1956 The Amazing DIY Clay Battery - A Safe Battery Anyone Can Make

[@SmokeGrinder]

This man is the crazy fun science teacher we all should have had in school.

[@Opethian777]

Well they have de-educated folks a bit perhaps? "youtube guidelines " a little icing on the cake ...

[@timreeves6296]

Imagine what would happen if you put people like this in a school

[@cdevidal]

I had a crazy fun science teacher in school. He dropped a dead cat off a second story ledge to demonstrate the speed of acceleration by gravity 😂

[@alvinengstrom]

Amen to that

[@daphneraven6745]

@smokeGrinder: We have him now; perhaps that’s enough. Kind of like a second chance at physics class, for grown-ups.

[@Tomee62538]

Imagine having a science teacher like Mr Robert, everybody would lovd science, there won't be a dull day.

[@GlevoTec]

I don't often comment, but this is really interesting. The pure simplicity of it, combined with reusability and safety. Just wow. Would love to see more of this concept

[@dudedudeson9732]

Oh you will. As soon as Musk claims credit for inventing it like he did with the salt batt we will see this come into prominence.

[@Livinghighandwise]

@@dudedudeson9732 Please stop with the misinformation. Tesla did not patent the salt battery. They patented a technique that uses salt to more cheaply extract lithium from ore.

[@dudedudeson9732]

@@Livinghighandwise I never said they did so STFU. I said Musk tried taking credit for it.And he did which is true not dis info Fing POS

[@royharkins7066]

Like a clay water wheel using fresnel lenses to bake the clay then dunk bake dunk WOW steam as well 😂😊

[@reypolice5231]

I would think that since it seems to be somewhat granulated chunks, to add Sand at the bottom and mixed in would improve heat transfer: with the sand as the heat sink as a sand battery. He mentioned a thermos as a container, but that's double-walled, with the air gap is an insulator. So if I used to thermos, as the vessel, I would think of drilling a hole from the outside and fill it with sand in the air gap space. Hence the sand battery in the air gap space also. The only problem with the thermostat is it's round and the peltier device is flat and square. The cover the whole thing with peltier devices would be somewhat of a challenge unless you were able to melt aluminum from scrap and make a mounting plate. Or keep dipping the thermostat into a crucible of molten aluminum like a candle is made.

[@fyremoon]

There is a synthetically produced zeolite clay material called a molecular sieve. These have pores in the material that adsorb water (and other chemicals depending on the diameter of the pores) which produce intense heat when exposed to water. They are used as desiccants to create very dry environments and adsorb more water faster than silica gels, and they are reusable. You can activate them by drying them with a heat source like a rocket stove for a few hours then store them in a dry enclosure until they are needed.

[@ModelLights]

'by drying them with a heat source like a rocket stove' EXACTLY! And you'll be 10 times better off using the heat from your rocket stove to make power directly than trying to do this and having the huge efficiency loss of using the later heating effect. This is 'no-brainer' type stuff, drying is a terrible process, the moment you go into or out of 'drying' it's going to be a loss. ' a heat source like a rocket stove for a few hours ' Incredible amounts of energy in, tiny amounts of energy out.

[@anon_y_mousse]

@@ModelLights Yeah, air drying would be a better option, and that would take days to actually dry out, if not longer. I don't imagine this would be useful for day to day usage, but it is interesting and maybe an option for ultra long term energy storage and use. Something like a fallout shelter where using a lever to turn on something would physically dump water into a bucket of clay and that power would charge a capacitor to start a generator using some stable fuel that requires extra input energy to get started yet doesn't degrade like gasoline does.

[@AutoNomades]

@@anon_y_mousse Maybe using rcket stove for hours can be a waste, but all this excessive heat from sunny days and summers... Whe need to formalise a system to make it easy to use for showering and house heating.... Maybe solar "logs" ...?

[@Caddowolf]

You don't always have to use the same clay. It could easily be changed out every time the heat has dissipated. It could dry for as long as needed and re-used later. Clay is plentiful.

