Scientists Charge Nokia 925 In Seconds Using Lightning Bolts

The University of Southampton have bee working on new ways to charge their Nokia mobile phone, lightening bolts appears to be their favourite format, so much for all those old Nokia chargers I’ve been saving!

While I have to admit, saying they used lightening is a bit sensational, because they didn’t go all Benjamin Franklin with a kite and a thunderstorm. They did however create their own bolts of electricity in the lab which you can see in the video below.

By passing 200,000 volts across a 300mm gap, some clever transformers and a bit of clever wireless charging technology the phone was charged without the bolt ever touching the phone, or more importantly without breaking it. A few seconds later and the phone is fully charged!

“We were amazed to see that the Nokia circuitry somehow stabilized the noisy signal, allowing the battery to be charged in only seconds. This discovery proves that the device can be charged with a current that passes through the air, and is a huge step towards understanding a natural power like lightning and harnessing its energy.” Said the team behind the experiment.

While it is hardly safe for us to use bolts of lightening to charge our phones, it is a huge step in using the power that is around us, from small amounts that radiate through the air, to harnessing the gargantuan power levels of lightening.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/RJTl2oqaWPs[/youtube]

Thank you Vyralize for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Vyralize.