''Bicycles An Alternative Source of Energy to Charge Mobile Phones''
Mobile phones are now part of our daily lives. It adds color to the life of people. We can play games, visit our steemit account, and communicate with friends, family, and relatives. But the question is can we enjoy our mobile phones if there is no supply of electricity? Of course, we can’t! Life is like in the middle of darkness if it will happen. No steemit, no tv, no lights, no music, and everything. The big challenge is how we can charge our mobile phones if power plants, windmills, and transmission lines are down, or if your place is under for development and the source of electricity is far from your home? Is there any alternative way to generate electricity with the use of the things surrounds us?
In Kenya, a group of mechanical engineering students made a study to solve this problem. Charging their mobile phones became a significant challenge to them since the source of electricity is far from their place. They need to travel far from their houses just to charge their mobile phones from a paid telephone booth. Because of this, the researchers used their initiative to use a bicycle which is commonly seen in the surroundings.
The goal of their study is to create a pedal-powered mobile charger which can charge a primary type of mobile device. As said earlier, the source of power is taken from a bicycle, since it can accelerate up to a maximum average speed of 15.5 km/h (9.6 mph), which is enough to generate electricity.
How electricity is generated
When the bicycle start moving, the generator wheel also begins to move, but it rolls opposite to the direction of the tire of the bicycle. The movement generates electricity. The greater the speed, the greater the power created. Since the produced electricity is unstable, the voltage regulator consisting rectifier do the job to convert the AC to DC or the up and down (negative to positive) current to a steady positive flow of current. With the used of capacitors, DC voltage is level out producing a stable flow voltage to enter to the voltage regulator, which allows only enough amount of electricity at exactly (5 V and 0.008) to enter into the cell phone.
A man named Alastair Bland with his father created a project with the same concept the mechanical engineering students of Kenya did. The result of their project is satisfactory, but there is a need for improvement as stated in the recommendation. For further readings on the said project, visit this link.
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Conclusion:
The idea above is an excellent way to conserve energy. It can help to save our mother earth from global warming since too much use of energy from the environment, or natural resources can contribute to the cause of global warming. The pedal-powered mobile charger is an alternative way to charge our mobile phones after typhoon devastation if electricity is not available. And also, it is a healthy routine to practice because biking is a good exercise.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle
http://www.projectideasblog.com/2011/12/bicycle-powered-cell-phone-charger.html
https://makezine.com/2009/06/07/how-to-pedal-powered-phone-charger/
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