[@AutoNomades]

@@Caddowolf 👍 And if strong heat is needed, we could have some district solar concentrator where you bring back your used zeolite packs, and take back home baked ones...

[@NumericFork]

If I'm not mistaken, the heat is produced when the clay is turned into its hydrous state, meaning you would need to do more than just let it dry out to remove the water again, as it's chemically bonding with the clay. You would need to heat it up in an oven at high temperatures, using significantly more energy than was produced.

[@SteffDev]

Exactly, and in order to generate any amount of useful energy you'd need a giant array of thermoelectric pads, which really quickly becomes unwieldly... It's a fun little experiment, but if they were any more useful, believe me we'd be seeing them be used in a lot more places other than little drink coolers and temperature sensors...

[@shawnsmith9512]

Fork you have a winner. You are not mistaken. The clay also needs to be fired to a very specific point to make it a ceramic zeolite before this phenomena happens. Imagine the rain if this was a natural occurrence. Lots with this channel is technically true but some information is omitted and some energy unaccounted for.

[@oooof6861]

Suppose you could use large parabolic mirrors to heat it up. Even relatively small ones melt sand. And larger ones will give a much larger ‘functional area of focus’. For that matter you can at night, use the clay for the heat differential and during the day, just use the mirrors

[@CynHicks]

Fresnal lenses be used to focus sunlight onto the clay right? Obvious not FREE energy, but it's free. 😅

[@john-ic5pz]

how about drying it with a solar cooker?

[@Wheretherivermeets]

I love your excitement. This is a really neat demonstration of the Peltier effect

[@MrGrombie]

Our man is saving the world by giving us ideas. Past 4 videos have been bangers on ideas for new home construction.

[@Alkimi]

I can't get over this. I simply must learn how this works at the molecular level

[@flipletape9706]

Just found this channel and I'm trilled. This guy is a gem.

[@charlotteblack777]

Love it. Id been studying peltier devices in order to create cooling devices but realized theyre more useful for electric generation but most articles claimed it wasnt efficient. But Im glad theres great minds like you challenging misinformation. It may not be enough to run a power station by itself but here in the altar desert I can assure you the hot and cold differences make a big difference. specially as a starting point for a cascading system or even an array of devices. Im on the hunt for peltier devices among other projects.

[@Smo1k]

An interesting use of materials like zeolite is as thermal stabilization: The water and clay are kept in a closed container made of something which transports heat well. When it's hot outside the container, that heat goes into evaporating the water, but when it's cold enough for the water to condensate, the container heats up. But for that use, I'd probably be looking at ferrosulphate, since the tipping point for that is at some 60C or so, a temperature you can quite often reach on a sunny rooftop.

[@garrslayer]

sounds like something the giza pyramid was designed to do

[@MarieEagle-hy7lm]

I am from Chattanooga, Tennessee and I must say that I absolutely loved your video. Great job!! It's always amazed me how some people are blessed and truly can make big things happen from the plain ordinary. Well, as you've proven, it's not so ordinary, until a brilliant mind such as yours comes on scene. Thank you very much!!!!

[@MarieEagle-hy7lm]

Oh my! I've Got to download the app,

[@farmergiles1065]

Astounding! I'd never heard of anything like this! Complete simplicity itself, abundantly refreshable, inert ingredients, safe, non-toxic, non-corrosive, no chemical reactions or by-products, ... yet an energy producer! What an eye-opener! It's energizing just to watch!

[@intertonality9846]

If this simple technology is all of those things, which it really is, why hasn't the world switched? We're rediscovering simple science, in supposedly the most advanced era of human history, and we're running on controllable resources, not cheap and limitless ones

[@farmergiles1065]

@@intertonality9846 I think complex technology looks flashy to many people, and gets attention - like funding. But real advances seek the greatest utility in the large scheme of things. We sometimes forget what to look at first.

[@davidf2281]

It's not an energy producer.

