Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones

Newton · 09-16-2005

Physicists in Singapore have succeeded in creating the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. This new battery will be the perfect power source for cheap, disposable healthcare test-kits for diseases such as diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cell phone.

Scientists in research groups around the world are trying to design ever smaller "biochips" that can test for a variety of diseases at once, give instant results, and, crucially, can be mass produced cheaply. But until now, no one has been able to solve the problem of finding a power source as small and as cheap to fabricate as the detection technology itself.

Led by Dr Ki Bang Lee, a research team at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have developed a paper battery that is small, cheap to fabricate, and which ingeniously uses the bio-fluid being tested (e.g. urine) as the power source for the device doing the testing.

The chemical composition of urine is widely used as a way of testing for tell-tale signs of various diseases and also as an indicator of a person's general state of health. The concentration of glucose in urine is a useful diagnostic tool for diabetics. The lead researcher, Dr Lee, envisions a world where people will easily be able to monitor their health at home using disposable test-kits that don't need lithium batteries or external power sources.

Dr. Lee said: "We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit card-sized biochips for disease detection. Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity upon contact with biofluids such as urine."

The battery unit is made from a layer of paper that is steeped in copper chloride (CuCl) and sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper. This "sandwich" is then held in place by being laminated, which involves passing the battery unit between a pair of transparent plastic films through a heating roller at 120 degrees Celsius. The final product has dimensions of 60 mm x 30 mm, and a thickness of just 1 mm (a little bit smaller than a credit card).

Writing in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Lee describes how the battery was created and quantifies its performance. Using 0.2 ml of urine, they generated a voltage of around 1.5 V with a corresponding maximum power of 1.5 mW. They also found that the battery performances (such as voltage, power or duration) may be designed or adjusted by changing the geometry or materials used.

"Our urine-activated battery would be integrated into biochip systems for healthcare diagnostic applications," says Lee. He envisions a world where people will easily be able to monitor their health at home, seeking medical attention only when necessary. "These fully-integrated biochip systems have a huge market potential," adds Lee.

ThrobX · 09-16-2005

Aw, piss on it.

Dravyk · 09-16-2005

Dead cat fuel, now piss batteries ...

This is all starting to remind me of Back to the Future where Chistopher Lloyd at the end of the movie grabs a handful of garbage and puts it in his "Mr. Fussion" to fuel his future car back up.

ThrobX · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dravyk

Dead cat fuel, now piss batteries ...

This is all starting to remind me of Back to the Future where Chistopher Lloyd at the end of the movie grabs a handful of garbage and puts it in his "Mr. Fussion" to fuel his future car back up.

Can the batteries run on cat piss? If so, maybe I've finally found a use for our cat. He can power my Ipod while living, and power my car after his untimely demise.

ThrobX · 09-16-2005

Wow, it just hit me. Too bad those batteries weren't developed 6 or 7 years ago. Just imagine how much power could've been generated over the years by all the piss on webmaster boards.

Newton · 09-16-2005

Exactly

I can imagine people with laptops at airports on on planes in the future waiting outside of toilets asking patrons to fill their batteries up lol

Trev · 09-16-2005

Of all the research area's they have pioneered they chose piss

slavdogg · 09-16-2005

So if piss on my dead cat, i could power my car and charge my cell phone at the same time ??

Dravyk · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThrobX

Wow, it just hit me. Too bad those batteries weren't developed 6 or 7 years ago. Just imagine how much power could've been generated over the years by all the piss on webmaster boards.

Serge in his younger days could have perfected Perpetual Motion!!!

ThrobX · 09-16-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dravyk

Serge in his younger days could have perfected Perpetual Motion!!!

Or he could've at least powered a server or two.

MorganGrayson · 09-16-2005

"Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones"

Well, no, they weren't. They were developed for medical testing. Other than the article title being wildly innaccurate, that's an interesting article. (I'm a diabetic and got a nice ride in a ambulance once because my tester howled at me over how low my blood sugar was. I've also had the damned thing's battery die on me. I can put the two together and imagine a very bad day.)

