Those who still remember school years probably did not forget the feeling of involvement in a small miracle in a physics lesson, where the teacher clearly demonstrated the conversion of a person’s muscular energy into electricity. The dynamo, modest in size and capabilities, without any wires with sockets and batteries, turned the light bulb while turning the knob - and the faster the knob was turned, the brighter it burned.
However, a healthy skepticism mixed with the feeling of a miracle: the age of electricity, sockets almost at every step, batteries in piles. So is it worth it to work with arms and legs, if they are the fruits of great discoveries?
But what will you do when you get lost in three pines and find that the charge of your newfangled gadget or even an old cell phone is at
absolute zero?The idea, which has already turned more than a century and a half, by the way, is perfectly familiar to those who, in childhood, drove half-and-half on two-wheeled vehicles. The simplest dynamo for a bicycle, assembled literally on the knee and mounted on the front wheel, fed a torch light from the gratuitous energy of pedaling, which illuminated the road as it glowed.
The merits of the discovery of Faraday were also appreciated by the military. In fact, a battery has value only as long as it has a charge. Having spent it, it turns into a worthless heavy object, instead of which it is better to take another zinc with cartridges. Need energy? And the soldier for what? Let it twist, as it should, the handle of the generator to ensure the operation of the radio. (Therefore, that generator was nicknamed by the people - "soldier-motor".)
In principle, little has changed with the advent of the era of high technology. Gadgets are gadgets, and without power, their value is zero, especially if there is nothing to charge them in the near future. The value of
solar panels also disappears in cloudy weather or in the dark. Dynamo in this regard is more than unpretentious. There would be a person who can twist the handle, and there will be current!
The pioneers in this matter, of course, were craftsmen, accustomed to the fact that almost everything in this world, including the dynamo machine, should be done with your own hands. Self-taught did not skimp on the exchange of their achievements, and as a result, specialized magazines were filled with photographs and drawings of simple devices that recharged batteries of flashlights, mobile phones, smartphones and GPS navigators without much difficulty. Fans of cycling trips have not forgotten: a long trip is enough - and the “onboard” dynamo will provide a full charge of an iPhone or iPad.
Finally, having seen the benefits of the practical use of the visual aids of the school years, professional manufacturers followed after the lovers. Now on the market there are enough portable devices that turn the user's muscular energy into electric current for almost any electronics. For example, a small LED flashlight that fits in the palm of your hand has a hinged handle. It is enough to spin it for two minutes at a speed of two revolutions per second, so that the device shines for several minutes.
It is also very pleasing that, in parallel with this equipment, a dynamo machine, specially designed for teenagers interested in science, is also sold. By endlessly experimenting at home, one can not only figure out how to get clean electricity without batteries and accumulators, but also invent something new ...