Power to the people
Auto electrical fuses by plakboek During the last interstate road trip, we purchased a 300W electrical power inverter and installed it in the car. It enabled us to recharge our laptop and a swag of electrical equipment using the 12V car electrical system. At the end of the trip a fuse blew so I took some photographs of the auto fuse system, the repair and the inverter and the power point that we used. You can view a slideshow I made for my science students.
Talking about power points .. one of the great ways to make e-friends when traveling overseas with the ACCE 2008 study tour crew was to carry a power board. We would walk about airport terminals looking for power wall points to jointly plug in our laptops to charge etc. I am getting better at spotting them near cafes, pylons or behind vending machines.
Only once I have been asked to move on in Federation Square when somebody accused me of stealing electricity from under a table in their courtyard. I apologised, and took my patronage elsewhere. I wonder what I would be taking if I was to use a solar panel to recharge from their indoor lighting. Probably an urban myth but I did hear of one farmer that was able to tap electricity from the Km of overhead power cables spanning his property by the current induced in his fencing wires.
The day might come when student lockers come with a power point, unless of course the thoughts of students hand-cranking their own electricity has more appeal. Then again, with enough twists and a good induction system, they could be cranking their way into the school grid to generate enough electricity and energy to pay off their lunch. Certainly sounds more productive than making them jog around the school oval to warm up. Imagine issuing a 103 Kilo Joule energy debit to be filled instead of a one hour after-school detention?