There’s more and more lamps that produce electricity from water sweet or salty. The latest example came out of Argentina and won a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva earlier this month in the Safety category. A small cylindrical mechanism, fed with water and creating no waste, produces enough light to be installed as emergency lighting in rooms and facilities. If a few of these lamps are added, they can even be used to illuminate traditional rooms.
Germán Nagahama Schell wanted to reformulate the invention of the galvanic cell, or Volta battery, by replacing its original components with water. “My idea was an improvement to take advantage of a cell that doesn’t contain it. no contaminants”, the inventor declared to the newspaper Clarín.
The energy produced to generate electricity comes from a chemical process: electrolysis. It works because there are three key elements to produce it: a positively charged electrode called the anode; another negatively charged electrode called the cathode; and a drive in this case: su.
But water itself is not a great conductor of electricity and often needs a new substance that stimulates the circulation of electricity: an electrolyte. Electrolytes can be acids, bases or salts.
“The first experiments in history started with acid, as it has a large oxidizing capacity. my development was based on the improvement of this amount and the generation of energy without the need for elements other than water itself.which does not have to have any additional features,” he explains.
Although his project did not receive much support from the electronics engineers Germán Nagahama consulted, it finally achieved the expected results. It took several years of trial and testing to develop the design and refine the steps.
Built in its final version a cell with a magnesium nucleus (anode) is covered with a cloth treated with salt and surrounded by a carbon fiber (cathode). It changed its original shape, creating a cylindrical lamp. By doing this, he was able to ensure that the cell had the necessary salts, regardless of the water used or the addition of more substances.
The lamp that earned him the medal and hoped for, emergency system for hard-to-reach areasIt is 10cm high and closes in 12cm circles with six led lights on each end and loosens the screws. “charge” cells with water. This model has an autonomy of 15 hours, and the cell deteriorates less if it is kept wet only during use.
Medals and diplomas do not come alone, Nagahama hopes the recognition and international patents of her previous Argentine and international patents will increase further. investments to manufacture your lamp thereby reducing the formation of pollutants caused by conventional systems.
Since the magnesium oxide that makes up the cell is used even as a fertilizer, the battery does not leave harmful residues to the environment, reminds the Argentine inventor, who hopes for a quick and practical application of the lamp.
Remote places or isolated homes where electricity does not reach and with limited resources, they can be beneficiaries of the present invention, increasing their effectiveness by adding a few lamps, given that each currently does not offer a great light intensity.