09-16-2005	#1
Newton It's always business, never personal! The POWER of radio Oprano Radio Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On a golf course Posts: 4,916	Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones Physicists in Singapore have succeeded in creating the first paper battery that generates electricity from urine. This new battery will be the perfect power source for cheap, disposable healthcare test-kits for diseases such as diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cell phone. Scientists in research groups around the world are trying to design ever smaller "biochips" that can test for a variety of diseases at once, give instant results, and, crucially, can be mass produced cheaply. But until now, no one has been able to solve the problem of finding a power source as small and as cheap to fabricate as the detection technology itself. Led by Dr Ki Bang Lee, a research team at Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have developed a paper battery that is small, cheap to fabricate, and which ingeniously uses the bio-fluid being tested (e.g. urine) as the power source for the device doing the testing. The chemical composition of urine is widely used as a way of testing for tell-tale signs of various diseases and also as an indicator of a person's general state of health. The concentration of glucose in urine is a useful diagnostic tool for diabetics. The lead researcher, Dr Lee, envisions a world where people will easily be able to monitor their health at home using disposable test-kits that don't need lithium batteries or external power sources. Dr. Lee said: "We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit card-sized biochips for disease detection. Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity upon contact with biofluids such as urine." The battery unit is made from a layer of paper that is steeped in copper chloride (CuCl) and sandwiched between strips of magnesium and copper. This "sandwich" is then held in place by being laminated, which involves passing the battery unit between a pair of transparent plastic films through a heating roller at 120 degrees Celsius. The final product has dimensions of 60 mm x 30 mm, and a thickness of just 1 mm (a little bit smaller than a credit card). Writing in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, Lee describes how the battery was created and quantifies its performance. Using 0.2 ml of urine, they generated a voltage of around 1.5 V with a corresponding maximum power of 1.5 mW. They also found that the battery performances (such as voltage, power or duration) may be designed or adjusted by changing the geometry or materials used. "Our urine-activated battery would be integrated into biochip systems for healthcare diagnostic applications," says Lee. He envisions a world where people will easily be able to monitor their health at home, seeking medical attention only when necessary. "These fully-integrated biochip systems have a huge market potential," adds Lee. __________________ Poser Bush in a mix-up over his hi-tech gizmo - ICLOD

09-16-2005	#2
ThrobX Members Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 431	Re: Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones Aw, piss on it.

09-16-2005	#3
Dravyk Easy Like Sunday Morning Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Behind a couch, somewhere in Philly Posts: 7,628	Re: Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones Dead cat fuel, now piss batteries ... This is all starting to remind me of Back to the Future where Chistopher Lloyd at the end of the movie grabs a handful of garbage and puts it in his "Mr. Fussion" to fuel his future car back up. __________________ All Of 'Em Mainstream Webmasters New: WebmasterConventions.com

09-16-2005	#5
ThrobX Members Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 431	Re: Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones Wow, it just hit me. Too bad those batteries weren't developed 6 or 7 years ago. Just imagine how much power could've been generated over the years by all the piss on webmaster boards.

09-16-2005	#6
Newton It's always business, never personal! The POWER of radio Oprano Radio Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On a golf course Posts: 4,916	Re: Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones Exactly I can imagine people with laptops at airports on on planes in the future waiting outside of toilets asking patrons to fill their batteries up lol __________________ Poser Bush in a mix-up over his hi-tech gizmo - ICLOD

09-16-2005	#7
Trev Cunty Want to see your own Advertising Here! Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 10,150	Re: Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones Of all the research area's they have pioneered they chose piss __________________ Sucks to be you.

09-16-2005	#11
MorganGrayson None $100 for every ImLive sign-up Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 4,321	Re: Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones "Urine Powered Batteries Developed for Cell Phones" Well, no, they weren't. They were developed for medical testing. Other than the article title being wildly innaccurate, that's an interesting article. (I'm a diabetic and got a nice ride in a ambulance once because my tester howled at me over how low my blood sugar was. I've also had the damned thing's battery die on me. I can put the two together and imagine a very bad day.)