blow away the excess energy. If the trains charged the rails with the excess energy, another train or user could use this waste electricity. Harvest the energy from the train when it brakes.

[@MrZendor]

I enjoy these educational videos. You post a lot of videos which is nice to see in my stream.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@FractalWoman]

I tried to download the STL model but all the parts are in one file and they don't fit onto my Prusa printer bed. Is there any way to get the parts in separate STL files? I have better luck when I print one part at a time. Thanks in advance.

[@DozenDeuce]

I wonder how much energy you could gather if a larger version was attached to every cable of a suspension bridge?

[@Handy-Dandy-Dave]

This just came to mind! How about freeways, I have done some work around a lot of highways, and it is really breezy in the middle when they have divided middles. It's a constant breeze all day long! Just a thought!

[@johnfowler4820]

A company already exists that manufacturers vertical wind mills that attach to the lampposts in the middle of motorways. Investing in them could be a great tip.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it's a very good thought mate

[@tommycrist1856]

I've often wondered about the crystals that produce electric power when they heat up because of pressure being put on them being used as paving material for roads. but then again, I wonder about a lot of things.

[@BeyondFunction1]

Regarding that train example, the question is how many of these things are required to generate said amount of power, and what their life cycle is.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

This mechanism is really cool. Thanks for explaining it.

[@mikaelfransson3658]

I love the video! It get me to think NASA-stirling magnets in shifting order between a rod with bolts up and down and a coil around that, and outside that, a pipe with magnets on the inside. All moving up and down with a twist motions! And for the serpentine-coil a magnets between with a hare's track pattern, where the look is like (North....North ) (South/South) That pattern give a maglev bearings as an extra win over and under the serpentine-coils! !🥸/Mikael

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cool mate

[@Yezpahr]

This machine is basically what we need on a molecular/atomic scale, to leech energy from Brownian motion. Molecular Ratchets are sadly just a thought experiment for now, but this will likely come into existence, perhaps with the aid of proteins as there has been a massive boom in discoveries. Some proteins are basically engines, like the flagellum of some microbes. Energy in, rotational movement out. Sounds like an engine to me.

[@gazfish]

Great idea, but wouldn't the amount of dampening depend on the speed of the flywheel so there'd be a harsh ride initially and then no dampening later unless the electric load is managed to keep the flywheel at the ideal speed. Would have thought a shock absorber and then making use of the hydraulic pressures would be simpler?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it's fixed to the rails not the wheels

[@gazfish]

Ah OK thanks, for the UK would need to accommodate most trains becoming a replacement bus service.

[@FinGoju]

This is brilliant stuff! Thank you Robert! This one and the 1908 had me thinking If you could make a MMR that would use a moving plane and turn the chaotic movement to x and y movement. Something like the old wheel mouse on computer. That long rod in the wind could go through the plane and move it. Depending on the dimensions this setup could give decent amount of torque. Just an idea for everyone to develop further. :)

[@dm42]

Could a similar contraption be attached to the frame of an automobile and the shock/spring assembly?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes

[@Luc-1991]

would be interesting to see this being built in the suspension of vehicles that use electricity. would also be interesting to see a system like this on the back of a boat with floaters. i also wonder if it isnt better to built this in the suspension of the train instead of the rail especially for electric trains. maintenance on these systems would probably also take les work if it can be done on routine checks of the train itself instead of having a mobile unit that has to work next to the rail on moments when trains are not driving there.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i like the ideas mate - thanks for sharing

[@paulharvey4403]

There is a company working on something like this for pedestrian walkways. They are using something like the flywheel motor we see in toy cars. Nice to hear you have the audio sorted.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@voltrevolt8731]

Awesomeness. Two things come to mind - there was recently an absolutely horrific train derailment in Ohio that basically wiped out a small town with potentially deadly consequences of toxic chemical exposure. Indeed, the freight rail industry in the US is downright hazardous - there are thousands of derailments every single year. The cause of the Ohio derailment is almost certainly due at least in part to faulty safety equipment that was supposed to detect overheating of the wheels of the train. I wonder if it would be possible to include a low-voltage heat detector that could relay hazardous conditions. Also, perhaps they could be useful for electric trains and light rail in the cities perhaps, since they could feed electricity directly into the system?