[@farmergiles1065]

@@davidf2281 So the fan spun, how? And the water boiled, how? Heat is energy. Electricity can be produced by conversion of energy, and generally is. Are you just talking about industrial scale? Well, that takes research and engineering. That's not free. But there's no proof it couldn't be done. Your conclusion would be premature.

[@davidf2281]

@@farmergiles1065 Dude, the clue is in the name. It's a battery. It doesn't produce energy, it stores energy from some other source for later release. And it does it *extremely* inefficiently since to recharge this battery you'll need to fire the clay in an oven.

[@JesusSaves86AB]

This is one of those videos that blows me away and captures my interest tenfold. I would love to see this on a larger scale with output numbers.

[@Patriarchtech]

Cool video Rob The challenge with Seebeck effect generation and Peltier devices is to keep the cool side cool. Apart from the heat source which the clay and water provides you probably need a cold indefinite heat sink like flowing water in a river or the ocean for it to be viable. I am facinated by Peltier devices, the solid state part is so cool. Btw the Voyager space probes are powered by the Seebeck effect and they've been running for 60 years using radioactive material as the heat source and space as the heatsink. If only we had left over radioactive material which dissipates heat and an Ocean.....

[@Vintaronica]

Voyager space probes have been going for 45 years. But still quite amazing

[@Patriarchtech]

@@Vintaronica My mistake! thanks for correcting it!👍

[@44xxggaaj]

Geothermal cooled water !

[@scottrose8417]

If only we had left over radioactive material which dissipates heat and an Ocean..... YES IF ONLY ; )

[@fruitytarian]

So hypothetically, IF we had leftover radioactive material that dissipates heat, and an ocean, what could that be used to power? Could it charge solar vehicle batteries or heat homes?

[@marcfruchtman9473]

Very interesting video! Seems to me, it would be a great way to store "heat" for the winter. You just have logs of them outside in the summer "drying", and in the winter, just add water. Once done, you put them outside to dry again.

[@chriskeeble]

Fantastic idea!

[@harrymills2770]

The trick is to get it dry and keep it dry, I would think. You'd also have to worry about a lot of water hitting a lot of anhydrous zeolite all at once, if you were doing any kind of scale.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

@@harrymills2770 I wonder if that is the best material... know any good chemists (wink wink nudge nudge (Rob??)) hehe

[@ModelLights]

'to dry again.' Most any battery tech has a 'downhill' slide. You're not just wetting this to produce electricity, when you wet it a chemical change is happening to make the electricity. Like iron rusting, aluminum oxidizing, etc. That part tends to not go backwards just because you later dry it out, eventually you will use up whatever is actually producing the energy. May still be a fine, cheap and easy idea. But pretty much guaranteed there is something else going on besides only wet and dry. And realize, spinning a motor is low energy, heating and cooling is not. This is probably a very low energy production system.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

@@ModelLights You are correct that over time, there will probably be some undesired chemical reactions. Nevertheless, the heat released by anhydrous Zeolite is due to the "Heat of Adsorption" which means that in the process of water molecules adhering to the surface of the zeolite, it releases heat. This can be "recharged" simply by removing the water, and then heating it sort of like how you might heat silica. So this isn't a "battery" in the traditional sense of redox reaction.

[@nymalous3428]

I liked this for two reasons: number one, clay; and number two, water. :) Seriously, the two reasons were the science was interesting and incredibly useful, and the presentation was clear and enthusiastic. I couldn't help but smile as you laughed to yourself about the subject matter. (Increasingly, I find myself drawn to videos like this more for the utility than for my scientific curiosity. I truly hope I never need to use this, but I am grateful for the knowledge in case I do. Thanks!)

[@BlackFlame-Studio]

My man. You are awesome. Your love for science is contagious my brother. Thank you

[@PrimeStudios]

What exactly is the mechanism at work? Is it chemical or physical? How many times can this process be repeated? Does the power output vary over cycles? Could the water be recaptured when drying used again in a closed cell?

