Candle Power?

[seba]

OK i've stumbled upon this link http://www.metacafe.com/watch/400937/candle_power_who_needs_batteries/

 

Seems interesting, from comments it works on the principle of Jakob's ladder.

 

Or does it? I've tried it, doesn't work, am I missing something, or is fake?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I suspect it's fake.

[swansont]

To get a potential difference you need an asymmetric configuration. The guy blew it by making bot sides identical. Different types of nails and lighting only one candle, for instance, might lead you to believe that it's related to the Seebeck effect.

 

But the light gets bright immediately, and before the second candle stays lit. His left hand is conspicuously located under the table.

[seba]

Yeah, i am suspicious as well, because he has always at least one hand bellow the desk and also because the light doesn't go on and off gradually.

 

I guess the myth is BUSTED! lol

[Rocket Man]

"under the table" doesn't quite do the trick justice.

the leads are continuous, and have different end points. he ran a dc motor off it which rules out inductance which would probably produce rf ac. wax is an excellent insulator (i used it as a housing for delicate electronics i fudged together)

you could see the area on the table where the candle was to sit, i didn't see any connection points.

my question is how he actually got his oustide source to power the motor.

 

edit: if you actually look up his account, all he has is card tricks, riddles etc.

[swansont]

"under the table" doesn't quite do the trick justice.

the leads are continuous, and have different end points. he ran a dc motor off it which rules out inductance which would probably produce rf ac. wax is an excellent insulator (i used it as a housing for delicate electronics i fudged together)

you could see the area on the table where the candle was to sit, i didn't see any connection points.

my question is how he actually got his oustide source to power the motor.

 

edit: if you actually look up his account, all he has is card tricks, riddles etc.

 

 

But there's a cut between the setup and demo, where he rubs the magnet on the nail (like three rubs will do much) and the camera and candle positions are different afterwards. You don't actually know that there isn't a switch and battery under the table forming a complete circuit. Videos should not be mistaken for actual proof. Peer review. Can anyone else duplicate it? I think the hoax is to make you waste your time trying to do that.

[YT2095]

wouldn`t you just love to take the bulb away and reverse connect a Battery in it`s place, and watch the candle flame jump from one candle to the other

[seba]

you could see the area on the table where the candle was to sit, i didn't see any connection points.

 

Probably by inserting nails into the candle, probably a metal plate in connected on the back or bellow then to the source.

[Rocket Man]

Probably by inserting nails into the candle, probably a metal plate in connected on the back or bellow then to the source.

 

a coductive rod up the centre of the candle would be an easy target to hit with a nail, also it allows him to have a concealed connection point to run wires down the back of the table (which is also concealed at all times)

what you didn't see was his head and the direction of his eyes. he could be watching a live feed from the camera to make sure the critical points stay hidden

[YT2095]

oddly enough though, a candle flame WILL conduct electricity quite well above a certain voltage (not a lot of people Know that).

[seba]

oddly enough though, a candle flame WILL conduct electricity quite well above a certain voltage (not a lot of people Know that).

 

Plasma? Anyway, this is about generating electricity not conducting.

[YT2095]

believe what you want to believe, but the Vid`s Bogus, ok

[Rocket Man]

a flame has diode like properties. it's used as an active test to keep a pilot light going.

 

you could probably get a candle to produce electricity, certain chemicals in the wick etc, it wouldn't look like a candle though. and like swansont said, it would be related to the seebeck effect, or the Edison effect (that would be a pretty hot candle).

[h4tt3n]

Actually its fairly easy to draw a current from a heat source like a candle. Of course the above movie is a hoax, but the real method takes even less materials.

All you need is three metal wires of two different materials (of different electronegativity). Copper and iron works fine. Twine the ends of each piece around the next to make the three wires into one large one like this: copper (twine) iron (twine) copper or iron (twine) copper (twine) iron.

Now heat one of the twinings and you can draw current from the wire. The larger the difference in temperature between the two twinings, the larger current you get. But I doubt that a single "cell" of this type can produce even near enough electricity from a candle to make a bulb glow like the one in the movie.

 

Edit: Hmm... I've got a gas solder, a digital meter, and some wires lying around. Maby I'll set up an experment tonight (european time) just for the fun of it. How about you people?

[Rocket Man]

Actually its fairly easy to draw a current from a heat source like a candle. Of course the above movie is a hoax, but the real method takes even less materials.

All you need is three metal wires of two different materials (of different electronegativity). Copper and iron works fine. Twine the ends of each piece around the next to make the three wires into one large one like this: copper (twine) iron (twine) copper or iron (twine) copper (twine) iron.

Now heat one of the twinings and you can draw current from the wire. The larger the difference in temperature between the two twinings, the larger current you get. But I doubt that a single "cell" of this type can produce even near enough electricity from a candle to make a bulb glow like the one in the movie.

 

Edit: Hmm... I've got a gas solder, a digital meter, and some wires lying around. Maby I'll set up an experment tonight (european time) just for the fun of it. How about you people?

 

that's the seebeck effect. put power back into it and one side gets cold, one side gets hot. that's the peltier effect. you draw energy from the temp differental. the edison effect actually converts heat energy directly into electricity (it takes about 5000 degrees celcius to get anything measurable though).

[seba]

You could also do it with moving parts with a stirling engine, i think it has a higher efficiency.

 

http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/courses/egr112/StirlingEngine/stirling.html

[h4tt3n]

that's the seebeck effect. put power back into it and one side gets cold, one side gets hot. that's the peltier effect. you draw energy from the temp differental. the edison effect actually converts heat energy directly into electricity (it takes about 5000 degrees celcius to get anything measurable though).

 

Cool, I was wondering what that effect might be called.

[swansont]

Cool, I was wondering what that effect might be called.

 

Any device that says it has a thermoelectric cooler, like mini-fridges that plug into a car lighter, is using a peltier cooler.

[Norman Albers]

We've seen potato clocks (I have!) which might have had dissimilar metal wires put into a somewhat electrolytic potato. Wax is not known as a conductor; what change in electron energy comes with warming, and could it be conducted? This could save lighting energy for the Roman Catholic Church!

[Callipygous]

as if all the science against it werent enough, note the long list of comments that were removed by someone other than the poster.

 

scratch that... i finally found where it says who made it so:

 

note the long list of comments that were removed by the OP.

[Norman Albers]

a flame has diode like properties. it's used as an active test to keep a pilot light going.

Do you really mean diode? Certainly flames are partly ionized.

[Rocket Man]

i read some where that a flame has a prefered direction of current. it's like a diode but behaves quite a lot differently. leaking under reverse bias minimum voltages etc. i wouldn't recomend turning a candle into a crystal radio but you can partially rectify under certain conditions

[Norman Albers]

Maybe the Church is onto something in free radio.