[@davidjohnston710]

That’s brilliant! I was thinking that the mechanical movement rectifier was similar to an automotive differential in some ways, although the driving force is reversed. Not sure I like the idea of ratchets that could eventually wear out, and create noise when they lock.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

everything wears out mate - don't forget they put ratchets in bikes - they last years - 10s of years - not sure it is much of a worry tbh

[@ThomasAndersonbsf]

I want to know why you have to have continuous rotation to generate that power, instead of just having some powerful magnets that rock back and forth as the vibration is converted into a larger rotation than the linear gear is vibrated up and down? I thought that magnetic flux changes is all you needed to move those electrons in the wires? seems it would be simple if that were the use.

[@Dalorath]

The light stands on the highways through my city are like 50 feet tall or so. i dont know exactly.. but theres alot of distance between the ground and the top for weighted energy storage... I see a new business model here which could prove valuable 😀 A 50 foot light pole can have a weight in the middle of the pole that is essentially stored energy.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i like that mate

[@divedeeperer]

WE could get Energy from every Thing that moves, thanks good Work

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes we could!

[@divedeeperer]

@@ThinkingandTinkering why is Nobody doing IT?

[@Proud2bmodest]

@@divedeeperer This has been developed for aircraft suspensions where significant energy can be absorbed when landing. I think the main problem is the weight and cost of the batteries, generator, etc. Also, copper is already subject to theft. I don't think harvesting units would stay put very long before some low life steals them.

[@divedeeperer]

@@Proud2bmodest Hmmm If WE dont try WE will never know. Maybe IT will Work Out Just fine. A Well with water+ RAM pump to get the water Up in great hights into a big water tower+ any Kind of water Generator (maybe a Kelvin water dropper)that will Run of the towers water... Like a Hydrodamm Just without the Damm and the left over water Back into the well

[@wr6293]

Would that kind of equipment be effective in dampening vibrations???

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes

[@wr6293]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Then this equipment would serve double function on inner cities railways as it will reduce the vibration transmitted to the ground (and hence buildings close by) and recover some of the energy used to bring the trains up to speed. I guess that the commercial viability of this harvester will show in them being used or not - will be interesting to follow up in 2 years :-)

[@rogerstarkey5390]

This would work well on ships. And / or on the side of offshore wind turbine pylons with a longer arm to amplify the wave force, 4 units set at 90° to each other. Or, a floatation ring around the pylon base providing vertical motion. . Could provide a useful supplement to the turbine, especially on less windy conditions. There will always be water flow and height difference.

[@MarcesAurelius]

magnetically dampened suspension (linear generators) that charged batteries stored in a “box battery car” to be swapped out with depleted “box battery car”?

[@atntaltd]

Rob is motoring many thing here , people like me benefiting from this ,

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@SkepticalCaveman]

Could it be used ti make a vibrating wind turbine?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes - good idea mate

[@jimadams7765]

So a flywheel is the mechanical equivalent of a capacitor? Seems right regarding characteristics?

[@galenbean3606]

Many solar lamps run on as little as .9v . Is there a low voltage battery that can be made out of aluminum cans or cheap metals found in trash?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes - loads on youtube

[@ricky4673]

I believe those could be added to electrical powerlines. The power lines take a constant beating in wind. I wonder how many watts it could generate.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

that's an awesome idea mate

[@helmutzollner5496]

Dear Robert! It is great that this will harvest Energy from the clonking sound of bad railway track. This idea feels likeis using your house fire to grill marsh mellows. You need a new house afterwards and those marsh mellows could have been cooked with less cost and effort. At best this method will only harvest the energy that goes into making the sound. In particular, it harvests the energy from the level difference between two rails on the bolted joint. That level difference is potential energy that the train has to climb out of subsequently. Therefore, in the end this is only an expensive oil fired power plant in countries, which still mostly use diesel locos. The proposed technology will not really improve the clonking of the wheels with all its associated negative health effects. The clonking is not a inviolable law of nature. It is merely the results of the decades long systemic underinvestment in rail infrastructure of successive British and American governments. The clonking could be very successfully eradicated by using modern track jointing technology, like us in widespread use in Europe and East Asia. Instead of the bolted plate assembly, termite welding or sharp angled rail joints with springs could provide a smooth transition from rail to rail and give a more comfortable ride and generate non-impulse noise whichnsinks more easily in the background noise. Using this technology, the trains do not need the extra fuel to constantly climb out of the track 'subsidance' caused by the bad rail jointing, but can also not used to harvest the potential energy. A final point. Do you really think that the investment for thousands of these energy harvesters can be found, if the cash to fix the track joints cannot? I think not.