[@twidgevr]

Physical, water molecules being adsorped by the zeolite release kinetic energy as heat as it gets trapped in nano-pores of just the right size by van der walls forces. Drying doesn't cause any damage to the zeolite, so practically forever, or until it becomes too contaminated by other substances since it adsorbs other things like ammonia as well. Drying requires heat, basically adding kinetic energy back to the water molecules until they overcome the van der walls force. This will come out as steam, so yes it can be recaptured but mind the pressure involved.

[@MrBrew4321]

It's physical, it's an entropy thing. Zeolite 13x is a molecular scale sieve. Further the surface on the crystals is repulsive to the room temperature water. But the water pushes its way into the high surface area interior of the zeolites, and the slower colder molecules can squish inside further and faster, and do so ever better by kicking the hot ones the the exterior. So it seems like energy is coming out, but really it's just spontaneously rearranging itself to be more comfortable. A very small amount of energy is chemical bonds breaking, it is from the hot water action destroying a very small amount of the crystal, but this particular formulation 13x, is very stable so that isn't really relevant, except for we probably need that to be even less to have a repeatability for thermal storage.

[@rodciferri9626]

Enclose it all to collect the water back into a reservoir above the zeolite. When the wet Peltier dries and reaches ambient temperature, a thermostatic switch can turn on a second Peltier, wired to generate electricity as the zeolite dries, and, upon reaching ambient temperature, to open a valve on the reservoir to start a new wet cycle. Would the energy produced by the initial wet and dry cycles exceed the energy used to open the valve?

[@thatonemothafacko]

The device itself is a bunch of bismuth antimony telluride cubes, which are semiconductors that have a thermoelectric effect. These are encased in a ceramic square on both sides made of aluminum oxide for maximum heat transfer without being electrically conductive. Black wire is soldered to the cube at the begging of the cube array, red wire is soldered to the last cube of the array. Turns a temperature difference into a DC output.

[@nickhadziannis8451]

Thank you for this anwbswer

[@nebojsatodorovic9010]

It can be used as a bladless wind generator by covering a cloth with it. When it dryes in the air you get what is essentially a type of fuel. Great job Robert, keep up the good work!

[@StargateNomad-01]

Why have I never heard of this!!! I feel as though I've been sitting on a gold mine all these years and didn't know it lol Thanks for sharing Robert!

[@JackPitmanNica]

The information in this video is second only to Robert's enthusiasm. Fantastic video!

[@theoriginaltimetraveller7597]

I always try and like your videos half way through watching and then i realise ive already liked it before ive even watched it. I appreciate all the content and info. Thank you

[@HeadakusMaximus]

I rewatched from the two min mark about four times to see what I had missed. Had to google it. First result was a pdf titled: "On the driving force of cation exchange in clays" By Rotenberg, Morel, et al. Apparently there is a Na+ Cs+ exchange during the hydration/dehydration processes.

[@emariaenterprises]

Awesome. When the heat difference runs out, Rotate dry clay through the battery and add water again. I wi der how long it would take the used clay to dry out... I guess it would depend on the humidity conditions....

[@townbell2248]

Thank you for sharing! This is simple enough for me to do with my child! I have been trying to find fun little things to show them

[@AdamBechtol]

Neat. I'm glad for the comments though, helping to explain it's not quite as simple as it would seem.

[@macreykallstrom109]

I liked seeing that short clip of Dry Falls, Washington State, in the beginning of your video. I’m a local of the area, it’s a nice place to visit.

[@popepaul4438]

That is quite amazing I didn’t realise something like clay could be used in that way. Fascinating

[@joshuaobrien6137]

Thats fascinating. I could see using that as a back up to solar on rainy days, using it to offset the energy loss and then just letting the sun dry it out once the rain is over so you can offset the dip in energy.

[@craigwilson9517]

Your passion for what you do is inspiring and warming.

[@ReauSW]

This man never fails to deliver and amaze. Well done sir!

