
14-year-old creates eco-battery - pmcpinto
http://nautil.us/issue/20/creativity/teen-macgyver-invents-battery-to-save-the-planet
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whatshisface
This battery doesn't generate energy from carbon dioxide, it generates energy
from silver plated guitar wire and aluminum foil. It is probable that like in
most batteries the electrolyte (and therefore the CO2) isn't even being
consumed.

Now, by no means is there anything wrong with experimenting with silly
inventions, and I am sure he learned a lot from this, but it does kind of
confuse me that he was awarded $25,000! 3M employs hundreds of chemists.
Couldn't the judges just ask for someone to explain the winning entry to them?

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zero_iq
Confused? I'll explain: 3M paid this kid $25000 in order to generate clickbait
headlines and get people the world over to see the mark '3M' with minimal
effort and expense.

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yjm
This is just a praise article, good for him and other 15y/o out there aspiring
to do fun stuff but not really HN discussion material.

There's very little specifics in the article like how much power does it
generates, how much CO or whatever it uses etc.

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kefka
There's a lot of haters here.

Yeah, a kid learned about how batteries work, and how to make one using cheap
ingredients. That's pretty cool.

And now, thanks to 3M, has $25k to his name. He can learn a hell of a lot on
that. It all depends how he uses it.

One battwery tech I really appreciate is NiFe batteries. The electrolyte is
KOH, which one can readily distill from wood ash. The batteries can be
severely abused (over/under charged), and will run for decades. All you need
is one more water and KOH. The big problem is their energy density is 1/2 that
of a lead-acid battery per equal volume.

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xacaxulu
Well, in the US, he can save that $25k and be able to afford maybe 1 year of
University + living expenses.

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codyb
Only if he goes to a public school. Lots of private schools in the US cost
more than $25000 in tuition per year alone.

I'm a huge fan of the public school system but I live in NY where the quality
is generally regarded as decent (often very good even). I'm not so sure in
other states. For instance, I'd imagine, although I haven't researched this,
that Florida with its low taxes and general disregard for their education
system in general probably wouldn't have the best public universities.

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Sonicmouse
"14-year-old creates eco-battery with aluminum foil, old guitar strings, and
club soda."

Because aluminum foil, old guitar strings and club soda are so prominent in
3rd world countries.

And also... How come I didn't win 25K for my 6th grade science fair projects?

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elinchrome
This is only a stepping stone. He's working on a plastic-wrap, sitar string,
and mango lassi battery.