[@kilokilos]

🎉how often does train come along? The sea sounds like the more obvious place for this?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i like the sea as an idea too

[@rfiskillingussoftly6568]

Intelligent people rock!! Thanks man!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome

[@8ank3r]

Since the locomotives are diesel electric, I wonder how much electrical potential is unused by the engine itself. I mean how much capacity that is not used could be harvested also.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i don't know mate - but interesting

[@johnbelcher7955]

Am not quite sure why this popped into my head but I thought about the energy lost between the exhaust of a car and the chassis of a car, an electric car may not have an exhaust but having a bar that flexes, sure there is a lot of ways a moving car could produce electricity. But the only drawback to that would be you don't have to charge the battery up as often.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

maybe mate

[@wendellpowell2653]

While you ride around on that bumpy tractor seat think, where could I put one of these.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - absolutely

[@jcomden]

When i was at Stony Brook University, i remember a friend working in a research group that was doing this but on speed bumps.

[@malcolm8564]

How much better to control the speed of the vehicle to the speed limit.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

it is a cool project

[@lescobrandon2202]

Perhaps that concept could be used with waves in lakes / ocean. Some kind of floating device attached to it to move the gears 🤔

[@Unpopular_0pinion]

I wonder how much energy you could get out of a wind up grandfather clock if you had its pendulum rigged with a magnet to go in and out of a coil of wire. These are the things I find myself thinking about ever since I discovered you, Rob :P Great video as always! 🎉

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

nice one mate - you can calculate it

[@RasmusSchultz]

The amount of energy you can get out of a grandfather clock is the amount of energy you put into the spring when you wind it up - which is almost nothing, only just enough to keep the pendulum swinging. If you harvest any of that, the clock stops. 🙂

[@stevecollins4567]

Clocks can also be found that use weights, my Grandmother had one.

[@isaacm1929]

​@@RasmusSchultz So, how much difficult would it be to make a clock that harvest the energy of its surroundings to rewind itself? Wouldn't it be difficult, since the pendulum is what makes it have a correct timing, and more energy would interfere with it? I really don't know much about clocks like that, so Sorry if it's a dumb question.

[@markmmm1737]

The clock would end up losing time. The pendulum would need adjusting to compensate for the slight slow down.

[@michbushi]

...but... that would mean fixing the rails so there aren't that much parasitic loses, would result in gigawatts of energy savings on train fuel, right?

[@mvvishy]

You provoke me to think!!! Thanks. Sir, can we convert railway track vibration energy to generate electricity using "Vibrator Wind turbine" type set up?

[@markjacksmarkjacks]

What if everybody walked up stairs and descended via a cable that was wound around a generator shaft. For that matter what if all elevators descended by producing electricity?

[@iami9307]

6:22 it would be quite a task to find a everybody to do that. and then how long and how much. but that certainly would work to make energy. and elevator has too much stopping and going to get anything out of it. there is a video where they mounted a generator on top between two buildings with a large weight. It did show that it works. their plan was to mount it over old mineshaft, but they could not get the funding.

[@marklatimer7333]

I was under the impression that Railway Companies tried to minimise the flexing of the tracks by packing the ballast and maximising the size of the sleepers on popular routes. I would have thought Piezo devices would be cheaper and more reliable than a mechanically system.