[@Strutingeagle]

I for one am impressed by your attire. Quite classy I should say, good on you old boy good on you!

[@mamemckee2190]

As a potter I am fascinated by the battery but mostly, I love your delight.

[@jackn5581]

As soon as the video started I thought... "Wow! This guy would make a great Doctor Who!!!!" 😃 Interesting stuff!

[@psykoaddict]

this guy is like a genius amazing every video he baffles me

[@AndreaDingbatt]

Thank you Robert!! Simplicity and safety are not to be underestimated!! Gratefully Appreciated!!

[@zylascope]

Awesome and the Peltier device is made of two different ceramics also. One for the outer case and the inner ones that make power. So, three different ceramics and the crystals inside the device are two slightly different types. I don't know much about them, but I think there is a P and an N type. Does anyone know how to make the Peltier ceramics? Turn the sound up at 4:05 when the Zeolite clay and water start bubbling, it sounds like applause. Well-deserved too Rob. Thank you so much for this video :) You rock Rob!

[@RustyBrusher]

This is magic, just the fact that the water boiled the instant it came in contact with the clay is pure wizardry to me AND IT GENERATES ELECTRICITY. WHAT!?!

[@conorstewart2214]

The water coming in contact with the clay doesn’t generate electricity, it generates heat. Turning heat into electricity is how a lot of power plants work, albeit by using the heat to create steam to drive a turbine. You can use Peltier modules or TECs with any heat and cold source. Turning heat into electricity is a well researched and used subject.

[@Wurps]

Would love to see some everyday use-cases/reliable ways to take advantage of this along with how to efficiently source all required components

[@khashayarmodaberi4958]

I so like your laughs when getting fascinated about amazements of science and it's applications in real life, so good, please keep going, you are great 😊😊👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🌹

[@someadvids5655]

Hi, thank you Robert for this information, your videos are just amazing to watch, so many ideas spring to mind, Looking forward to the next one already! I think there is going to be a lot of people experimenting with this stuff now! Take care and have a great day!

[@Vibe77Guy]

Two tins, one hydrating hot side, one drying cool side. Deplete, reverse, repeat.

[@davidahmad6090]

Very interesting sir, are you sujesting an infinite cycle battery?

[@MrMatthewPR]

Great idea, and there's no size restriction on that. You could use barrels on a axis. I suspect whatever size you do wouldn't dry out fully though, so the power output might keep decreasing until it's fully refreshed.

[@davidahmad6090]

@@MrMatthewPR a solar copper heat exchager deep inside clay May solve this.

[@MrMatthewPR]

@@davidahmad6090 perhaps, but you're taking the heat out to generate elecricity, so I'm not sure whether you'd have enough left to dry it fully. Either way, some form of heating elements inside could dry it out. This could come from wind or solar. Maybe even a solar heater attached to the copper heat pipe.

[@Vibe77Guy]

@MrMatthewPR It's basically just the activated carbon nitrogen harvesting set up repurposed. Cooled activated charcoal absorbs nitrogen, heating it up expells it. Can be solar driven for the heating portion. And, although inefficient, generate liquid nitrogen by also using it as its own refrigerant.

[@Rajamak]

Why do I feel you could single handedly revive the Dr Who franchise? 👍

[@allenshepard7992]

Will save this idea for heating up dinner or keeping myself warm.

[@allanfahrenhorst-jones6118]

Wow, fantastic. Great to have you on the job. Learning constantly from your own enthusiasm for testing and probing.

[@ObservingPerception24x7]

I love your enthusiasm and love all your content. Super informative as usual! 🙏

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Great explanation Robert, whilst you were explaining it I was thinking large clay filled tubes with a fine mesh on the bottom to allow water to drain slowly and fed by a header tank of rain water.

[@twidgevr]

The 'downside' of this is that you need to dry the zeolite for this reaction to happen, which takes as much energy to do as you get out in heat. Once the zeolite is saturated the effect halts.

