LAS VEGAS �\ A New York company is ready to sell a new portable hydrogen fuel cell charger that can put the juice back in your cell phone, iPod or GPS device just by adding a little water.
And if there�fs no water available, it works with urine.
After all, SiGNa Chemistry says its PowerTrekk Fuel Cell Charger is �gdesigned for people on the go.�h
The charger, which the company demonstrated here at CES, is a pocket-sized hydrogen fuel cell device that generates power from the chemical reaction of mixing sodium silicide and water.
You can use clean water or salt water or muddy water, said spokeswoman Liz Grimes. And she said other liquids will also do the trick as long as there�fs water in it, like pee.
The concept of using clean, zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells to power everything from laptops to cars has been around for several years, but SiGNa has an actual product that is set to go on sale in May at outdoor clothing and gear retail chain REI.
The charger is expected to cost in the $199-$220 range, to be determined by REI, Grimes said.
You also have to buy little round 1.05-ounce cartridges, called PowerPukks, that contain the powdered sodium silicide. Those should go for about $12 for a pack of three PowerPukks, which were developed by myFC AB of Sweden.
One cartridge contains the equivalent of six AA-batteries, enough to fully recharge a cell phone twice.
Selling at REI makes sense because their customers will be out in the wilderness where there are no electrical plugs, but still want to keep phones or GPS devices charged.
But SiGNA says the technology has also drawn interest from the U.S. military and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The charger could be useful in developing countries that need more power sources or in areas hit by a disaster that knocks out electricity.
Hydromechanical watch concept pumps away the hours for horologists
Vincent Perriard and crew have apparently gone from overseeing the Concord C1 QuantumGravity watch and its fluorescent liquid battery gauge to designing another high end watch that combines mechanical action and fluid measurement with the HYT H1. This hand-wound timepiece has a 65 hour power reserve and displays the time via pumping bellows that push bright green fluorescine past the time markers. A rendered video embedded after the break does more to explain how the watch works, but may not help you figure out its rumored $45k price tag.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:12 am Post subject:
bmwracer wrote:
Hydromechanical watch concept pumps away the hours for horologists
Vincent Perriard and crew have apparently gone from overseeing the Concord C1 QuantumGravity watch and its fluorescent liquid battery gauge to designing another high end watch that combines mechanical action and fluid measurement with the HYT H1. This hand-wound timepiece has a 65 hour power reserve and displays the time via pumping bellows that push bright green fluorescine past the time markers. A rendered video embedded after the break does more to explain how the watch works, but may not help you figure out its rumored $45k price tag.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:13 am Post subject:
bmwracer wrote:
More power to ya.
Goofy thing about that watch is that although it's so sophisticated, it's a manual-wind watch.
I see your point. My speculation on the matter is that because of it's fine, intricate mechanical action perhaps that was purposeful choice. Despite it being wind up it could be one of those watches, as with many, that after being wound up initially as long as you wear (and therefore keep it moving) it can maintain accurate time for a while. But I could be totally off because the article does say it has a 65 hour power reserve and may that's a limitation.
At 45K I don't think I'll ever get close enough to one to find out!
I see your point. My speculation on the matter is that because of it's fine, intricate mechanical action perhaps that was purposeful choice. Despite it being wind up it could be one of those watches, as with many, that after being wound up initially as long as you wear (and therefore keep it moving) it can maintain accurate time for a while. But I could be totally off because the article does say it has a 65 hour power reserve and may that's a limitation.
At 45K I don't think I'll ever get close enough to one to find out!
At $45K, you should never ever have to wind it... The liquid should be heavy water, so it would be a little reactor.
As winter recedes, the Crapgadgets emerge from their hibernation as they attempt to separate fools and their money. Today's selection includes a ridiculous workaround to a ridiculous accessory, an iPad case that has lips like Jagger and a hook for, er, spinning your iPhone around like a Wild West gunslinger.
Read - Our biggest regret in life is not being able to spin our $600 cellphone around on a $20 sticky coat hook.
Read - We're expecting the iPad 3 to be able to recreate the title sequence of the Rocky Horror Picture Show without the aid of this case.
Read - If you were into smartphones before they were cool and portable, you'll love the ability to carry around your over-sized retro handset on your jeans.
Read - Nothing evokes the grace, beauty and power of Enzo Ferrari's engineering than these decade-old-spec flip-phones that kinda resemble a Ferrari 966, if you squint from a distance.
Read - This "noiseless microphone" has two functions, and only one is to prevent your karaoke from annoying your neighbors.
It's a common desire among everyday folk: we often say we'd like to read more, if only we had the time. While it's unlikely to fill your noggin with the prose of Hemingway or the poetry of Whitman, a new wristwatch from Biegert & Funk promises to quench your thirst for words and literally provide you with the time. Known as the QLOCKTWO W, the timepiece is a portable revision of the company's original wall clock, both of which display the current time in everyday language. Priced at €550, the watch is scheduled for arrival this autumn and will be available in black or stainless steel variations, with either rubber or leather bands. As another option, those who find English far too mundane may spring for the Deutsch version.
The force is strong with this entrepreneur. Wicked Lasers CEO Steve Liu and his team have created the LaserSaber, a real-life lightsaber that echoes the galactic adventures of �gStar Wars�h films past. The 32-inch LaserSaber is a polycarbonate that serves as an attachment for Wicked Laser�fs Spyder 3 series. Other creations from the Wicked Lasers team include the S3 Krypton laser, whose light is powerful enough to be seen from up to 85 miles away. The company also gained some notable exposure earlier this week when it attached lasers to shark fins off the coast of the Bahamas, finally fulfilling the fantasies of Dr. Evil in �gAustin Powers�h.
Liu and his crew went through some turbulence before the LaserSaber or Spyder 3 were able to see the light of day. In 2010, �gStar Wars�h creator George Lucas and Lucasfilm sent Wicked Lasers a cease and desist letter, on the grounds that the product was too dangerous and too similar to its film counterpart. They later backed off from the lawsuit.
The LaserSaber will be a $100 add on to the $300 Spyder series, which according to the sales pitch features "an ultrasmooth magnetic gravity system that can 'power up' and 'power down' the blade."
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