[@gerryplayz4532]

Hi Robert, I see that 1st part and think of all the useless wheels spinning away doing absolutely nothing! Your serpentine coil springs to mind , on each wheel surely it could assist or even takeover from the "starter" engine. I meant to say thanks for the reply a while back too!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i like that idea mate - cheers

[@gerryplayz4532]

Thanks, thought about your wind worm device too, if you had a bucket belt to lift sand to a container with an hour glass bottom (to regulate speed vs torque), then a series of sand wheels to charge up a no-wind back up battery

[@peterkent2138]

Very nice design Rob, much prefer sprag to ratchets.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@CJ-yk4sn]

Can you rectify sound waves or frequency then? Ill look myself just some side thoughts

[@adamfann1465]

What if you were to take something like this and spin a flywheel using the suspension on a car?

[@adamfann1465]

From there, you use it to generate electricity, which can be used to assist a fuel car or recharge a battery

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i don't know

[@malcolm8564]

Railways don't even recover the braking energy from coming to a stop in a station.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

do they not? amazing

[@command7772]

How many such generators for the length of one (1) train?

[@driverjamescopeland]

I'm still amazed... 72% efficiency through a bi-directional rectifier AND a small 200w generator? That's insane.

[@sebastianstewart6894]

It's very interesting design, I do know that some old watches used a more compact version. Also I think if they used a resonating quartz chamber they could stack them together and get more electricity.

[@nigeljohnson9820]

Why was it necessary to rectify the movement? A geared stepper motor will generate A.C. electrical energy which ever direction it rotates. Was it simply to avoid the discontinue associated with the direction reversal, or the loss of energy associated with the stop and start. It is unfortunate that it was necessary to use mechanical recovery, as this involves wear and tear and associated maintenance. Is there not a means of solid state recovery, using something like the piezo electric effect. In recovering this energy, there must be an effect on the rails, presumably increasing their stiffness. Does such recovery have a knock on effect on the maintenance of the rails. It is surprising so much energy can be recovered, given the small part it must be of the total electrical energy used to drive the train motor, and the fact that the recovered energy must also be transmitted back to some central point for accumulation. I have often wondered if the energy of cars moving on a road surface could be recovered by pneumatic or hydraulic generators connected to speed bumps, maybe only on the slowing portion of the road leading to roundabouts and junctions. The energy collected from the weight of traffic moving over such bumps could be used locally to power the lighting at the junction. I am aware that the air pressure generated by passing cars and HGVs can now be collected by wind turbines, to power similar applications.

[@davidblyth5495]

The life-cycle cost-benefit of harvesting energy from railways should be interesting. There are several factors: cost, reliability, etc per unit and for the systems.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

look it up studies have been done

[@vitordelima]

The same logic could be used in airports, docks, bus and truck stops, ...

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yes it could

[@NwoDispatcher]

Probably bridges first. Get on it bucko

[@samuelthomasengardio]

I don't have time to mess with this. You should take 2 5 gallon buckets, have one sitting elevated above the other, but not on top of the other. You can utilize the balance of buoyancy and gravity in the bottom bucket. A shaft of sorts will be needed to tie to the rectifier to convert the buoyancy into juice. The first stage is water being pumped to the elevated bucket with an small voltage pump, the second stage is a pumping sequence after the elevated bucket is full. Voltage requirement is 6 volts, the pumps are less than $3 a piece. I think you could most certainly produce an average constant that exceeds 6v.

[@iami9307]

6:22 unfortunately, a battery takes a lot more power, and time to charge then it puts out. there is a video similar to that. instead of buckets, he used a pole like a seesaw. he stood in the middle, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

[@samuelthomasengardio]

@@iami9307 Those little capacitor packs are pretty cool, I was thinking more along the lines of a small capacitor. A switch of sorts would need to be incorporated to switch between the 6v pumps depending on the position.

[@iami9307]

@@samuelthomasengardio by all means, have some fun and try it out

[@samuelthomasengardio]

@@iami9307 Well, this Robert guy presents brilliant ideas faster than I can order materials for testing. I'm still working on one of his presentations from 18 months ago.

[@iami9307]

@@samuelthomasengardio lol. don’t let yourself get overwhelmed with projects.

[@Stubby0266]

What about doing the same for sidewalks for large cities like New York City?

[@threeMetreJim]

There is a company called Pavegen that does this. They've been around for something like 10 years now. The tech can be used for certain specialist applications. Their website is still up and current.