[@troywhite6039]

Which the sun 🌞 does nicely every day.

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

@@twidgevr Yes but the drain and the bottom will gradually remove a large proportion of the moisture each time its filled.

[@MFunkibut]

Can you build a zeolite battery with one side drying [cold] and one side [wet] and then flip it? Would you need to turn the Peltier over or does it only care about difference not 'sides'????

[@john_blues]

What's the voltage and current produced from your setup there? Also, could you use calcium chloride to produce the same effect? Adding water to calcium chloride(the stuff used to melt snow) creates an exothermal reaction as well, and doesn't take the large amount of energy to dry as this would.

[@MasterofTongs]

The amount of clay you would need for a single day's power supply vs. Renewability is probably not viable, but it could be part of a larger power cycle using different means of electricity production. Thank you for this!

[@Remo303-c9i]

This is invaluable for anyone looking to diversify their Prepping skills. Thank you so much! (Dave W / AZ-USA)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bernym4047]

I am amazed. Thank you for showing.

[@aeonturnip2]

Loving the Doctor Who vibes on your walkabout videos recently, Robert.

[@adyday5447]

Brilliant. Harnessing the electricity from tapping into the field pressure between hot and cold. 🤔💭💭💭. Tapping into a thunderstorm and controlling the lightning ( using the energy of dielectric before the discharge) harness lightning and feed it to a storage battery 🔋. 👍

[@Milkybar3320011]

I’m going to put my clay in a shallow box behind my solar panel, daylight solar and heat to dry the clay then add a splash of water for night time power.

[@JG-lw2dc]

This is both primative and futuristic! Amazing!

[@steve8189]

Another awesome video, as always. Would you ever consider showing how to actually make the wire-based pad?

[@baraBober]

This is EXACTLY what I was "researching" yesterday after watching your video. You should make a video about "Seebeck effect". It's very relevant

[@mistersunday_]

Wow, that's amazing! Wish I had time to play around with these concepts

[@cayrex]

So cool ☺ To regenerate the zeolite is done with applying the heat to around 200 to 300 deg C

[@daveandrewsdv]

Magnified sunlight could work.

[@cayrex]

@@daveandrewsdv Yes. A 200 deg C is not so critical to get.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

'Developing a techno-economic model to evaluate the cost performance of a zeolite 13X-based space heating system' doi - doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114325 - title of a paper that goes into it mate

[@cayrex]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Cool. Thank you mate

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

@@cayrex my pleasure mate

[@markiangooley]

I used to live a few miles from a ghost town in northern peninsular Florida called Edgar. All that’s left is the post office and mining facilities, because underneath the site of the town is a huge deposit of kaolin, a type known as Edgar Plastic Kaolin.

[@Lon1001]

So many people are obsessed with free-energy/perpetual-motion, as if its some game changer... when all along all we need to do is realize how abundant the energy in nature is already.

[@winypu9105]

There are heat storage systems that work with this principle! Attended a lecture about it just these days :)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

there are systems already designed with US$0.06 perkWh costs and 20 year life span running for solar for the drying phase

[@AutoNomades]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Nice ! What is the name ? Are there any plans for diy projects ? Our roofs are so big and hot in the summer ....! Our cars too....

[@_mrcrypt]

Like a Sterling engine without moving parts… that’s pretty cool 👍

[@AllAroundTube50]

Wished you would have measured the amperage and voltage. Amazing.

[@nevermind-wp3bf]

Don't bother!... It's very low.

[@ddoherty5956]

I wish you had been my lecturer when I was studying engineering.

[@evdrivertk]

I would think a Sterling engine would be a lot more efficient than a Peltier junction when trying to extract usable energy from a heat difference. Peltier junctions also require complex PN junctions (aka silicon processing) that might require much higher technology than a Stirling engine. Have you tried using a Stirling engine with this?

