viability of an idea

[Noob1ett]

So i had an idea I wanted to run by some people other than my closest friends on the viability of a "technology" I was thinking of using in a story i'm writing. The technology revolves around the concept of using your own bloodvessels as a means of producing electricity through bracelets that are grafted to your wrists (and ankles possibly) that produce said electricity through a miniture means of hydroelectricity. This is then used to power various things, and can be used as an augmentation to the local power grid, on a grand scale, not individually. 10,000 people "plugging" in to offload their daily take of electricity into the grid?

thoughts?

 

[chrispenycate]

In a word, no. You're going back to muscle power as a source of energy, and the muscle you have chosen to exercise is the heart; which is already one of the standard breakdown points of the system. If you are pulling more than a few milliwatts from a person, you are putting appreciable strain on the heart, and reducing the life expectancy of the subject, and a few milliwatts per person is not going to make an appreciable difference to your needs. Essentially a treadmill is more efficient, and easier to get the power out of.

Because if you're not going to manacle your subject to his workbench, bracelets are a very poor way of getting the power out. What you need is transformers without physical contact, which means high frequency energy. You could probably power your mobile phone like that, but getting enough energy that it could even be seen as a percentage point on the national grid is really not practical. Better with pietzo generators from involuntary movements feeding batteries installed in your buttocks which download to transformerchairs every time you sit. Or powerful magnets in your body and coils in all walls, so every movement is a bit more laborious, and you really don't want to get to close to the side of a bus.

Still my favourite was the children's playground where every see-saw, roundabout or swing pumped water; the only known inexhaustible source of energy.

 

[Noob1ett]

Ok. back to the drawing board for that then, thx.

 

[Noob1ett]

One other question, Why is it that science fiction never uses water navies, and it must always seem like its spaced based navies?

 

[goldhawk]

One other question, Why is it that science fiction never uses water navies, and it must always seem like its spaced based navies?

If man survives for as long as the least successful of the dinosaurs—those creatures whom we often deride as nature's failures—then we may be certain of this: for all but a vanishingly brief instant near the dawn of history, the word 'ship' will mean— 'spaceship.'
— Arthur C. Clarke, quoted by Hugh Downs, Ad Astra, Fall 2008.

 

[Sapheron]

If man survives for as long as the least successful of the dinosaurs, I'll eat my hat.

- Me, Now.

 

[ValerieJLong]

Well, automatic watches collect energy from moving wrists, too. You can as well collect static electricity from the clothing, but as the other posters already pointed out, that's so marginal nobody would bother to try.

One other question, Why is it that science fiction never uses water navies, and it must always seem like its spaced based navies?

Is that so?
Okay, I know of at least one science fiction writer using the wet navy in a science fiction plot. But I may not tell her name, because self promotion is against the forum rules.

If you look into other rather contemporary science fiction works, you'll find more wet navy occurences. For example, I'd see "James Bond - The world is not enough" as SF, and there are some ships in the story.

Think of the "Final Countdown" featuring an aircraft carrier.

There may be more...

Cheers
Valerie

 

[Sapheron]

Some of the Warhammer 40k stuff also features sea going craft, though only, as far as I know, in a few background pieces and short stories. Lego Rock Raiders also has water going vehicles, though they were only ever published as toys, comics and a video game, so I'm not sure we can include them.