[@osmbsmy.706]

Looks like you could use a mechanical hair rectifier, or a comb. =)

[@barbufodor1186]

you could use the same idea on stairs and harness part of the potential energy generated by people taking the stairs, ...

[@markmann7739]

so where was this video a decade. Had this idea driving from Indianapolis to Columbus and did some reading online trying to find a way to harvest the energy from roadways...thought about some bladder that was compressed and would drive a generator on the side of the road. Ended up working, for a little while, with a group using piezoelectric material to generate the electricity. had some conversations with Ohio State University on the same subject. Calculated that for a single 1/4 mile stretch of freeway here in Columbus we could harvest enough energy to power many of the homes that were along the freeway...turned out though that the science behind the material was iffy. This would have/ could still work. What about storage along the RR some are very remote in the US

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

this could be made to work i think

[@timothyneiswander3151]

I have a railroad behind my house. I wonder if the railroad company would mind if I slapped a few of these on thier tracks to power my house.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

don't tell them lolol

[@silverpc4611]

How did you make those beveled gears in Tinkercad?

[@spudit2003]

Not sure how much you get overall, it can generate 200w,but only for the duration the train is passing, which in many places will be maybe a couple of minutes an hour. If you were to put them all along the track spaced the length of the train, you would generate 200w whilst the train is running. You could more easily stick a wind turbine on the train, would be much cheaper and generate the same amount, or more, and likely not affect the efficiency of the train due to its overall energy usage

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

tis is not my idea mate - there are lots of studies on this - you might want to read around a bit

[@andrewalexander4024]

Thank you robert

[@NeoShameMan]

I have given more thoughts about your flutter wing energy harvesting, isn't a typical problem of wind harvesting is that it's typically evaluated in "surface" "collectors", and that turbulent hair is an issues for performance? isn't that something flutter energy can help with? like harvesting a full volume instead of a surface, as it seems to handle turbulence. Let's assume we have a 3d cube where these harvester are organized in a grid, given they take wind from any direction, I assume collector in the direction of the wind would disrupt the flow but the following collector would pick up the turbulence created nonetheless, it seems like there would be an energy gradient to collect more efficiently wind rather than just a surface. And maybe there would need to have different type of collector for "surface" collection vs inside collection. Maybe a funnel would also help (like wind turbine, since it can take any direction to funnel). But like they said, more experiment is needed lol.

[@IvoTichelaar]

All rooms have resonances in them, I bet there is some potential for energy harvesting there. Probably not with this technique though. Also, ventilation ducts are often noisy as hell, you can feel them vibrating in the building manage. Oh, you could of course also tune a string or a volume to resonate at rypical frequencies like a room mode or the frequency band where your own voice is.

[@johnkelly8614]

Mechanical movement rectifier! :-) Torque wrench in opening. Good observation!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@threeMetreJim]

The train guy may fall foul of this patent WO2011138585A1, but there is nothing preventing personal construction and use of a patented invention. The patent is held by the owner of Pavegen, which has been around for quite a while. Maybe just their publicity is bad, they have installs in quite a few locations but you never seem to hear about them much.

[@Gomorragh]

now this train thing is a good ide for the uk since it has so much railway and tramway access

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

absolutely mate

[@rayg436]

this could be put into roads and bridges also

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

yeah - it would be awesome

[@skampp]

I think for roads this is done with a very low piston that runs the width of the road, and it operates off of the pneumatic pressure rather than the vibration. This air pressure feeds to a massive pressure tank that is then turned into mechanical force and then into electricity. The Dutch have also trialled paving roads with solar collecting material, although I haven't looked in some years to see how it paid off. Bridges is a brilliant idea! I think in any infrastructure there are methods of collecting energy, it's just getting the means to do so.

[@rayg436]

@@skampp there is movement in all bridges even with no traffic. if this could be harvested energy we may something

[@rayg436]

@@ThinkingandTinkering maybe a good video idea for you to look at the way bridges are built and how they move with the wind and traffic

[@stevecollins4567]

It has use for traffic calming due to the breaking effect from vehicle's momentum. Make accident hotspots safer, and generate some electricity.