[@MirrimBlackfox]

But you can buy Peltier chips easily online, Sterling Engines can't really be bought (in any useful size) and require a very skilled machinist, working in a full metal shop, to construct the parts. All of which have to be made to extremely fine tolerances to work. *I* can put together a Peltier device that makes a worthwhile amount of energy in an afternoon (provided I already have the parts of course) with a cost of less than 250 usd, possibly much less depending on how many of the tools and parts I needed that I didn't already have, and what I could scavenge locally. As little as 50 usd is quite possible most of that going to the actual Peltier chips.

[@carolday3381]

That’s insane. In all the right ways. But dude! For real? I want to build one now.

[@n-u-k-e-d]

I thought it was an 80's episode of Dr.Who at first :-) Keep up the great work!

[@yaka2490]

thanks robert i was thinking the same after you last video cheers for the demo

[@Superman-ni1ww]

I wonder what result Rob would get if he insulated the heating container. What would be more interesting would be to get some numbers from the experiment; -starting weight of zeolite, -thermocouple in the mixture and a plot of time vs temp to quantify how much and for how long heat is produced -meter to measure the voltage/amperage produced (maybe also over the time that heat is produced to quantify how much is produced)

[@strongforce8466]

There is zeolite in our dish washer, I never really looked much into it but I was curious, this is quite impressive how much heat it can output ..of course adding a passive heatsink on the cool side would improve the power a bit aswell, which is very easy to do, also I remember luke made a thermal paste with graphene, it looked like it was performing pretty good, any update on that ? this could be useful for that device

[@arthurcantrell1954]

Water and clay are very abundant clean energy 🙂

[@MrBrew4321]

I read that to recharge it has to be heated to hundreds of degrees but I'm not sure on the specifics. So a natural follow up video would be to toss some of the used "fuel" in a home oven - microwave and or conventional, and for various times. I'd suggest tossing some out in hot sunlight as well but I don't think that's gonna help much except maybe as a pre treatment before baking.

[@hankhill962]

What about using a Fresnel lens ?

[@MrBrew4321]

@@hankhill962 Nice thinking, idk but I've incinerated little bits of metal with a big fresnel lens, this stuff is just a ceramic powder with water like on the inside... I'm fairly certain you can drive the water out of just about any rock you are likely to find with a big enough fresnel lens because you can also drive the rock out of rocks! LOL. Anyways if you can't use it, it'd probably be because it damages the very specific crystal structure. But if that is the case, perhaps a smaller, less focused lens would do the trick remembering that the point is to make it anhydrous again with out destroying the structure that makes is special. Even going down that route i'd probably want to put it out on a cookie sheet on some black asphault on a low humidity day as a pre treatment.

[@MrBrew4321]

and all of that is assuming that the hot dry day and a big black surface are in adequate, i have no idea if that is enough

[@VeniceInventors]

Amazing! So you can generate electricity twice from rain water, once from the gravitational pull and again from dumping it in clay.

[@MIKE12334455]

Whats the best way to dry the it ? If you want it to by a close battery?

[@boristherin4104]

nature & human genius allways been perfect combo. anyway, energy for ppl isnt a scientific topic, but a politic one. (R.I.P. Thorium reactor). thx for sharing and seeding common sense

[@emberpoptartkittenz6040]

oooooooooooh A clay battery! that is so amazing, i bet i could make a automatic recharger for it that just dries it out and dthe adds more water!

[@breannestahlman5953]

Thank you for this magistral demonstration!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@propertygeek]

Makes me think of the great pyramids having a hot and cold side as well as the clay mixture that were cast so tightly into blocks. I mean its the perfect angle for the dangle !

[@thatonemothafacko]

This is a basic thermoelectric generator. You can absolutely wire multiple wafers in series or parallel to get a desired output. There is no wear or tear on the thermoelectric modules over time, and it is emission less. The only downside is power output under load. You need a good amount to be able to charge a cell phone using this method. Hes also using a cheap chinese one, you can buy really nice ones:)

[@harrymills2770]

I was aware of this property of zeolite and always had vague notions of using it as a heat sink. I had no idea how energetic the reaction to water was.

