Our Bodies, Our Fuel

There is certainly nothing new in our attempts to harness fuel from ourselves. In recent years, as bio-tech shifts from science fiction to applied science, we’re finding more subtle ways to harness that fuel potential. This piece from Ars Technica details the breadth in the variety of energy sources emitting from our every day interactions.

“Technology has always been intimately linked to the human body. From sharpened flint to smartphones, we’ve been carrying our inventions for millennia—but the relationship is about to get even closer. The next generation of electronic devices might not just be near our bodies, they could be powered by them.

Staying alive guzzles energy. In order to keep us ticking, our bodies need to burn between 2,000 and 2,500 calories per day, which is conveniently enough to power a modestly used smart phone. So if just a fraction of that energy could be siphoned, our bodies could in theory be used to run any number of electronic devices, from medical implants to electronic contact lenses—all without a battery in sight. Recently, researchers have taken important strides toward unlocking this electric potential”.

Making Churchill’s famous offer of “only” his “blood, sweat, toil and tears” seem suddenly less meek.

Read more at Ars Technica