Newbie in need of Science Fair Help...Please

[Gill]

Hi, I'm hoping someone out there can help me. I have a seventh grade son
who must do a Science Fair project. He has chosen to do a project based on
"Alternative Energy". His goal is to power his GameBoy using some form of
power other than batteries or electricity. Any and all alternative energy
sources are being considered.

The problem is that we have been unable to find any information that will
help us to achieve his goal. We have been to the library a number of times;
we have checked the book store; stopped in at Radio Shack; and have surfed
the Internet - all without luck. We are able to find books and websites
about Alternative Energy but they all just tell about what other energy
sources are out there (water, solar, static, etc.) but not information on
how to harness that energy and convert it to power for a particular device.

I have read article refering to a man who converted his TV to be powered by
in kids pedaling a bicycle but I can't find a "how to" for that either.
We've all seen the in Science books about powering a digital clock or
flashlight battery with a potato or lemon...could a series of potatoes
supply the 3 volts needed? We have tossed around a number of possible
approaches, including: potatoes; bicycle power; solar power; hand crank;
possible incorporation of a car alternator; and many more.

Any information on where to find instuctions for harnessing and converting
alternative energy (or any other insight you might have) would be very much
appreciated.

Thank you,

Renee

 

[Tom MacIntyre]

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:26:07 -0700, "Gill"
<gkgill@adelphiaschmelphia.net> wrote:

Hi, I'm hoping someone out there can help me. I have a seventh grade son
who must do a Science Fair project. He has chosen to do a project based on
"Alternative Energy". His goal is to power his GameBoy using some form of
power other than batteries or electricity. Any and all alternative energy
sources are being considered.

A Game Boy is likely to not like unregulated power, so you may want to
consider that. A diode bridge, a filter capacitor, a zener diode, and
the appropriate dropping resistor would possibly do the trick in the
right configuration. They may be internally regulated, though...maybe
someone here knows if that is the case.

I don't know what the voltage requirement is (6 VDC?). Perhaps some
kind of miniature windmill turning a generator, or motor connected in
reverse, driven by a variable fan? Hmmm...that may be out, as
something is needed to drive the fan...some kind of hand-cranked or
foot-cranked affair, maybe.

My son just informed me that a Game Boy is 2 cells/3 VDC...that's good
news, because it puts it closer to the range that the fruit and
vegetable battery can possibly provide, although I don't know if
you'll get enough power without a fairly substantial series/parallel
setup, and .

I'll try to check into this a bit more later; it looks like you've
done your share of research, so it isn't like you're asking for
someone to do the project for you (which would be frowned upon most
times at least).

Tom

The problem is that we have been unable to find any information that will
help us to achieve his goal. We have been to the library a number of times;
we have checked the book store; stopped in at Radio Shack; and have surfed
the Internet - all without luck. We are able to find books and websites
about Alternative Energy but they all just tell about what other energy
sources are out there (water, solar, static, etc.) but not information on
how to harness that energy and convert it to power for a particular device.

I have read article refering to a man who converted his TV to be powered by
in kids pedaling a bicycle but I can't find a "how to" for that either.
We've all seen the in Science books about powering a digital clock or
flashlight battery with a potato or lemon...could a series of potatoes
supply the 3 volts needed? We have tossed around a number of possible
approaches, including: potatoes; bicycle power; solar power; hand crank;
possible incorporation of a car alternator; and many more.

Any information on where to find instuctions for harnessing and converting
alternative energy (or any other insight you might have) would be very much
appreciated.

Thank you,

Renee