[@markwarburton8563]

That's a great video, Rob, thanks! It's got me thinking about using the wet zeolite and cooling it off in the wind and/or sunlight to generate a cold side for the Peltier (I saw you do that in an earlier video). It could be mounted on the roof in a weather-vane type arrangement to get the best wind exposure. This could then be used alternately from hot to cold and cold to hot. The thing is that the Peltier doesn't need to be swapped and the zeolite doesn't either. The only difference is exposing one side to wind and the other to water, then switch sides and do it all over again. There's no free lunch, so we'd need a constant (small) supply of water and the Peltier isn't very efficient, but as a proof of concept that would be very good. We could always go with a Stirling engine for better efficiency and greater wattage.

[@intertonality9846]

Wow, I can just picture buildings lined with big urns collecting rainwater and strings of lights connecting them, or even dousing rods placed on top to draw electromagnetic energy... Oh wait, they had those on buildings during the Chicago world's fair in 1893?

[@dansw0rkshop]

There's more needed than simple evaporative drying. Look up "how to rejuvenate spent 13x zeolite". It's not trivial.

[@GreyFox85]

We need more scientists like you.

[@alexharvey9721]

Love the way you think Robert!

[@manofthetombs]

I did enjoy the video! You are quite jovial. Thank you!

[@ridermacleod423]

Could you use it in some way as a heating source in the winter and use the fan to disperse the heat? Like a storage heater type?

[@TheSLOShadow]

Thank u Bilbo Baggins for this information

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

you can call me the Doctor lolol

[@TheSLOShadow]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Dr. When ur out of that green jacket. Great jacket and outside in nature, ur Bilbo Baggins.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

@@TheSLOShadow lol - i see

[@sreenathc]

This is amazing! Is there any similar set of compounds that create an endothermic reaction that can cool instead of heating, so it can be used for making small cooling spaces in hot countries to store food that would otherwise go bad?

[@trulyloveEgypt]

I've seen a "fridge" made of clay. I believe it was an old Moroccan method.

[@curtisoliver1006]

You earnt a subscriber out of me. Such a simple device.

[@anthonybrown7095]

Wonderful presentation.

[@nathanaelsmith3553]

Very interesting - could use sunshine and rain to charge and activate it! Or run a sterling engine.

[@Barskor1]

Very interesting IMO making battery cell trays that you pop out and stick into a solar distillery to get the water back and dry the clay seems an obvious continuation.

[@bramblemat]

Thanks

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@barry7608]

Thanks love your 'eye opening' vids. With this one I would love to have seen a bit more detail ie voltage and current over time. Anyway awesome.

[@Will-dn9dq]

Plaster gets warm when wet so this is very practical for small experiments

[@xpndblhero5170]

His guys enthusiasm for clay is hilarious..... 😂😂

[@CCoburn3]

There is more clay in the world than at any other time -- and the amount grows every day. That's because clay is formed by weathering of rocks. Of course, it doesn't all have the same properties. But the more uses for clay we can find, the better. It truly is a "renewable resource."

[@isakfalk-eliasson1675]

Is it so? I'd expect much of that clay to have been moved to the oceans, either by natural processes (rivers) or by human industrial processes?

[@troywhite6039]

Another thousand years of breaking rocks. More reason for them to increase the prison population. ,🤨

[@chrissowerby69]

I don't think this would work with regular clay, would it? Is x13 clay special some how?

[@isakfalk-eliasson1675]

@@chrissowerby69 there's a comment below discussing this!

[@CCoburn3]

@@chrissowerby69 As I said, clays have different properties. But the more uses we can find for different types of clay, the better off we are. Clay is a resource that is truly abundant, and we've only scratched the surface of its potential uses.

[@simongross3122]

This is very good. Along with your previous video on solar cooling. I wonder how many other chemical reactions are completely reversible like this. It seems pretty special though. When you add water to the clay, does it actually become some other compound, or is it just hot, wet clay?