Alternative energy solution found
Cari Lambert
Issue date: 3/11/03 Section: News
"Kids, go out and play" may bear a new meaning this spring. A press conference on Thursday, February 20, 2003 introduced Dr. Raj Pandian, a professor at U of M-Flint, as the creator of converting energy from children's play.
Pandian has been a professor at U of M-Flint for two years, starting in fall of 2001. He teaches in engineering sciences and has made many creations, including the under water robot.
This new creation Pandian has been working on since last summer. The point of the research is to try to make energy through children's play, so that under developed countries can have easier sources of electricity along with other countries that need more energy for cases of blackouts.
In the room where the conference was held, there was a simulated seesaw that was a smaller replica of an actual seesaw. It had metal bars running from each seat to the base of the seesaw, which connected to a container that keeps the air, which then is transported through plastic tubes that leads into air pumps. The air is transported by, two kids rocking on the seesaw and each time that they touch the ground, air is compressed.
To make the electricity, the air is pumped into a generator, which converts the air and then the generator is hooked up to mechanical devices. In the demonstration that Pandian gave was having kids play on the smaller seesaw and plugging the generator into a small wall lamp and a small fan. According to Pandian, one to two minutes of playtime can power a 20-watt light bulb for two to three minutes.
Students of Pandian, who had children, brought them to be a part of the simulation. Ten-year old Josh McGinnis was one student's son, who was taken out of school for the day to come help with the experiment. He worked with the project when the first news crew was in the room.
"I liked it. It works," said McGinnis. "It saves money because you won't have to buy batteries."
One contributor to the project was Robert J. Victor, who worked on the implementation of the project. "I would like to see it installed in an actual environment," Victor said.
Other contributors like Casey Lang and Ethan Roelle are independent study students with Pandian and have been helping him with his research, along with a representative from Sloan Museum.
Pandian who originally got this particular idea from working with personal rehabilitation machines, hopes that there can be more energy made this way because it eliminates batteries and the harmful effects of non-biodegradable products.
"It also creates awareness among children," Pandian said. If all goes well, Pandian hopes to have this project up and running in actual playgrounds around the Flint area this spring or summer.
Pandian has been a professor at U of M-Flint for two years, starting in fall of 2001. He teaches in engineering sciences and has made many creations, including the under water robot.
This new creation Pandian has been working on since last summer. The point of the research is to try to make energy through children's play, so that under developed countries can have easier sources of electricity along with other countries that need more energy for cases of blackouts.
In the room where the conference was held, there was a simulated seesaw that was a smaller replica of an actual seesaw. It had metal bars running from each seat to the base of the seesaw, which connected to a container that keeps the air, which then is transported through plastic tubes that leads into air pumps. The air is transported by, two kids rocking on the seesaw and each time that they touch the ground, air is compressed.
To make the electricity, the air is pumped into a generator, which converts the air and then the generator is hooked up to mechanical devices. In the demonstration that Pandian gave was having kids play on the smaller seesaw and plugging the generator into a small wall lamp and a small fan. According to Pandian, one to two minutes of playtime can power a 20-watt light bulb for two to three minutes.
Students of Pandian, who had children, brought them to be a part of the simulation. Ten-year old Josh McGinnis was one student's son, who was taken out of school for the day to come help with the experiment. He worked with the project when the first news crew was in the room.
"I liked it. It works," said McGinnis. "It saves money because you won't have to buy batteries."
One contributor to the project was Robert J. Victor, who worked on the implementation of the project. "I would like to see it installed in an actual environment," Victor said.
Other contributors like Casey Lang and Ethan Roelle are independent study students with Pandian and have been helping him with his research, along with a representative from Sloan Museum.
Pandian who originally got this particular idea from working with personal rehabilitation machines, hopes that there can be more energy made this way because it eliminates batteries and the harmful effects of non-biodegradable products.
"It also creates awareness among children," Pandian said. If all goes well, Pandian hopes to have this project up and running in actual playgrounds around the Flint area this spring or summer.