take full advantage of huge weight of elephants. install robust, unbreakable piezoelectric generators on each of the four paws & connect to a battery carried by the elephant itself. as the elephant walks, battery would get charged. the idea can be extended to microhydro turbine operation by replacing piezoelectric generator with flexible pipe and associated accessories that would build pressure as elephant walks.
-- vedarshi, May 20 2004

Insane, yet baked http://web.media.mi...ne/TR328/node8.html
[ldischler, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Perhaps the rider can wear a turbine.
-- thumbwax, May 20 2004


If only brontosaurs were still alive, you'd be solving the energy problem...

Wait a second, brontosaurs ARE solving the energy problem. Guess you'd better leave the elephants to future generation oil rigs.
-- theircompetitor, May 20 2004


ivory thought a difficult tusk to accomplish.
-- dobtabulous, May 20 2004


the idea of elephant was just for fun. imagine such generators installed in small channels on highways having heavy traffic flow (literally & figuratively). imagine trucks loaded with tonnes of material, passing over the generator & producing power. can anyone please inform the formula for weight applied vs power generated by piezoelectric generator.
-- vedarshi, May 20 2004


Could light the circus tents, so the PETA folks could see where they are picketting. (or throwing stuff)

Better stick to the elephants, the other has been halfbaked, but I can't find it anymore.
-- dentworth, May 20 2004


wow.. with this much electricty we could power a few LEDs so we could see which way the elephant was walking at night.
-- neilp, May 20 2004


It might even provide enough energy to make another piezoelectric generator once the old one had been too trodden on. But i doubt it.
-- lemonswithattitude, May 20 2004


Hannibal would have been bloody invincible.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, May 20 2004


The link shows how 1.5 W could be generated by a 52kg person walking briskly using piezoelectric shoe inserts. Now, scale that up to a world population of 6.5 billion on a forced march, and that's...let's see, nearly 10,000 megawatts!
-- ldischler, May 20 2004


//And african elephants are superior to other types.// hmmm the HB's no place for racism.
-- neilp, May 21 2004


returning to the variant - imagine piezoelectric generators installed on highways having heavy traffic flow (literally & figuratively). imagine trucks loaded with tonnes of material, passing over the generator & producing power.
-- vedarshi, May 23 2004


[l3lackeyedangels]brilliant. but can these not be installed near traffic signals where probability of vehicles stopping and hence application of brakes is high (somewhat similar to going uphill but inevitable).
-- vedarshi, May 23 2004


[l3lackeyedangels]see my initial post dated May 20. one has to find out the ways & means to make the piezo generator robust, unbreakable so that the question of repairing doesn't arise. now, is the idea worth pursuing - please comment.
-- vedarshi, May 25 2004


Ok, these would be placed on wild elephants? because I don't think those in the zoo get to walk around too much.

If so... fishbone. Leave the bloody animals alone.
-- Pericles, May 25 2004


[pericles]then see my posts dated May 20 and May 23 for the proposedvariant that may be of some use.
-- vedarshi, May 25 2004


[vedarshi] - what is your email for further discussion on piezoelectric mat.
-- cocoski, Nov 24 2004



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